Asian Persuasion Food Truck & Catering

When I see Asian Persuasion posts pop up on my facebook feed, my Pavlovian instincts kick in and I immediately start salivating for one of their Korean BBQ Burritos.
This truck is great, the food is delicious, and the owner always has a smile on her face. If I’m at a food truck gathering and this truck is there, sorry to the rest of the trucks, but I gots to get my AP burrito on.
Sure there are other great food trucks out there, but as far as I’m concerned, this is the only one that will get me to come out to a gathering. I just had one of their tasty burritos last night! omnomnomnom

I am a huge fan of food trucks because it makes me happy to get food quick from a little truck on the street. Recently, I was lucky enough to discover this truck, when they stopped at a food truck gathering in downtown for lunch, and at another gathering in La Mesa. Their menu prices varies, averaging around the 8 $ range, and have the typical fushion meals of burritos, tacos, rice bowls, and loganita (sp?!)
So far, I’ve tried the FOB burrito, KBBQ Burrito, and the spicy shrimp rice bowl. And oh man, when they say spicy shrimp, they really mean it. The flavor however is extremely tasty with the right amount of tang that hits the spot, but then a strong burn that feels real good once you start chewing. It’s similar to hot Cheetos where you can’t stop eating because it’s so addicting even though it starts to hurt to eat.
The FOB burrito is deliciously sweet with a nice crunch from the fried battered and tender fish. The coleslaw in there is AMAZING. Something about the sauce really hits the spot, together with the rice. The Korean BBQ Burrito is one of my favorites, such nice meat, again with that delightfully tasty coleslaw, and rice makes a great meal. The cook knows how to stuff a lot of flavor into one burrito and after eating one, you feel like heading into a nice food coma.
Hopefully they’ll be back in downtown again so I can try some other things on their menu. The owners are super friendly, the food is great, and so make sure you come early because they will sell out.

I saw this truck during a work conference sitting down the street. Instantly the longonisa, garlic rice, and eggs stood out. There are few Filipino dishes that hit home for me and this is one of them. Upon ordering they told me they ran out of garlic rice which sorta killed it for me. But as a consolation they offered white rice as a sub in. Still works for me. Total cost just under $ 10 for that and a soda. Good portions and nice and greasy food. Buddy told me the korean bbq burrito is a must buy. I will keep an eye out on that next time.

I’ve had the Korean BBQ burrito and FOB tacos a couple times now.
Always really good, never disappointed. The beef is well marinated and seasoned. Savory with just a hint of sweetness. The spicy mayo was really good too, I felt that it really brought out the flavors in the cole slaw. I liked the texture that it brought to the burrito. Their beef is really good, one of the better Korean BBQ meats I’ve had. I’d totally eat it on its own – good quality, great marinade. And I liked how their tortillas taste like Mexican joints’ tortillas. You know what I mean? Some places have just really dry tortillas that last like the Mission ones that you get from Ralphs. I refuse to eat it. Anyways, definitely one of the best fusion stuff. I love it.
Fob tacos are good, pretty much same thing (minus the rice) and panko fish instead of beef. It’s good b/​c the fish is so light and crispy and the cole slaw and spicy mayo, add creaminess and crunch to the tacos. I like it too – a little pricey since there’s only 2 tacos, but still really good. That’s why I stick with the Korean BBQ burrito.
Definitely worth checking out, really delicious stuff. One of my fav food trucks!

The only three words you need to know when ordering from this food truck is… Korean BBQ Burrito!!!
Hands down the signature item to try if you are trying this truck out for the 1^st time… it will not disapoint.

My mouth waters for a Korean BBQ Burrito,
From the purchases of all the buyers,
I must have been hungry at 3 am because
I dreamed of eating the Bangkok Sliders.
I woke up a little late,
and drunk an Asian Drink,
went to work in a hurry
and got some Chicken Curry for lunch
I see that Asian Persuasion post a bunch
on twitter nice and inviting like a Spam Wasubi
humor me? Go ahead and try anything on that menu,
Longanesa Bowl wraps it all up beautifully
Burptastic, Food licked off the plastic
The FOB tacos aren’t meant to get you in a defensive state,
Your taste buds gets offended of the great quality taste!
So give compliments, to the owner, cook, and cashier,
In a San diego event near you,
just follow on facebook and appear.
MJL, Jr

Best Food Truck in the City. The BBQ burrito is absolutely my favorite thing to eat. Mixed with a little sriracha you will be dreaming about this burrito for a few nights after you eat one. I’ve driven over 15 miles to get this before if that says anything.
Only had the FOB tacos once (BBQ Burrito was sold out) and they didn’t disappoint either.
To top it off, the staff is extremely friendly and truly value your business.
Wish it wasn’t Sunday, because after writing this, I really want a burrito now.

Fusion food has been a pain in the a$$ for me because I’ve yet to find a place that really excels in it. Everybody’s trying to outdo each other with their cultural clashing of cuisine and sometimes… it just doesn’t happen.
But Asian Persuasion, you done slapped me in the face. YO FOOD IS RIDICULOUS!
The Korean BBQ Burrito BY FAR has been my favorite fusion food. Well, at least until I come across another discovery. Anyways…
I’m given this mini cylindrical pillow of warm tortilla that encases a medley of Korean BBQ meat, Asian slaw, spicy mayo and rice. Expecting to taste the worst, I sink my teeth into AMAZINGNESS. Trust me, I’ve been persuaded. What better way to serve rice-​bowl style food than burrito form? It’s portable, convenient, and it warms your hands during those cold food truck gathering nights ^_​^. I don’t know how y’all do it, but keep doing what you’re doing!

The Korean fusion food truck market is pretty crowded at the moment. While I still very much enjoy the bulgogi burritos every now and again, it can be hard to differentiate one from the many others. In fact, at the food truck event where I tried Asian Persuasion, it was located right next to Tabe, yet another of the same species (Gastrotruckus Koreana-​Mexicanus).
Which is why it makes me happy to say that Asian Persuasion had one of the best bulgogi burritos I’ve tried. Unlike the attempts of some of its competitors, this truck doesn’t overburden its concoction with too many ingredients. What you get here is basically meat, cabbage, and sauce. It works really well.
Summary: This place sure persuaded me.

Google offered $ 8 for $ 16 worth of food. had the fob burrito and orange chicken. burrito was big at $ 8 but the rice inside was very mushy, and no flavor since it was just white rice. rice in burritos (in any style) at the minimum should be dry and some seasoning on it. everything didn’t come together, the panko fish, cabbages, rice, sauce. the parts would be real good on its own though.
orange chicken was panko crusted chicken and white rice with the orange peel sauce. i thought the sauce would be thicker because i couldn’t even see it. when i opened the box, the sauce soaked into the chicken. that’s totally fine, but i just thought the sauce would be thicker and more prominent since it was called orange peel chicken.
will try other specialties to get an accurate reading of their food.

Finally visited the truck today after buying a Living Social deal for it way back in October of last year. It parks about a mile from my work in Kearny Mesa on Tuesdays.
Since the coupon was for $ 16 I took a couple of people from work with me. Two of us ordered their Asian fish tacos… ooh, sorry, a little bit of drool escaped from my mouth just writing that! You get two nice size tacos for $ 7. It had panko crusted fish, with a sweet Asian slaw and some really tasty spicy mayo on it. Very similar to the stuff they put on some of the rolls in a sushi place. They also have a burrito made with the same fillings and a fellow patron said it was so big he could only eat half of it! Next time.
My other co worker ordered their ground pork sliders, 3 of them for $ 8, with a side of won ton chips and a flavorful sweet sauce for dipping.
Yay, we have a new place to go to now.

I tried AP at a food truck gathering. Everyone is telling me about the Longanesa bowl so I decided to order it.
Longanesa bowl [Filipino sausage, garlic fried rice, green onions, and 2 fried eggs] ($ 6). It seriously took me back home. I couldn’t recall the last time I had longanesa — it must have been 5 – 6 years ago since I moved out. I truly miss the taste and flavor.
I ordered the entrée with no green onions, which they accommodated. The portion was generous. The garlic fried rice was lacking the authentic Filipino garlic flavor — disappointing. The eggs were a little bit too well done for my liking, so next time I will ask for the eggs sunny side up so there’s more yolk to go over my rice. The longanesa was bland and fatty. What was missing was the suka! You can’t have longanesa without suka!!!
I also ordered the Teriyaki Chicken with white rice and Asian slaw ($ 6): The chicken was tender and pretty descent and the portion was also generous.
Sadly, I ordered the last Longanesa bowl of the night and my friend was highly disappointed that AP didn’t have any more it being one of their most popular dishes they sell. BOO!

i havent had a really bad meal in a long time… but meals like this make me plain angry. meals where the instant oatmeal i keep at work would have been a better option. meals where going without ANY food would have been a better option.
one sec, the taste is still lingering in my mouth and i need some gum (yes, im seriously getting gum right now).
so i had pretty much written this food truck off already, but i was without food and figured i would at least check it out. saw theyve had lo mein in the past and something like that sounded good. OH! a bbq pork sandwich? sure, that sounds good… esp since i recently had wanted pulled pork elsewhere. ok, sold.
looked promising enough… but that thought immediately evaporated upon first bite. this was, quite possible, the WORST sandwich ive ever consumed. the pork was so insanely dry it had the appearance of fish bones. i mean, is that «chinese style» pulled pork execution? the meat was actually crunchy.
OH BUT LETS COUNTER THE OVERCOOKED DRY PORK WITH A HALF BOTTLE OF BBQ SAUCE!
caps really necessary? probably not, but i cant believe how much sauce oozed out while i took each bite. i actually started squeezing it to remove excess before punishing myself with more bites. the baguette turned into a wet sponge by the end.
pure punishment for $ 7. so sad… so very sad. really wish i could time travel with this one. lunch is what you look forward to during the work day. thanks for completely ruining that for me today asian persuasion.

Who knew that the Asian Persuasion food truck would be so decidedly… non-​Asian?
Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed my meal here, but the fast-​food-​on-​steroids that I tasted was more reminiscent of Anaheim than Shanghai.
I admit, this truck wasn’t really on my radar until I saw that $ 8-​for-​$ 16-​worth-​of-​food LivingSocial deal. Then, after a few months of never quite being able to intercept it, I was finally able to have lunch at the Asian Persuasion truck yesterday.
First of all, compared to some of the other trucks in the neighborhood, this one is pretty damn affordable. $ 7 for burritos the size of cinder blocks? Yes please. Of course, the flip side is that their food isn’t exactly good for you… but what’s wrong with a little splurge now and again?
Here’s the rundown of what I tasted:
** Bangkok sliders. These were absolute perfection! I thought I didn’t care for pork, but these sliders won me over. They were moist and juicy, with an insane amount of flavor (but without that overwhelming porkiness that I find off-​putting sometimes). The pickled daikon and carrot relish on the sliders provided some tang and made for a perfect contrast in texture, while the spicy mayo sauce provided some needed kick. Even the Hawaiian rolls added a little sweetness. They were served with a side of fried wonton chips, which were lovely and not the slightest bit greasy.
** FOB burrito. A little more ambivalent about this one. It certainly tasted good, but it was probably too rich and gluttonous for my taste. This thing weighed at least a pound, but probably more. It was stuffed to the gills with rice, panko-​breaded and perfectly fried fish, and more of their signature spicy mayo. While the flavor was excellent, I ate half of it and gave up. It’s certainly an excellent choice if you have a cavernous appetite, but I didn’t have the fortitude to finish this monster.
These two items were $ 13 together, so I grabbed a handful of prepackaged almond cookies and a bottle of water, and I hit my $ 16 target on the nose. Excellent.
Obviously, all this food was too much for me, but, thankfully, my lunch companion took some of it off my hands. (I have the best wifey — one who has random picnics with me on the sidewalk of a La Jolla office park.)
All in all, my first experience at the Asian Persuasion truck was pretty rockin’. Not even remotely Asian, but I can pretend…

For the first tasting, I would really rate them more 3 ½ stars. Their selections are pretty much different from the other Food Trucks that come to our work neighborhood (UTC). We have Tabe, Miho, Super Q, Mangia Mangia, FoodFarm, GreenTruck etc.
Choices are from the longanesa (filipino sausage) bowl or burrito which includes fried rice and fried eggs, korean short ribs, korean bbq burrito, veggie egg rolls, spicy pork sliders w/​fried wonton chips, fish tacos.
Instead of going for the obvious (w/​c my Unilocal wife Yvonne already raved about) longanesa bowl, I went for the spicy pork sliders and the veggie egg rolls.
First the bad news, the egg rolls were meh. I didn’t finished them. I just think the filling is similar to a frozen egg roll that is then deep fried, tastes a little bland or sweet n sour when dipped on the sauce.
The good news is that I enjoyed the pork sliders and fried wonton chips enough to try them again next time for the other items on the menu. It wasn’t as spicy as I would have liked but it was cooked to the right doneness for me (well done), the slaw provided a nice filling.
Definitely worth trying something different next time (maybe the longanesa bowl as a burrito).

BAM!!! Langonesa Bowl for the win… just down home cooking just right. I just loved the over-​easy egg on top… simply yum!
Of course I had to douse it in Siracha Sauce… zing
I can’t wait to try the FOB tacos next… fish tacos breaded in panco
Thank you
for letting me know when these awesome food trucks show up

I wasn’t quite persuaded by this Asian food truck. The prices were reasonable, but most of the fusion food items lacked any wow factor. For $ 5.50, the Bangkok sliders were served on two ridiculously small Hawaiian sweet rolls. The pork was tasty and I liked the pickled daikon and carrot relish. They make for some tasty appetizers, but won’t fill you up for a meal. They do come with some tasty fried wonton chips.
For the same price, you can get two FOB tacos. The panko crust was fried well and the pieces of fish were much larger than the sliders. It has the same spicy mayo that came with the sliders. You probably get the best bang for your buck with the tacos. The last thing I tried was the Longanesa bowl — basically fried rice with Filipino pork sausages. I was unimpressed to say the least, but at least the portion was decent.
The Tabe truck is definitely better both in food quality and in price. But, I guess if their truck is in the shop (like today), Asian Persuasion is an alternative.

My second San Diego Comic-​Con meal was at this food truck. All the walking and taking pictures of nerds had started to wear away at me energy tanks and I needed to recharge.
By the afternoon, the once manageable crowd at SDCC’s Food Truck Plaza had ballooned into an insane mass of flesh, much like Tetsuo at the end of Akira. Fighting through the chaos, I settled upon the line for the Asian Persuasion Food Truck.
Their signature Korean BBQ tacos were sold out, so I went with the next most similar menu item: their Korean BBQ Burrito. I believe it was 8 bucks.
A mixture of white rice; sauce-​heavy cabbage; and Korean BBQ is — unfortunately — a list of its ingredients in descending order of quantity.
burrito.
I fully expect that when I eat a burrito which highlights its meat, it will be mostly meat while the rest of it is padded out with its other ingredients. There was too little meat in this burrito, and what meat there was was on the bland side.
The cabbage drenched with sauce only made me feel guilty without providing enough flavor to justify the calories I was probably cramming down my gullet.
Lastly, the rice. The white rice is top-​notch. Very soft and moist. However, that was the biggest part of the burrito, probably more than half of its inside. It fills you up quick and its the blandest part of the dish.
Disappointment seemed to be the theme of my Comic-​Con experience as a burgeoning foodie. Then again, this was the theme of many of the attendants’ lives so it was rather apropos.
Because they are all virgins.

Asian Persuasion deserves an UPDATE! Not just because the owner, Jessica, is super awesome, friendly, and efficient. But because the food is spot on! Went again last night (at the Beats & Eats done off Murphy Canyon on Tuesday nights) and even though it wasn’t on the evening’s menu, she made a Langonesa Burrito for my husband. You really can’t go wrong with the Filipino sausage, sticky rice, and fried egg; but somehow it’s taken to an even better level with perfect seasoning. My husband finished it before I could say, «How’s your burrito dear?»
This time I went for the Asian Inspired Ceviche which I had seen the truck advertise on FB & Twitter but hadn’t had yet. I am a Ceviche freak, and am a pretty harsh critic on the balance of flavor it needs. This one is a shrimp ceviche and boasts a description of being sweet and spicy. Served with wonton chips on the side this cup of ceviche was exactly what I wanted. The shrimp were cut into small chunks and were mingled with cucumbers, red onion, tomato, etc. all swimming in a broth that was distinctly Asian without being too forward. Although I didn’t taste much spice, I didn’t miss it since the dish was a perfect harmony; each bite making me want another! I even drank some of the leftover liquid after I had fished out all the chunky treats. The ceviche is a treat and she doesn’t always have it so I suggest that you rush to wherever she is when she does!
My cousin had the FOB tacos which were like a panko coated fish «strip» fried until crispy golden deliciousness and wrapped in a hearty corn tortilla and topped with slaw and spicy mayo. Perfection. We also had the Chow Mein with chicken (you can get it veggie too) and it was a fabulous combination of thick noodles smothered in sauce and tossed with crunchy vegetables. It tasted like something I would have in someone’s home and I loved it.
Well done Asian Persuasion. Again. :)

Guess who got a chance to try the newest food truck in town in Sorrento Valley today… that’s right… THIS GUY!
If you’ve read my reviews, you know I’m a sucker for a new food truck. I’ve seen Asian Persuasion showing up on
lately and anxiously awaited a Sorrento Valley appearance. I found it on Barnes Canyon today and it did not disappoint!
The menu had several intriguing items listed today: Bangkok Sliders with spicy pork and pickled daikon, FOB Tacos with panko crusted fish and Asian slaw, Veggie or Chicken Chow Mein and a Korean BBQ Burrito. All sounded great, but I went for the Langonesa Bowl: sweet Filipino sausage, garlic fried rice and green onions topped with two runny fried eggs. At $ 5.50, this was not just reasonably priced, it was a bargain!
While the bowl was delicious, I have to disclose that I also sampled a veggie egg roll from a friend’s order. I can’t recommend these as they tasted like they had been fried much earlier in the day and had been sitting around since. Not crispy and not good.
Overall, they have a some interesting entrees on the menu, great prices and (mostly) good food. I will definitely hit them up next time I find them in Sorrento to try some of their other creations and report back as necessary.