The Packing House at Anaheim

When I visited California for the first time (2008), one of the cities I went to was Anaheim (located in Orange County) because this is where you will find the happiest place in the world!  And that is the only thing I know about Anaheim. . . .Disneyland!  Haha! 

Last month, I got the chance to explore another place in this city called the Anaheim Packing District.  In this District, you will find the Packing House (which is what this post is all about), Farmers Park and the Packard Building.

By the way, here is a brief history about the Packing House which I read from different articles.

In the old days, there are several packing houses built across the US.  What is a packing house? A packing house is a place where farmers bring their produce like fruits so they can be packed and distributed across the country (through the use of railroad cars).  One of the most notables ones was the Sunkist plant in Anaheim which was built in 1919.

The Packing House then. . . .

Photo from O.C. History Roundup blog

And NOW. . .

Photo from the LA Times

Thanks to a group of developer (LAB Holding) and a multi-million dollar renovation, this old 2-story packing house has been given a new lease of life and has been transformed to a foodie's haven.

This was the other side of the building where we enteredr . . .

From the entrance, you would know that the details for this place have been well-thought of.  Just before you enter, you will see some rocking chairs where you can sit down, relax and well. . . rock.  Haha!  

The Princess enjoyed rocking these chairs =)

The building's facade may look plain and simple but behind these doors is a cool and hip place which has that vintage-retro vibe too.  I'm not really knowledgeable in architecture and interior design so I don't really know how to describe the place, haha!  I'll just let the photos do the talking.

  

I want one!

This bar (aptly named Hammer Workshop and Bar) used different tools to decorate their place.

It even has a tractor which the Princess enjoyed "driving"!

The place has a nostalgic feel to it too as seen in some details like this film viewing room which shows silent movies. . .

Stepping inside it felt a little bit. . . creepy, haha!

It's all about details. . . 

Look at this table. . . it must have been a part of a railroad car or a track?  I am sure it was part of something from the old days.

This table was made from repurposed old crates  . . . 

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Old luggages as tables too . . . 

A vintage weighing scale. . .a thing of beauty but NOT a favorite thing of mine. . .and I mean ALL weighing scales are not in my favorite list!  Haha!

Even the restroom had a retro-vintage feel to it =)

There are areas outside the house where you can also hang out and just chill. . . 

Can I have a backyard like this pleeease?

Such a cool way to display the names of the food establishments in the Packing House. . . 

There is a good number of food choices in this place.  What I really wanted to try was the burger from Wheat and Sons (read that they have good burgers).  Guess what, they were closed that particular day for their menu planning! Haha!

So we tried Kroft and ordered their Country Fried Chicken Poutine (Poutine is a dish that originated from Quebec, Canada that is made of french fries and topped with light brown gravy-like sauce and cheese curds - from Wikipedia)

Loved the Fried Chicken!

And the Prime Rib Dip

I should have ordered their Chicken sandwich, haha!

And then we got Ramen from Orange Tei for the Princess. . . which was actually tasty.

Then we tried some Indian food from Adya and ordered Chicken Tikka.  It was okay.  It has a subtle flavor.  I prefer a more intense flavor in when I eat Indian food.

And the thing that I tried that which I loved most. . . was the organic coffee (Cappuccino) from Cafecito!

These are just a few of the food vendors you can find in the Packing House.   There is one which serves good grilled cheese, another serves Southern comfort food, a crepe place and one that serves Vietnamese food (to name a few).  You can say that we will be going back to try the others including this one (which they say always gets a long line). . . .

Gelato in a stick!

For more details about the Packing House and the Anaheim Packing District, please click this link.