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2019-07-10
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Summary: Delicious Mexamerican food that explodes with flavor. Relying on fresh, delicious ingredients, its menu is small but mostly great; try some tacos, the Queso Fundido and Chicken Tostada are a must-orders, but avoid the Aguachile. The upside-down Corona-Margarita will surprise you, and the rest of the drinks list is interesting. An exciting addition to Hong Kong’s suddenly vibrant Mexican scene.Taqueria Super Macho is almost embarrassing to say, but with food this good, I'll let it slide
Taqueria Super Macho is almost embarrassing to say, but with food this good, I'll let it slide (still, I'll call it TSM for the rest of this review). Built in the remains of the old Yardbird on Bridges Street, it’s a cozy 2-floor place that has dialed down Yardbird's modern vibe in lieu or something a bit more… Mexican? Every table has that classic red plastic basket to house cutlery, and each table has two bottles of the most incredible hot sauces (more on those later)
I admit I wasn’t expecting too much – the menu is… small.
5 types of tacos, a few small plates, some sides and 3 types of ceviche. The back page is purely salsas.
The drinks menu is even smaller, but it's hiding the Coronarita:
I know it’s ridiculous and I generally avoid drinks like this, but this thing is no joke. The margaritas are not your standard dumpy tex-mex made by the vat deals, they’re pure and tasty, where the tequila isn't being hidden by sugary mixes. A real margarita in other words.
Service incidentally is great, and they really know their food. I asked a bunch of questions about ingredients in each dish, and they were all answered handily.
Anyway, I’m here to rave about the food, here’s what we had
Fish Tacos
Beef and Squash Taco
I have incredible respect for these tacos - as you can see they aren't much to look at - just the tortillas (excellent texture) and a blob of ingredients. In a HK food scene essentially run by Instagram and its cronies (and to a much lesser extent Michelin), this is bold choice. This is why they do it:
A gorgeous selection of classic condiments, including the two phenomenal salsas described on the back of the menu. The menu gives recommendations for condiments, but they leave this wonderfully up to you. Needless to say, I overloaded every taco bite with as much stuff as they could bear, and THEN added extra hot sauce. The ingredients themselves are good not great - the fish was flaky and nicely cooked, while the squash had some bite, with a spicy and smokey chili marinade. Beef, I heard was just fine. But who cares, because the condiments are delicious - so delicious in fact that we used the extra tortillas (the tacos hold together with just one), and filled them just with salsa, sour cream, cabbage and onions, and they were still great.
Fish taco properly dressed
Now as for those hot sauces
These might have as much to do with my enjoyment of this meal as anything. I'm not sure how you guys feel about hot sauce, but my enjoyment of Mexican food is deeply linked to the quality of the available hot sauce- these might now be my favorite hot sauces in the world. I love Cholula, I like Tapatio and put up with Tabasco, but these are amazing. The one on the left is a bit more savory, and the one on the right is a bit more acidic, but both are rich in depth and smokiness, and just add so much to every dish they're laced on. Even if you don't like hot sauce normally, you must try these.
Queso Fundido
I should have lead with this I suppose - it's basically the best snack dip you've ever had. Out with your spinach dip, goodbye artichoke dip and don't even talk to me about processed nacho cheese dip. Stuffed with beef, onions, cauliflower (i know!), tomatoes, a bit of chili, and this amazing, simultaneously runny yet thick (I KNOW!) cheese blend, it's tantalizingly complex, shamelessly sinful, and eye-rollingly delicious. Dare I say, try it with a few drops of either (or both!) hot sauces, and you'll be making the same Harry Met Sally noises I made too. A good portion for 3 people.
Rock Shrimp Aguachile
Really meh - i've had more meh ceviches than exciting ones in my life (are they supposed to be meh?), so this is right in line. It's kinda bland, and the marinade is a cooling green chili mixture without sharp acidity or spice. The texture of the shrimp was firm and fresh but the avocado doesn't really do anything, and looks bleh to boot. Pass.
Chicken Tostada
Another standout dish. It's hard to describe as so many things are going on, but they do something with the chicken that gives it a distinct and delicious smokiness - it's a bit spicy but it's a lot more than just that. All the stuff on top of it (great guac) doesn't hurt either. A must-order. Each one is fine for about 2 people.
Grilled Corn
Very nicely done, but sweet corn, chili and cheese is an easy win.
Overall, incredible condiments, incredible queso fundido, and incredible satisfaction. Except for the just-fine ceviche, everything was excellent. I love their back to basics approach to tacos, and how much work they put into each dish. You need to order the tostada and the queso fundido, but basically, it seems you can't go wrong with much (except the aguachile). And, if you like hot sauce as much as me, you'll be oohing and aah-ing the whole meal. Just about my only problem with TSM is they don't have Taco Tuesday - I think I can live with that.
in recent months, I've tried and enjoyed Te Quiero Mucho and 11 Westside. With the addition of TSM, Mexican food in Hong Kong is almost certainly the best it's ever been. Exciting times.
张贴