Salmon skin wrappers and tomato-stained tortilla. It is clear from the menu that this isn’t your usual Mexican joint. Mezcla is a modern taqueria that borrows Japanese influences from its sister concept, Rappu, to create a line-up of crunchy and over-the-top tacos.
On the menu are some eight different choices. Salmon ($12.50) makes for an apt introduction to the meal, with battered skin acting as a crispy shell. It then gets stuffed with cubes of sake-cured salmon and studded with ikura. Or get the unagi ($8.50), an easy-to-love seaweed sandwich layered with chipotle-glazed unagi, tamago, and cucumber.
The usual corn tortilla is made more fun here. Blue corn shell can come stuffed with edamame refritos (a lighter take on traditional refried beans) and pork jowl ($8.50), or tender bites of seared wagyu ($11.50). In another, tomato-infused taco shell adds a welcome tang to the smoky mixture of grilled chorizo and chicken ($8.50).
For an extra dose of flavour, dip each mouthful with three homemade sauces. Yuzu tomatillo lends bright acidity, chipotle teriyaki is at once smoky and umami, while ghost reaper combines the heat from two of the spiciest peppers in the world. Or opt for the decadent uni and scallop ($32), where the creaminess from bafun uni is balanced with togarashi-spiced mayonnaise.
Still peckish? Grab bites of carnitas gyoza ($9), packed with grilled pork jowl then finished aburi-style for crunch. Wash it all down with frozen margaritas ($13), spiked with flavours of grape, mango, peach, and more, then finished with lime foam for a refreshing, bubbly mouthful.
Desserts naturally take the form of a taco, too. Cinnamon sugar-dusted churro ($9) is pressed into a bite-sized shell and dressed in smooth vanilla creme and chocolate. Mezcla currently operates as a pop-up every Tuesday, before moving into its own home at 43 Craig Rd by the end of the month.