By: Sara Wong, Peak Associate
Food trucks are one of very few businesses that have flourished in Metro Vancouver despite COVID-19. The purpose of food truck fare is to go with takeout-friendly menus and none of the seating angst. Additionally, as the weather has become warmer and COVID-induced restrictions have subsided, Vancouverites have happily embraced the outdoors (pre-smoke) and headed to the parks and beaches, where food trucks can easily sell their cuisine.
Even before 2020, Vancouver had a great food truck scene, the popularity of which has only increased over the years due to social media. Now, in the midst of a pandemic, an influx of new food trucks have materialized. Two newcomers to the food truck scene are Crema Ice Cream and Takenaka.
Crema is owned and operated by Heidi Arellano and Joe Lee, life and business partners. They offer unique ice cream flavours that celebrate the couple’s Latin and East Asian heritage. Currently, the menu consists of three seasonal flavours — mangonada (a take on a popular Mexican street food that combines the sweet, refreshing taste of mangoes with the spicy kick of Tajín Chamoy), coconut passionfruit, and tres leches (milk) and berries. They also have three regular flavours: cafe con leche (AKA Spanish coffee), milk tea, and vanilla chocolate chip. There are also new, limited edition batches being thrown into the rotation as more recipes are perfected.
Locations for the food truck vary from week to week, so you’ll have to keep up with their social media to know where to go. Crema is also at the Burnaby Artisan Farmer’s Market on Saturdays. They charge $5 for a single scoop and $7 for a double; cones cost $1 extra. While these prices are on the higher end, they’re comparable to what Earnest Ice Cream and Rain or Shine charges, and the quality of Crema’s ice cream is on par with these two places. Trust me, once you taste the bold mangonada flavour (my personal favourite and the one I would recommend the most), that’s all you’ll be focused on.
Follow them on @cremaicecream on Instagram and Crema Ice Cream on Facebook.
Making sushi is an art, one that takes a delicate and precise hand in order to master. You can imagine how surprised (and a little skeptical) I was when I found out a food truck specializing in high-end sushi (think uni or wagyu beef) was coming to Vancouver. The chef and owner — or as I like to call him, mad creative genius — behind this concept is Shogo Takenaka, previously associated with Kingyo Izakaya and its sister restaurant, Raisu.
The Takenaka food truck opened for business at the end of July, and has had a steady lineup of customers every week since, in part because of continuous hype over social media. The truck operates from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., Friday through Sunday, at different breweries around East Vancouver. When I visited them, it was early August and they were at Strange Fellows Brewing. After an extensive number of dishes, both hot and cold, based on taste, portion size, and cost, I found the best deal to be the bara chirashi bowl ($16.50). If you’re a fan of poké, you’re definitely going to like Takenaka’s chirashi. Layers of rice, sashimi, and various toppings combine to give you bites with varying textures that invite you to keep digging for more. The seafood is plump and fresh, the rice is perfectly cooked, and the presentation is absolutely breathtaking.
