With Taco Bell back in town, Mexican Food is getting noticed
But for real Mexican Food, you might want to look other way
I'm Xiaoyi, this is the 122nd article from Restaurant_hunter
To read this article in Chinese, please follow me and find it in archive
Peace & Food 🇲🇽 🇲🇽 🇲🇽
I love Mexican food.
From beachside Cancun, all the way up to Mexican City, I've eaten my way through the motherland of tacos and tequila. But it was in the States, where millions of Mexican immigrants called home, I fell in love with Mexican cuisine.
When craving Chinese food, especially bold flavored Sichuanese or Hunanese, I sometimes went to Chipotle, a Tex-Mex restaurant chain, to cure my nostalgia with burrito bowl topped with a generous scoop of Guacamole. This is a shared memory by many expat Chinese students in remote college towns, where Panda Express was the only Chinese restaurant in walking distance.
But, my best memory belongs to New York. A quarter past midnight, we crawled out of a SUV somewhere in Queens (possibly somewhere inbetween Woodside and Jackson-Heights). Our destination was a Mexican foodtruck parked underneath the elevated railway. It only operates after midnight, glowing in the dark to feed every hungry soul.
The beef tacos de lengua was to die for.
A spoonful of salsa verde, a few squeeze of lime juice, a neat pinch that holds everything together, head tilted, ready for the sinful bite...dices of beef tongue, springy yet tender, worked very well with the pungent red onion, guacamole and the tangy lime and salsa, all wrapped up in a warm, soft flour tortilla.
Above our head, a flushing-bound 7 train slowly passed by, making a clunking sound as it dived into the darkness ahead.
Just half an hour ago, we were on some rooftop in TriBeCa facing World Trade Centre, sipping $25 cocktials...
This is some moment you'd remember for the rest of your life.
My first experience with Mexican Food was in Shanghai, with Taco Bell. Back then, local people only started getting used to pizza and pasta, while the two-word simple phrase of "western food" still had a nice hint of "good lifestyle". However, not all "food outside china" was treated equally. As opposed to the increasingly popular Pizza Hut and long established KFC, Taco Bell was no body.
Not like fried chicken, it wasn't addictive. Neither was it "trendy", like pizza or pasta. But it was expensive. Moreoever, compared to the US for Italy, Mexico does not conjure up the bourgeois lifestyle that everyone's longing for.
Spending a hundred kuai or two, which was not small money in early 2000's, People had the faintest idea of what they had just eaten at Taco Bell. But the real barrier was not cultural gap or local palate.
It was timing.
Nearly a decade has past since Taco Bell parted ways with China. With more $$$ in their pockets and more experience of the world through travel and business, Chinese people started looking beyond pasta, pizza and the very basic burger and fries. Yum! Brands, the mother company who had huge success in making pizza a commodity in Chinese context, announced a comeback for Taco Bell.
This time, will China love tacos?
I was invited to join a journalist for a chat over lunch at Taco Bell couple weeks ago. Here are the observations:
1. Exotic and Trendy
First impression: neon-lit, clubby, makes you wanna party, not your typcial taco bell found in rest areas alongside the US interstate highways.
Lots of expats spotted. Bi-lingual service. Not so common for a fast food restaurant.
2. Competitive Pricing
A set menu for three, includes 2 tacos, 1 burrito, 2 slices of quesadillas, 1 shared snack plate (fries, wings, tortilla chips) and 3 free refill soda drinks, priced at 99 kuai. 😳
Seems like Taco Bell was exempted from years of inflation...is this magic?
3. Heavy in Flavor
The bold flavor gets even more intensified re-entering China market.
It was overseasoned in general and I could taste Cheddar cheese in almost every single item. I respect the love for cheese blend but it's quite the same effect as cheap spicy street food flavored with additives and MSG. For example, the chicken wings tastes like Taiwanese crispy chicken tender with too much chili powder.
As a committed fan of fried chicken, I much prefer recipes at KFC and McDonald's.
4. Original Flavor v.s. Local Palate
To be fair, Taco Bell tried its best to be authentic: for example, Nachos came in generous portion, and surprisingly, not missing any of the ingredients - a much improved version than most nachos you can get at bars and lounges in Shanghai.
However, I couldn't help feeling weird tasting that burrito and soft taco. The wrap was neither corn or flour tortilla but something puffy and soft that reminds of a fermented rice cake, a local delight of Suzhou.
At my second visit, a R&D person told me it was actually a FLAT BREAD. The replacement was a result of various investigations and focus group studies: The original tortilla tastes too dry for local palate, Chinese people prefer something tender and soft.
I've also come across this invention, a double wrapped taco, called a "sandwich"...soft on the outside, cripsy on the inside, finish with regular taco fillings. It was admittedly interesting, and the crunchy texture was actually quite tasty. But was it an inspiration drawn from Youtiao (fried twisted dough) wrapped in Bing (chinese flat bread)?
5. Other Discoveries
Apart from the free refills (go for the apple ciders! ), you can enjoy a decent, low alcohol tropical cocktial such as Margarita and Mojito at 28 kuai, truly a bargain in the heart of Lujiazui. The only issue, I'd never get what it is by just looking at the Chinese names - Guess what? Green Sea Ghost for Margarita.
Another surprise was the Sriracha sauce. It is said to be a exclusive treat only available in China market. But with Sriracha being a symbol of Americanized Chinese food, I am not sure how well the market will accept it.
Of course Taco Bell spared no effort in conquring China. Affordable price, exotic experience, great location...but, as an experienced diner, you might want a better introduction to Mexican food. At the end of the day, Taco Bell is an Americanized, standardized fast food brand.
Unless you were there to honor some good old memories (e.g. the days spent on road trips accompanied by Taco Bell in resting areas...)
But I have to say, on the other side, what Chipotle has achieved was disruptive in the fast food industry. I miss it a lot, truly, from the bottom of my stomach.
Anyway, Taco Bell has just done a big favor promoting Mexican food and culture in China.
The Chinese food scene has seen a boom of new restaurant openings in recent years. Although choices are limited, we are still able to access to authentic, flavorful Mexican food at a reasonable price.
P.S. I've never been to MAYA...please do not hesitate to share any other recommendation. btw, you can find my favorite Mexican food in New York: 從路邊攤到高大上：你不認識的墨西哥菜
El Luchador
Saying there's no decent food in Xintiandi is wrong.
Apart from the beloved , El Luchador, meaning lucha libre wrestler in Spanish, is a low-key Mexican taqueria, and a hidden gem of the neighbourhood. ifuku robataya
It was at am outdoor food festival where I tasted El Luchador for the first time. As people were slowly moving in waiting lines in front of the booths of a few michelin starred resturants, I was in a hurry and tacos seemed to be a good idea.
And it turned out to be amazing. Definitely best taco I've had in a while.
Finally came a chance for me to sit down for a proper dinner with friends in El Luchador. The housemade tortilla and chips, made from good quality ingredients, were pretty self-explanatory. And the heated tortilla plates also showed an attention to details.
Even if you are not in the mood for tacos, you can still drop in for a drink. Treat yourself with a Margarita and you get to choose your favorite tequila for the mix! Average price is 60 kuai, again, a real bargain in this corner of Shanghai. Plus, Frozen Margarita, though a little girly as it came, was truly delightful and paired well with the food.
海鮮ceviche
I talked about and here comes a normal version: sea bream, shrimp, scallop showered in spice and lime juice, very well balanced and traditional. the most elegant Ceviche I've had in my life Nachos came with bean paste on the bottom, just how I've always liked it!
Taco al pastor
Apart form the wagyu beef tacos listed on the first page of the menu, there's a whole page dedicated to tacos waiting for you to try out. Our favorite taco of the night goes to taco al pastor, the grilled pork shoulder was a manifesto of perfection. Expect variations in each tacos beyond the usual tomato salsa, sour cream and guacamole. Pulled pork and chicken was nice too.
Fish taco
As for fish taco, I prefer what I had at (check out their taco tuesday, was fun!) Lamb wasn't a good choice as the flavor was quite strong. Chorizo, made with local ingredients, was much blender and leaner than what I had in Mexico. The Cannery
Who'd expect to have Mole Poblano in China?
Mole refers to a traditional sauce in mexican cuisine. It contains coca powder, chili powder, nuts, various herbs and spices. The states with the best known moles are Puebla and Oaxaca, but other regions in Mexico also make various types of mole sauces.
Oaxaca農貿市集裡的Mole
I fell in love with Chicken Mole Poblano at its hometown, Puebla, the second biggest city in Mexico. El Luchador uses duck breast instead. The roasting of the meat was precise and neat, producing a beautiful texture (cherry pinky on the inside! ), the best of its kind in Shanghai. The mole could be a little sweeter but it was still delightful to gulp it down with rice and duck in a warm corn tortilla wrap.
Here comes the curtain call. We asked the waiter to bring us ice cream to go with the churros. Perfect combo, a guilty pleasure to end it all.
Tepito
Talking about trendy Mexican restaurants in Shanghai, you can't miss Tepito. Feel free to read this review with more details (in Chinese): Tepito: 和紐約一樣潮的墨西哥菜，阿拉上海也有！
It starts with a strong cocktail menu, well crafted and featuring inspirations from New York's coolest cocktail bars such as Pouring Ribbons and Attaboy.
You get a bowl of free tortilla chips coming along with 2 chili sauces. Becareful with these little bastards, they were hot! Ceviche was on the sour side, and that instagram-worthy kingfish sashimi was quite tasty with a special tropical twist of mango :D
Emapanadas was not so pleasant though...they were hard as rocks. Not sure if they've improved the recipe. My personal favorite was the Horchata from the non-alcohol drink menu, a traditional spanish favorite that's extremely popular in Latin America.
Oh btw, my favorite craft ice cream, Gracie's (inside Al's Diner) was a next door neighbour!
Dos Locos
photo credit：smartshanghai
Famous for its Burrito. Seems they had joined forces with burger joint Charlie's. I used to order the burrito bowl on Sherpa's for office lunch, wasn't bad at all.
For the best burrito bowls you need to top it with a large scoop of guacamole, the more the merrier. As for this place, get two (orders of guaca) if you could.
And this is when I missed Chipotle the most...somebody bring Chipotle to China please?
Taco Bell（Lujiazui）
ADD：1/F, 55 Shiji Dadao, near Lujiazui Huan Lu
Hours: Daily, 10am - 10pm
TEL：021-20249037
Average Cost：30 - 50 kuai
El Luchador
ADD：Unit 107, Bldg 5, 123 Xingye Lu
Hours: Daily, 11am - late
TEL：021-63310703
Average Cost：150 - 250 kuai
Tepito
ADD：A Mansion, 291 Fumin Lu
Hours: Mon-Fri, 11am-3pm; 6pm-12am Sat&Sun, 11.30am-2am
TEL：021-61701310
Average Cost：150 - 200 kuai
Dos Locos
ADD：Jing'an Kerry Centre, Suite B1-11, South Phase, 1515 Nanjing Xi Lu
Hours: Daily, 11am - 10pm
TEL：021-62187887
Average Cost：70 - 100 kuai
Treat Yourself Better with Better Food
Written by Xiaoyi (喜北)
Photograph by 紅豆、喜北
Follow for MORE
後臺回復合集，可以看到這個公眾號所有的文章~
往期熱門文章，點擊可讀
才開了一個禮拜的烤雞店，趕緊吃！！！
臺北48小時，吃吃吃吃吃吃吃
文華東方總廚辭職賣漢堡
| | | 一面春風鄧記鄧師傅魚湯井福日料
| 璞麗酒店 Phenix
半島酒店 Sir Elly's
| | NapaJoel RobuchonJean Georges
| 上海美式甜點
上海吃「紐約四大金剛」Bagel
| | 紐約好玩咖啡上海風景咖啡東京風景咖啡
買醉臺北 | | 買醉香港
買醉東京
| 櫻花馬天尼求婚「套路酒」
👇 我這麼好玩，快來和我做朋友！👏
我是喜北，吃飯作得要死
吃到好吃的，眼睛會放光
心思活絡，有事勾搭
mightyboom@qq.com
Instagram: mightyminiboom
微博 & 豆瓣: @喜北肉豆蔻
點評 @喜北小火車