Mr. Taco Truck

Being from the Pacific Northwest, there is a little bit of pride when talking about our food trucks...especially the ones down in Portland.  Not that Seattle's food trucks aren't as captivating.  El Camión, anyone?

A friend and I were down in Lan Kwai Fong looking for food in the early afternoon and were drawn like buzzards to the man wielding a Mr. Taco Truck sign.  My mind was just churning at the fact that there could be a food truck in this city that I have never been to!  And a Mexican food truck at that!

We followed the guy to a little shop on Wo On Lane.

Turns out, it wasn't a food truck, but they did have a faux truck disguising the kitchen in the back of the restaurant.

They did have a pretty descent menu at some really good prices, though.  So, that was something to look forward to.

Mr. Taco Truck Info:

Shop B, Ground Floor

14 - 15 Wo On Lane

Lan Kwai Fong, Central

Hours:

Mondays - Thursdays from 11:30 am - 10 pm

Fridays 11:30 am - midnight

Saturdays noon - midnight

How to get there:

1.  From Central MTR Exit D2, take a left on Theatre Lane

2.  Queen's Road will be right in front of you

3.  You'll see Lan Kwai Fong across the street

4.  Cross Queen's Road and Wo On Lane will be on the right

5.  Take a right onto Wo On Lane and Mr. Taco Truck will be on the left

We went pretty simple with our lunch choices.  The first thing we got was a salad.  It was pretty all right.  I feel like you can never really get a bad salad, but it was a good mix of lettuce, tomatoes, and some rice.  We got a mildly spicy dressing to put over the salad.  Not bad...

The second dish we got were the swiss cheese enchiladas with chicken, which was one of the recommended dishes.  This was also pretty good.

For dessert, we got the churros.  These were also pretty all right.

I think that, if I ever do go back, I might order some of the highly recommended and highly rated things that Mr. Taco Truck is known for.  I might have to do some research on Open Rice, but, overall, this place was pretty all right.

There are no complaints from me.

But, yeah.  I don't think I'd go out of my way to get my Mexican fix from Mr. Taco Truck.  If I find myself in the area and need a quick afternoon snack, I think there is a likely chance that I might drop by.

The Weekend: Lan Kwai Fong

If you are looking for somewhere to unwind after work…

If you are looking for somewhere to meet new people….

If you are looking for somewhere to dance in the streets with handfuls of willing participants to the music that is playing in your head at that given moment…

THEN Lan Kwai Fong is the place for you!

Lan Kwai Fong (and Soho just a few streets up from this little district) is what I think of as the entertainment epicenter of the Central Disctrict.  It's easy to get to, as the Central MTR has an exit (Exit D) dedicated to directing all people to this lovely collection of trendy bars and restaurants.

Here you can find the Hard Rock Cafe, Gordon Ramsay's Bread Street, Agave Mexican Cuisine, and, my staple place to eat, Ebeneezer's Kebab and Pizzeria.  Every nook and cranny of this place is crammed with somewhere to eat, drink, and dance.  And it's always evolving.

Over the weekend, as we were looking for a place to eat, we noticed that a Carnival was being set up in Lan Kwai Fong.  The event was in honor of the Spanish National Day and featured SPANISH STREET, where we could get bites of Spanish cuisine.  

The Carnival started sometime in the afternoon.  There were a few stages that featured Samba, Flamenco, and variety performances.  And there were also a few booths that offered games for the kids to participate in to win prizes.  There was also an entire LANE featuring Toys R' Us toys, which were soooo enticing children for children, especially when there was a giant Monopoly man hugging passerby-ers!

There are only a few events that I have been to in Lan Kwai Fong:

(1)  Octoberfest

(2)  Halloween Outdoor Extravaganza!!!!

(3)  and the World Cup events

So, checking out the Carnival was kind of a nice change.  It was really kid-friendly, tourist-friendly, and had an eccentric mix of booths (The Society of AIDS Care booths next to the OKAMOTO booths!).  

Bread Street Kitchen and Bar

It has been such a long week.  Last night, it was difficult to sleep when a Press Conference was being held and possible negotiations would be made between the Federation of Students and the Hong Kong government.  Waking up this morning made me feel like we're all in it for a long long long haul...

But, today, being Finally Friday, we decided to unwind for just a bit and headed to Lan Kwai Fong into the doors of Gordon Ramsay's Bread Street Kitchen and Bar for a quick bite (mostly, we just wanted to see if it lived up to its reputation).  

Walking into this place made me feel like we had left Hong Kong for a split second.  The atmosphere here is so intoxicating that I praise Gordon Ramsay for the temporary break from reality.

Note:  You probably should make reservations because, if not, you will be banished to the bar, which wasn't so bad, but EVERYONE'S EYES were on us because they KNEW (they knew we hadn't made reservations!)

Being that this is a Gordon Ramsay restaurant, we were totally expecting the posh prices.  For our drinks and appetizers, we paid well over 500 HKD, but it was totally worth it.  I don't know much about food, but:

1.  The tuna was seared to perfection

2.  The aji sauce was drizzled onto the tuna beautifully

3.  The texture of every single grain of couscous was divine

4.  The sweet, tart, salty, and whatever else flavors mixed with the couscous were brilliant

5.  The food was plain good

Seared yellow fin tuna with aji amarillo pepper dressing

Israeli couscous, sweet corn, cranberries, radish, spring onion, and mint salad   

Bread Street was just what we needed to recharge for the rest of our day, we stopped by mid-afternoon (by the way)!  This experience made me want to add a visit to Jaime Oliver's restaurant (Jamie's Italian) in Causeway Bay to my bucket list.