Marked5

10/​08/​2009
Salmon with David L. and new items. Too bad they closed up to open Bistro 39 which also closed too. It was certainly fresh and a new idea. Oh well…

I’m disappointed to see the low reviews. I like this spot and what this youngster is doing. But now, the food…
I like grilled rice balls so the rice bun is a winner. The problem is the rice can be overwhelming and they need to put something in there to break it up –which they do for some sandwiches by wrapping them with seaweed. The seaweed should be put on all sandwiches. It provides a nice flavor and mixes things up.
I hope to see Marked5 back in effect soon.
PS change the name, being called a mark is not a compliment and marketing *does* matter when you have such mixed reviews.

First off, I have to say, they’re just starting and they’re working out the kinks. So, these two stars will very likely be three or four in the future, possibly near future. That said, its current state needs a lot of work.
The bun. The bun, the bun. THE BUN. They’re in a bit of a pickle (ironically, there aren’t any in the burger) with this concept. Marked5’s publicity, thus far, has been for their rice «bun.» Yet to me, it’s their biggest weakness. It is not a bun. It is a square of compacted rice. Have you ever tried to eat squares of moist, cooked rice with your hands? Probably not. You know why? Because it falls apart. Amazingly, rice in the hands of Marked5 … yes, still falls apart.
The bun makes this burger very difficult to eat. On top of that, it doesn’t add contrasting or complementing texture or flavor to the patty. The «bun» crumbled all over my plate and onto my clothes. (Carls Jr. must be kicking themselves for not coming up with this.)
Marked5’s $ 8 burger (and fries), left much to be desired. Overall, the patty was overcooked, the «bun» was disappointing and the fries were forgettable. The entire time, I wondered, why wouldn’t I just eat this burger with a knife and fork or hell, with chopsticks in a bowl?
I get that food trucks are popular. I get that Marked5 is trying to bring a concept to life. But, I think even they realize there is still work to be done.

Marked5 is technically a truck, but its been on hiatus, and as a comeback, they just had a serving at Bistro 39 in Alhambra where they served some of their wares.
So first, the big thing about Marked5 is there use of a rice ‘bun’. That’s the unique spin here. For filling, on the menu was Curry Chicken and Beef, and I ended up getting the beef. Overall, I liked the ‘burger’, but it could be better described as a musubi or a beef wrapped sushi roll. The seaweed wrap was salty but still tasty, the rice bun was crispy enough that it had the ‘ideal’ burnt rice taste I like, and the seasoned wagyu beef definitely had a good salt/​pepper taste.
If anything, I found the piece as a whole bit crumbly, somehow I managed to keep it somewhat together, but I had some friends pretty much disintegrate. However, I can’t really complain as they did take some of our feedback, and so I’m optimistic this ‘burger’ can only get better.
So expect Marked5 to resurface, and that it’ll come back with a vengeance.

Bf and I were on our way to run errands at CVS and the mall, when we happened upon the Marked5 truck in front of the T-​Lofts. We ended up taking a MAJOR detour and never arriving at CVS. However, Marked5 was NOT the reason for our lingering!
I was excited to see the truck, excited to see the menu and the pics (oooh, pressed rice cakes instead of a bun!!), and pleased to see how friendly the guys on the truck were when we walked up. The price was fine, $ 5 for a reasonable-​sized sammich.
But then I bit into it… and mind you, I had NO expectations whatsoever, so it’s not like I had been living in anticipation for any length of time… and I was sorry that I ruined the dream of another quality gourmet food truck by taking a bite out of reality.
I had asked the nice guy what the most popular thing was, and he said the Torakku Beef. Hey, I’m all for beef! So I ordered one and said nice guy was kind enough to carefully hand it to me and explain not to hold the rice, but the paper wrapper instead. Okay, score points for saving me a sauce-​related mishap!
The good:
* The bun, a pressed rice square that was slightly dry on the outside (in a good way) yet still chewy in the middle. Could have been crispier — maybe that would have been a bit better texturally. But the chewy texture was great (I’m a texture person).
* The bottom of the sammich was thoughtfully sealed with a piece of sushi seaweed, keeping the teriyaki sauce contained within the sammich itself. The seaweed was a great mix with the rice.
* The lettuce leaf thankfully was NOT crappy iceberg, but very fresh and green leafy lettuce.
The bad:
* According to the menu the beef is «100% Angus beef» but my palate has a very good memory and the last time I tasted this taste, it was in a cheeseburger I got at a now closed drive-​in theater snack bar. You know the stuff, TVP feeling, I-​Wonder-​If-​This-​Is-​Really-​Meat tasting stuff. And I’ve had veggie burgers that I love — that I’ve MADE — that if they felt and tasted like this I’d be HAPPY! But puh-​lease, do NOT tell me this is Angus. This makes me sad because I really*really*really wanted to like it.
* According to the menu, the Torakku sauce is their «secret» sauce — but it tasted like BAD bottled teriyaki. I’ve even had the cheapo Yoshinoya teriyaki bowls and the sauce on that is better than this. Maybe they doctored some bottled cheap stuff up a little bit with something else to make it their own, because I tasted alcohol — sherry maybe — in a bad way. I’m convinced I will have an MSG-​over tomorrow from just the tablespoon or so that was on my sammich.
Verdict?
Well, if you market your meat as 100% Angus and it’s really some strangely textured mystery meat, I say that’s a deal breaker.
At least that’s what I told this one guy I met from
back when I was single… hah!
I digress…
Because these guys were so nice, and the rice bun is SO innovative, I’m hoping they add something super great to the menu that will offset my first experience. But I’m fearful that first impressions are what count the most.
Do what we did and instead of lingering at Marked5, explore the amazing T-​Loft grounds and model homes and gym and jacuzzi for a couple hours!!!

I’ve never done internet dating, but I’m positive I can relate my experience at Marked5 to a bad internet dating experience.
Imagine looking at an online profile of someone and you stalk, I mean follow, I mean research and view all their pictures … well you know what I mean. Then after a while of wondering what she tastes like, I mean how her personality is, you set up that face to face meeting.
You finally meet and you’re thinking to yourself … WTF, you look nothing like the pictures that I’ve seen. Well that’s how I felt with the food from Marked5.
I’ve been wanting to try Marked5 for the longest … that was the first problem. I guess I expected too much.
I mean I ordered two things, the Katsu Pork and the Spam and Egg sandwiches. I wasn’t impressed at all. There was too much sauce on the pork, so if you’re anything like me, ask for easy sauce. And there’s not much you can do wrong with spam, eggs and rice so the spam and fried eggs on the rice bun was good to go. You can pretty much put spam, fried eggs and rice in a blender and it’ll come out good so …
Try Marked5 out for yourself … you might like it, you might not.
But don’t expect too much and you won’t be disappointed.

Finally caught up with Marked5 at the Downtown Art Walk and I have to say, I should have tried this a while ago now.
First off, it’s not a bun and it doesn’t work like a bun. So you’re not going to have much luck if you try eating it like a regular hamburger bun. There’s a method to eating this thing and you should pay attention. Do not touch the rice with your hand. It will stick to your fingers and utterly destroy your burger’s construct.
Roll back the paper wrapping and eat it a few bites at a time. If your eyes are wider than your stomach, you’ll have some issues here.
The menu is really great. They have the classic meat option, pork, chicken, a tofu one and even a salmon one if the night is right. There’s even a spam one. Which I would imagine is like a spam musubi.
Then you have the shrimp based side dishes. The shrimp rolls were amazingly delicious. They’re like egg rolls that just have the shrimp tasting goodness. But that comes second to my love of shrimp flavored chips. They’re so light and crisp, it’s like biting into air and taking it the deliciousness that is a shrimp flavored air thin greatness.
The folks here were really great and there was no wait time at all. Which was pretty good and a little of bit of luck on our part as we showed up as they just parked and set up at Art Walk. Not sure how busy they normally are, but they were offering some great service to us and the taste was out of sight!

I’m back for more. First, I got the spam and egg one. The bun was better cooked (yaki-​onigiri ftw). Crunchy on the outside, soft white ricey goodness on the inside. The nori is great as always. The Veges and Egg were also as they should be. Mmm, nothing better than egg, spam, and rice.
The two things they need to work on are the sauce and the spam thickness. i couldn’t taste the sauce despite it dripping hard core out of the burger. And seriously, spam needs to be thick! At least as thick as in a Spam roll. But I guess that’s why is isn’t on the real menu just yet.
Next time, I tried the katsu. Delicious. I mean, you can’t go wrong with friend pork cutlet. Only issue was that apparently my twitter comment about how good the grilled rice bun was got them in trouble and some bad reviews. Hell, ain’t my fault Americans don’t like yaki-​onigiri. Jeez.
Anyway, I am a solid fan!

Jill L. pretty much sums it up. But here’s my 2cents:
i pulled up behind the truck as they were pulling down the protective window covering. i was terribly distraught until my marked5 savior, luis, threw open the windows and restored my faith in food truck service. on his recommendation, i ordered the torakku beef. although i’m not sold on the chewy rice buns (my personal taste (hence the 3 star review)), the meat and sauce (+tomato +lettuce +cheese) made the whole thing a decently desirable $ 5 truck burger.
only complaint? too much sauce! it soaked through the nori, cascaded out of the paper wrapping, and found its way on to my jeans. (my dog quite enjoyed that when i got home.)

Met up with the inconspicuous little truck and ordered the Tofu «burger». Damn! Good thing I knew exactly where they were parked or I NEVER would have found them. There was nobody at all at the truck. Cool! I didn’t have to wait.
As you may know, Marked5 omits the traditional hamburger (bread) bun and serves up their patties on two rice «buns» instead. Yes… That would be cooked rice shaped into the form of two rectangular buns and then wrapped with seaweed to hold it together. Holy guac — this is right up my ally! Creative as hell! Fried tofu, smothered with bbq sauce on rice with seaweed.
I have to admit that it wasn’t as wonderful as I thought it would be. The tofu patty would be better if seasoned and the rice «bun» pretty much fell apart — thus I was unable to eat the seaweed without a fork. It needs to be cooked until very firm and then sprinkled with salt or some other seasoning. They could really jazz up the tofu burger with some fresh ginger and/​or maybe some wasabi.
They are in the Miracle Mile quite often, so I’m sure I’ll visit again in a few months after they’ve worked on the menu a bit more.
Oh almost forgot. I did also order the shrimp spring roll and it was NICE. Now that I think about it, I might just walk over from my apartment to get that as a tasty little snack when they’re parked over here.

After hearing of this truck for months now the planets just didn’t align enough for me to try it in the past but last night as the zombies rose up in Hollywood at the Hollywood Outdoor Cinema it came to pass. I was able to try not one, not two, but three of the items on the menu. I know there is a lot of hype about all the new «taco trucks» around our city and so I was ready for a let down as I have found some of the others are just nothing special, I won”t name names here.
It was a pleasant surprise to have something very different from Marked5. I guess I could call them burgers, I had the beef, pork katsu and a sample of the chicken curry. I love that the «buns» are just packed rice and the sauces that accompany each sandwich are just right.
With all this new flavor I decided to go back for seconds in the middle of the movie when I ended up chatting it up with Tran for a good twenty minutes about tattoo art and various artists around our city and state. I ended telling him I really liked the food and found out this is his truck/​business. What a nice and genuine guy. I wish the business the best and I will definitely eat there again soon. Maybe after some other Unilocal Elite events… hint hint!!!

I must first disclaim that this was one of my first meals after coming off of the MC so I wasn’t super hungry and no food was terribly appealing to me.
…that being said. I liked it! I mosied on up to the truck in the early hours of August’s First Friday at Abbott Kinney and ordered myself a beef sandwich while my friend chose to go with the chicken curry. Her order came out fast so I got to sample a bite of her food. My order didn’t come out until after my friend had already finished eating though so that was kind of a bummer. I dig the concept and liked that my sandwich came with some nori wrapped around the beef… but it was a little tricky to take a bite of everything without having to pull out the entire piece of nori and shove it in my mouth… so I didn’t get to have many bites with rice, nori AND beef all at once.
I was too stuffed to enjoy it as much as I think I should have but I’m definitely down to order the beef again and I will most certainly be ordering the Chicken Curry at my next visit! The guy serving it up was nice and friendly too and never seemed to tire of giving his spiel on how to properly devour your Marked5 sandwich without dumping it all over yourself or the ground.

We found the truck at abbott kinney «first friday» thing. The idea is very good. Although it’s been in singapore for a few years now, it still very exciting that this is coming to America now.
The drink choices are very asian including grass jelly drinks and calpico
The snacks too, they even have poki
By the time we got there, there’s no more beef, so me and my sister shared a Katsu pork instead.
The Rice bun is actually mushy, despite it’s sturdy look maybe it needs to be grilled a little longer for crispier surface. It taste almost like overcooked rice (maybe it did) I’m not sure since this is the first time I’ve eaten this
The Katsu itself is actually good it’s crispy, meaty and not greasy
The sauce is amazing! It’s like spicy teriyaki sauce. It seriously is SPICY. I’m Indonesian so I eat a lot of spicy food. To me this is too spicy for american palette unless it has been changed now. Looks like america loves spicy!
So if you do find the truck somewhere go ahead have a burger but I don’t think it is worth driving around city to find it.
When I think of burger I always think about juicy thick meat, dripping sauce in thick bun so the whole thing maybe just to new for my brain.

And the mobile food explosion continues. Up next for me was Marked5. If you have the carb pathology that I used to have (and still lingers and rears it’s unwanted head from time to time) than Marked5 might send you running to your therapist. Why? Well, because, dear reader, Marked5 must own stock in rice.
What is Marked5, you may be wondering. Well, it’s kind of like Japan meets America. Imagine a beef patty topped with lettuce and teriyaki sauce enveloped in a bun of sticky rice and rice paper. Or the same envelope, but instead of a beef patty, it’s contents include Japanese-​style chicken curry, tofu or pork katsu — each for $ 5. There you have Marked5. Two very unique cultures brought together to produce deliciousness for your mouth.
On my first visit to Marked5, they were stationed in a business park alongside Coolhaus (the trucks hang out together sometimes, how cute). I was confused and a little apprehensive having never had a rice burger, but I tried to act cool. Thankfully, the order-​taker saw through my façade and gave me tips on how to eat my delicate rice burger (unwrap the rice paper as you go, not all at once, otherwise you risk a rice mess).
It was pretty tasty and my co-​workers agreed — one even declared he wished he’d ordered two because one was simply not enough. Marked5 is a great addition to the trucking business. Like the other food trucks, they travel, so catch them on Twitter (as if you needed another reason to join, Oprah’s on it, why haven’t you followed her orders?)

Fellow Unilocalers said that the burgers are small so I ordered two: Torraku Beef & Katsu Pork. The Marked 5 truck was parked next to Coolhaus today at Media Center. I have to say 2 burgers plus an ice cream sandwich was definitely too much food for lunch.
The wait wasn’t bad and the food was really fresh. I changed my order from 4 burgers to go, to 2 for here now and 2 for here in 10 minutes to finally 2 for here now and 2 to go in 10 minutes and they accommodated all of my changes happily. The service was friendly and the food came out relatively quickly. I really thought that the rice bun was going to be crispy (like the rice in sizzling rice soup), but I was wrong. It was actually sticky and soft. They made sure to instruct you on how to hold the sandwich so you don’t get the rice all over your hands.
Would I «chase» the Marked 5 truck? No. But if it parked somewhere convenient to me and I didn’t have to wait in line, I would most definitely go again.

This truck still new and I applauded them for taking a different approach, other than just taco truck. Unfortunately, I wish they still serve their burgers just like pictured. I know they told me that it wasted lots of rice if the burger were made round, instead of square.
Wasn’t planning to catch this truck anytime soon, but then my curious coworker kept bugging me to show them the rice burger, so I showed them their website when I saw they were gonna make a stop at UCLA campus. Of course, I headed there right away and UCLA’s street parking ain’t that easy to find, so the truck ended up like a couple blocks north than they’re supposed to, which was good for me cause I found a parking spot right away.
I’m actually impressed that they got the idea from MOS Burger (those who’ve been to Japan, Taiwan, and SG knew this burger chain). I luv MOS Burger, so I had a pretty high expectation from this truck, however, I can’t fully give 5 stars yet, since I haven’t tried most of the stuff yet. AND, it’s actually DIFFERENT than MOS burger, because their rice aren’t fried, it’s still like sticky rice shaped in a square bun and sticking meat plus sauce in between, which I ended up calling it «Rice-​to-​go burger».
I order the Katsu (Breaded Pork Cutlet with brown sauce) and it’s yummy and portable, instead of having it in a bowl, it’s like TO-​GO. I totally dig the idea! Since I got lucky spotting the truck and finding parking so easily around UCLA campus, I couldn’t complain much. My hunger was satisfied! $ 5 got you a burger and a drink (which you could choose Pocari Sweat or Green Tea, which showed a really good deal!)

When I first saw their website through a friend i thought to myself these lil’ unique burgers looks delicious. So couple friends and i decided to head to JTown and try it out. The line for the truck wasn’t long at all… well to be honest there was no one there at all.
I tried out the Katsu Pork, and I thought the pork itself was relatively good, nice and crispy between two rice buns but it wasn’t that flavorful. However, the portion was very small and I should have gotten the Torraku Burger instead as it has a lil more meat for the portion.
Overall, it was worth trying out once… i end up adding up a lot of sriracha sauce for additional flavors, and for the portion i personally dont think it’s worth the price (5 bucks).

This is my description of Marked5 in 10 words: Rice bun, beef patty, goes into mouth — om nom nom!
When I saw that Marked5 was scheduled to be at UCLA, I was excited. Very very excited. I mean, I’ve missed out on all the other up-​and-​coming trucks (e.g. Kogi, Don Chow) — I WILL be one of the firsts to preach about Marked5!
…But wait! Slow down now, gotta eat it before you preach it.
Luckily, the Marked5-​mobile did not disappoint. I was originally planning on ordering the torakku beef and the chicken curry but made a last minute swap from chicken to tofu. Bad choice on my part — unless you really like their torakku sauce, do not order the beef and the tofu at once. They have more or less the same flavoring and, although it’s great, sometimes a girl just wants variety, ya know?
The torakku beef was juicy and well seasoned. The tofu was okay — again, my indifference is probably because of the lack of variety in my two choices — and had a consistency like scrambled eggs (but that’s actually a good thing since I love eggs!).
The deal sealer are the rice patties which they use as buns. The Marked5 guys wouldn’t divulge their secret but whatever it is, it works. The rice is compressed into these square cakes — rice on the go, if you will. They’re not crispy like the buns from MOS Burger (for those familiar with the Asian chain) but more like sticky rice that’s…well…not sticky. Perfect for a meal served out of a truck.
So now that I’ve had a Marked5 burger, here comes the preaching: Chase down Marked5! It’s so good, you’ll probably see me chasing it down again in the near future too.
**SEE PICTURES POSTED**

What a concept! Rice buns filled with Japanese-​style meats is the next generation burger; fresh and ready to eat Japanese food in the palm of a hand. One bite and I fell in love with their special Torakku sauce.
Here’s the verdict on their 4 signature burgers.
*Torakku Beef: I liked their use of Angus beef. Of all the burgers, this one was my favorite. MmMm… juicy.
*Katsu Pork: So crispy! I heard the crunch.
*Chicken Curry: Well fried like the katsu pork.
*Torakku V: Tasted like egg foo young over rice. Good stuff and a nice change in texture from the other burgers.
Prices were affordable at $ 5 a burger. Though one burger may not be enough. After my first bite, I liked it so much, I had to order a second.
My only gripe was the shape of the rice bun. The staff informed me they were experimenting with the thickness and while my bun was thinner and square, it’s usually round and thick. I would vote for the round and thick to better hold the burger altogether.
Overall, 4 stars for a creative menu, friendly staff, and quality food in the palm of a hand.
Until next time, Marked5. I’ll be following you on Twitter!

Via Twitter, I heard that Marked5 was going to be in Silver Lake, so I used it as an excuse to try it after stopping by Intelligentsia on Sunset.
I had only heard about this Japanese food truck a few days earlier, and was eager to try it, even though there weren’t many (if any) reviews out there.
I’m so glad I got to try it! It was really really good! I tried the shrimp spring rolls (3.00 for a good sized portion) and a katsu sandwich. Instead of a bun, the outside is a patty of white rice. It really works! The flavors are great!
I really enjoyed my meal, and I wish them the best of luck! The guys have a great attitude and work very hard!
It is definitely worth your while to check them out! I’m already craving a katsu sandwich!