Hi Dolls,
Consider this another OUTSTANDING Food Truck alert! The Hungry Owl made its debut on these Duval streets exactly a year ago and they have been a force to be reckoned with! Nipa, the food truck owner and food extraordinaire has graced us with some of the most delicious Thai street food (with a touch of SE Asia) you’ll ever want to eat! During quarantine, I made it a point to follow her adorable pink and blue truck to try out as much as I could on the menu. Me wanting to sample everything on the menu should be evidence enough that this food truck has got it going on!
Before I get into the main courses, I’ll start with my favorite starter! Lumpia! It’s hard not to love this delicious, skinny, and tastier version of an eggroll but I have learned over the years that every attempt at lumpia is not created equal.
I have tasted lumpia from several different places, some great and some not so much to where I can say, unequivocally, that The Hungry Owl makes the best lumpia in town! They are always perfectly crisp on the outside and extra flavorful on the inside. As you can see it is a staple side for all of the dishes!
Ok so pictured above are my two favorite dishes from The Hungry Owl! It’s called Kaomangai which simply translates to Thai chicken and rice! Not just any rice but garlic ginger rice! It comes with cucumber, cilantro soy mirin and sweet Thai chili sauce. The pictures look different because you can get it cooked in different ways: Fried and Grilled like I have pictured here or Poached. Either the way it is FANTASTIC! I believe it is the iconic dish The Hungry Owl is known for!
This is the “Crying Tiger” another amazing dish! It is a specialty item that is not regularly on the menu so when I heard she was going to have this for a limited time over the summer, I made it a point to try it out! It is a Thai-Style Grilled Ribeye, cut into strips and served over garlic-ginger rice with a side of spicy chili dipping sauce. It you like a little heat, you will enjoy this one! I’m looking forward to her bringing this back!
As mentioned earlier, The Hungry Owl recently turned one and last Friday they celebrated with an all you can eat event in front of Wildcrafters. I attended and it was a wonderful occasion. I ran into several foodie friends and the best part was that we were able to sample all of our favorite Hungry Owl menu items as much as our stomachs could stand.
The plates looked like what I have pictured here. We got a taste of just about everything that The Hungry Owl has to offer. I was able to try everything that I mentioned earlier plus some items I’ve been wanting to try including the ghost curry spareribs, Lok chin ping (Charcoal grilled meatballs), and the crispy shrimp furikake.
Everything was as delicious as I expected it to be and Jacksonville is definitely blessed to have this amazing food truck at our finger tips. Congratulations Nipa! I can’t wait to visit The Hungry Owl again! If you’re still not convinced that this is a food truck you MUST try, check out their Instagram! It’ll make you hungry, I promise!
As always, thank you all for reading! Have a fabulous weekend!
XOXO
