Following in the vein of hawker centre salad, pasta and burger stalls (and if you think a little further back, your not-so-Western Western stalls), Taqueria democraticises oft-pricey Mexican cuisine to the everyman with its street-friendly prices from its small Golden Shoe Carpark nook.
The simple menu of handheld meals offers soft tacos four ways: chicken ($2.50), beef ($4), prawn ($3.50) and battered dory fish ($3). The chicken’s the tasty beginner option, and while we found the prawns a little bland, the battered dory fish – paired with sweet pineapples – and seared, mid-rare dices of beef are punchy, tasty options. All flour tacos are made daily in-stall, as are the sour cream, guacamole ($1) and pico de gallo ($0.50) toppings that are slathered on and offered as optional extras with your order. And while serving sizes are little small – you might need two or three folds to fill – at just $2.50-$4 a pop, you can well afford to pig out on the punchy tacos without quite feeling the same pinch you would at MexOut, Muchachos and Lucha Loco in the vicinity.
We loved getting a ‘taco glove’ (it’s really just a clear plastic glove) to keep the eating less messy – most of its clientele are returning to the prim jobs in the CBD after a meal here – and principled Muslim eaters will appreciate the extra effort they’ve put into getting a Halal-certification for its meals. It’s all part of Taqueria’s philosophy of acquainting local eaters to the hearty and egalitarian cuisine of the Mexico, for which we say, viva Taqueria. Natasha Hong