Imma Try It - Longanisa Dumplings
Hey Foodies! I’m back for another round of, Imma Try It!
Today I’m venturing a bit outside of the Disneyland Parks and into Downtown Disney (DTD).
Sitting right outside the old Rainforest Cafe on the hotel side of DTD are a couple of Food Trucks. Every day at 3pm, The Mad Dumpling Food Truck sets up shop to feed tired park goers and shoppers. They were winners on Andrew Zimmern's Food Truck show on Food Network and are known for…. as their name suggests… their dumplings. These aren’t some pre-prepared frozen grocery store dumplings, no. These are hand made as you order so they are as fresh as they come. They offer several dumplings along with some rice dishes.
On the dumpling side they have a classic Dumpling made with Turkey, a mac and cheese Dumpling, a fried chicken dumpling and the one I’m trying today, the Longanisa Dumpling.
Longanisa is a Filipino pork sausage usually served for breakfast. It’s sort of on the sweet side and usually has a deep reddish/orange color. Being a Filipino American, I just had to see what this was all about.
You walk up to the window and make your order. You can get 6 dumplings or mix and match 2 sets of 4 or get 4 dumplings and another dish. I opt for the 6 Longanisa Dumplings. As I wait, I prepare a container of sauce. One is traditional Pot Sticker… or dumpling sauce, the other is an orangish sauce, I think is specifically for the longanisa which smells like a vinegary hot sauce. Whatever it is, it’s good.
I wait for them to call my number and when they do, I’m excited. These things are pretty big. Like, reminds me of the Midwest kinda big. I mean… sure you can get dumplings here on the west coast, but compared to the ones I used to get back home in Chicago, the ones I get are like mini dumplings. The dumplings at Mad Dumpling are the size I remember from back home and that is awesome. The dumplings by themselves would be enough, but the longanisa ones also are served with some sliced jalapenos and pieces of pork belly!
I take a bite of one without the sauce. It’s a taste of home… my home in Chicago where my mom made longonisa… The familiar spices with that sweet overtone wrapped in doughy goodness. The mouthfeel is just right and the dumpling skin isn’t too thin nor too doughy. It’s a perfect dumpling… and I have 5 more to go!
I now taste it with the normal sauce. It’s good, not ground breaking… I probably prefer it without the normal sauce. Then I try the “Longanisa” sauce. And man.. that’s what I’m talking about. It gives it another layer of flavor that compliments it well. So good. I’m not sure how much longer they’ll set up shop in DTD on the daily, but I hope its a long time because I’m here often and I definitely will crave these things fortnightly.
Imma Try It so….
Get your behind here and get some!
Until Next Time…. Stuff yo face with that good eats!
You can find the Mad Dumpling Truck...
on IG
and on Twitter