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Business & Tech

'The Box:' Asian-Fusion on Wheels

Kirkland's food truck tally is now four thanks to its newest member, Chef Reis Llaneza's The Box.

SEATTLE SEEMS to get all the action when it comes to mobile restaurants -- Skillet, Marination Mobile, Where Ya At?, Veraci Pizza. Sure, Kirkland has a few taco trucks, which I highlighted over the summer -- and tacos are tasty, don’t get me wrong. But now Chef Reis Llaneza is adding some spicy variety to the local mobile scene with the Asian fusion cuisine of The Box.

Originally from Hawaii, Llaneza, 32, channels his mixed Asian roots (Japanese-Filipino) via French culinary training into the food at The Box, which opened just this fall. Think chicken karaage: crispy, chewy Japanese fried chicken tossed with sweet and tangy “Box” sauce and sesame seeds, or a Kahlua pork or pork belly hum bao (like a slider), or even a velvety Kabocha squash soup laced with truffle oil and a hint of black pepper. Of course, one can order “fries with that,” but the chopped salad with apples and black forest ham is the more conscionable choice.

Llaneza and his wife Joanna left Hawaii so she could finish her degree in pharmacology at the University of Washington. Joanna now works as a pharmacist in Mount Vernon. Until he began planning The Box, Llaneza had always worked in traditional brick and mortar restaurants, locally as sous chef at Yarrow Bay Grill and as chef di cuisine at Flo in Bellevue.

“She let me take the year off,” says Llaneza, who was then able to throw his attention into opening his own place. A traditional restaurant didn’t seem feasible due to the sizable startup costs.

“I said to myself, 'All I need is a box with equipment to cook food out of...to make people happy,'” hence the “box” was born.

It took him nearly the whole year to get from concept to customer. There were permits to apply for, licences to procure, locations to find and a truck to make. Food trucks are not just lying around in a used vehicle lot. The food truck phenomenon is still fairly young; therefore, food trucks have to be custom built.

Llaneza worked with a company that builds custom RV’s, drawing plans and carefully choosing appliances to work in the layout. The result was a shiny white truck housing a working kitchen. Quarters are always close in a food truck, a restaurant equivalent of a culinary closet.

The chef’s mother flew out to help him open the truck, taking orders and gaining a new respect for her son’s chosen profession, which is fitting since it was she that suggested a culinary career path in the first place.

“I’m not really a ‘school’ person. I like being creative with my hands. I don’t enjoy sitting quietly to read a book,” says Llaneza who dropped out of drafting courses and found his passion in the kitchen. He graduated from culinary school in Hawaii and worked under the James Beard celebrated chef Mauro James in Oahu.

THE BOX is now manned by Llaneza and his assistant, 18-year-old Oscar Martinez, who is taking the year after his high school graduation to work before possibly pursuing training in the automotive repair industry. Martinez knows how to work the fryer like a pro, while Llaneza braises the pork belly, prepares sauces and finishes each dish with garnish and seasoning.

The truck is open five days a week in locations throughout Kirkland -- the parking lots of retirement home near Evergreen Hospital, near and . He takes one day off and uses the other to shop and prep for the week. Llaneza uses The Box’s facebook page to keep customers informed of his current location.

This could be particularly important in the next few weeks as Llaneza and his wife are expecting their first baby in the middle of December -- a girl, if you need to know what color of balloons to bring.

Though a new baby can throw even the most even-keeled person for a loop, Llaneza’s friendly charm and easy manner will no doubt be undimmed. He likes talking with his customers, asking where they’re from and thanking them by name. He has even trusted them to pay later when they discover it is a cash-only establishment (prices range from $3-$8 for food).

“All, but one person has returned to pay me,” he says, as if trusting people to do the right thing comes naturally to him.

Maybe it’s because he was raised on an island, but it is refreshing to meet a person who sees the best in people.

Check The Box’s facebook page for daily location and times or call Llaneza at 808-429-1947.

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