COCONUTS CRITIC’S TABLE – Mexican food has always been a tough sell in Hong Kong. People don’t quite understand the cuisine, they don’t know what to make of the beans and guacamole, and they can barely pronounce quesadilla. Worse, what passes for Mexican here is often a stodgy plate of stale nachos and bad cheese.
This hasn’t stopped new entrepreneurs from launching sleek fast food taquerias rather aggressively over the last few months, however.
Cali-Mex boldly opened five branches on Hong Kong Island (in Sheung Wan, Quarry Bay, Wan Chai, Lan Kwai Fong and Wellington Road) in quick succession this autumn, and they’re planning two more this spring (on Luard Road in Wan Chai and on Staunton Street in SoHo).
The Cali-Mex team in action
As the name implies, it serves up tacos and other Mexican dishes by way of California. The shops primarily cater for takeaway customers, but there’s also a counter and some stools to scoff at. A few locations, like Wellington Street, even have tables on another floor.
The menu is broken down as follows. First you choose your platform. There’s burritos, quesadillas, soft and hard tacos, crispy shell salads, and nachos. Next, you decide on the filling, which includes beef, chicken, pork, seafood and veggie options.
We took the always popular Chipotle Pulled Pork in soft flour tortilla tacos (HKD88). They are three to a serving, each filled out with shredded lettuce, cabbage, diced tomatoes, pico de gallo, a medium spicy salsa chipotle and sour cream and cheese.
A small gripe is that adding guacamole costs an extra HKD18. Is avocado and lime juice really so expensive? Guacamole should automatically come with Mexican food. You don’t charge people for ketchup and mustard with their burger.
The fibres of shoulder pork were tender with a nice, rich BBQ sauce. It wasn’t as smokey as I’d hoped, but still tasty. I just wished there was more of it in each taco pocket.
For a quesadilla half order we tried the Baja Fish (HKD98), which doesn’t actually come from Baja but New Zealand. The fillets of Ling, marinated in lime, chilli and olive oil, were grilled.
What wasn’t clear is how long ago the grilling took place. We were there for a late dinner and it was conceivable the fish was cooked quite a while ago because it was extremely… fishy. If fresh, there would have been no need to douse it with sour cream and guacamole to hide the unpleasant funkiness.
Moving on to the salad, a large crispy tortilla shell is not exactly an authentic Mexican item, but it’s a popular vehicle now as a bowl. We topped our shell with Angus Steak Strips (HKD98) while the cabbage and greens blended with the sour cream and cheese to become a Latino slaw.
The self-defeating act of eating a healthy salad in a large deep fried tortilla bowl aside, this dish was admittedly satisfying, even if the beef was a little overcooked. At least the shell wasn’t oily.
Jarritos Lime & Lemon Soda
Sadly, however, the most Mexican thing of the night was the Jarritos soft drink, a bottle of which costs HKD38.
Little Burro joined the local fiesta slightly before Cali-Mex and now boasts three locations in Sheung Wan, SoHo and Causeway Bay.
What they promise is authentic San Francisco “Mission Burritos”. Apparently, the Mission style, derived from the Bay Area’s Mission neighbourhood, puts unorthodox stuffing like rice into the tortillas, which doesn’t seem especially different to Tex-Mex fast food.
Little Burro’s shops play up the shabby-chic bohemian vibe of San Fran’s hip district, with graffiti-style art on the walls and furnishings they might have grabbed from Salvation Army second-hand shops.
The menu is very similar to Cali-Mex with choices of burritos, tacos, salads and rice bowls (each HKD75), but they have more variety in the tortillas department, including soft flour, whole wheat and spinach. Tacos also come in soft, hard shell and soft corn options.
We chose the “Kick Ass” Pork Carnitas in the standard soft flour burrito and the Smokey Chipotle Chicken in the soft tacos (they come in two tacos per portion).
Pescetarians should note that Little Burro also has a Fish Taco option (HKD45 for one, HKD80 for two). The fish is sole, battered and fried, and topped with the requisite sour cream, lettuce, black beans, a chipotle vinaigrette plus a zingy salsa of mango and papaya. It made for a very refreshing flavour profile and the fish wasn’t in the least offensive, a nice rarity at a fast food outlet.
Fish Taco
We stuffed our burrito with borracho beans with bacon, brown rice and a medium spicy Corn Green Chili. Overall, the sandwich seemed a bit dry, especially with the rice.
A little more lettuce, salsa or sour cream would’ve balanced the too dense wrap. A clear sign a burrito is a little too dry is when you reach the end and it hasn’t turned into a soggy mess.
In contrast, the two chicken tacos were dripping with salsa juice. The portions were well sized, about the same as those at Cali-Mex, where you get three for HKD88.
To be honest, we couldn’t taste the difference between the chicken and the pork at Little Burro. Both had a similar pulled meat texture and tangy sauce. We understand Americans love lean meat, but this is Asia, so we don’t mind a little more fat and moisture.
Cali-Mex seems to add more salsa and greens to fill out their tacos, but Little Burro feels much more substantial with the beans and rice. Incidentally, Little Burro also makes you pay extra for guacamole (HKD25).
For quick, simple Mexican grub, both franchises offer a satisfactory solution at a reasonable price.
Could they do better? Sure.
Personally, I would’ve liked a few more daring flavours and expanded topping options. It might be wishful thinking to hope for slow-cooked chocolate mole sauce and cactus fruit juice at a takeout stand, but surely finding cilantro and spring onion isn’t so difficult?
Then again, this is American-style Mexican food for gringos and Asians. Check your gourmet expectations at the entrance.
Cali-Mex
71 Wellington Street, Central, (+852) 2511-4798
25 Queen’s Road East, Wan Chai, (+852) 2772-2525
77 Wing Lok Street, Sheung Wan, (+852) 2469-2881
7 Lan KWai Fong, Central (+852) 2904-7855
13-15 Tong Chong Street, Quarry Bay, (+852) 2705-2833
Little Burro
1 Upper Station Street, Sheung Wan, (+852) 2547-8821
125 Leighton Road, Causeway Bay, (+852) 2336-3909
30 Hollywood Road, SoHo, (+852) 2336-0505
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