MACHO TACOS- SHIDA
No. 15 Pucheng St
(02) 2363-7518
MRT: Taipower Bldg Station
website: machotacos.com
$
hours: M-F 11:30 AM - 3PM; 5PM-10PM
SAT: 11:30AM - 10PM
SUN 11:30AM - 9PM
kid friendliness: more room for strollers, kids
visit reviewed: 11/4/2011
previous visit: 12/2010 at DaAn branch
Macho Tacos opened a new branch of their popular Baja style Mexican eats in the Shida neighborhood late last month. Almost twice the size of the original DaAn branch, there's more room for all your grub and friends.
Ten percent off during their soft opening period.
The inside sports the familiar wrestler logo, English and Chinese signage and red/green fast casual tables.
The next favorites after the fish tacos are either the steak or carnitas in soft taco, burrito, burrito bowl or quesadilla form. Don't forget to load up on the salsa at the help yourself salsa bar, and ask for the hot sauce.
 |
| carnitas soft taco |
If I had one suggestion for the powers that be, Macho's nachos still need more cheese. A lot more cheese. Melty, piled on cheese. At other places, I've seen the chips bathing in cheese. That's how nachos should be.
But until then, I'm pretty happy with most of what Macho Tacos offers and the affordable prices. Chimichangas are also available now. Maybe in the future we can hope for some taquitos smothered in guacamole?
OTHER LOCATION
No. 3, Lane 126, Yanji St.
(02) 2731-4489
11 comments:
This is a great read, Joanh! Really enjoy all your blog posts!
I know there are a good number of students from Latin America in Taipei. If just a few of them stuck around and opened a REAL taqueria, they could CLEAN UP. It doesn't even matter if the native population hates it; I think the expat pop. is big enough to sustain such an endeavor.
Now I'm going to attempt to not think about the taste of Oxacan tamales, lest I cry.
I'm gonna be honest, I was not impressed.
Not terribly spicy, my soft taco shells were dry and uninspiring, the meat was dry and not really seasoned, and generally the ingredients were lackluster. My nachos were better than the usual "Doritos microwaved with cheese" at other places but not by much - the sour cream and guacamole were runnier than they should have been and clearly came out of squeeze bottles - NOT COOL - and the meat and cheese were skimped on majorly. I want lots of melty cheese and spicy meat on my nachos, but I didn't get it.
Only the jalapenos made me happy. Otherwise it was the least spicy, least tongue-titillating "Mexican" food experience I've ever had. I won't go back.
Love what Psychanaut said, and I agree completely! Local tastes are tough to change, but an expat cuisine movement could be very strong!
Definitely need more cheese and REAL guacamole.
I accidentally spent the extra NT30 for a side of guacamole only to witness in horror that it came from a bottle. I wanted to cry. I rather pay NT50 for fresh guac (but also a bigger cup)
I tried it a while ago as well. I prefer burritos and that other place near Gongguan is doing better in that field, this one seems to be both smaller portion and more expensive.
It's tasty and when I'm in the area would eat there, just prefer the other place :)
never try mexican food before but it sure look very delicous.
The watered down sour cream and guac is a travesty. I wouldn't eat here again.
I really like Macho Tacos. I've lived in Taipei for almost 10 years after spending the 7 years prior in the Bay Area. I wouldn't consider myself a Mexican food aficionado, but I've had good Mexican food. Macho Tacos has filled a huge void in my life here, by providing what I consider good Baja-style Mexican at very reasonable prices. They serve up delicious, filling, relatively healthy burritos which was something I often craved for prior to their opening.
Sure the guac may not be their strongest menu item, but to entirely dismiss a restaurant because of a side dish/condiment is a travesty as well. Also I actually find their red and green salsas to be very delicious and flavorful. Same with the salsas in their salsa bar.
Neither do I feel that they skimp on their meats. If spicy meat = ground meat cooked in spicy, taco seasoning (like Taco Bell), I guess they could definitely provide more for the same price point. However, that's not simply not Baja style Mexican food and thus not what Macho Tacos will serve.
I have and will continue to eat there on a weekly if not more basis, and strongly recommend it as well.
Thomas G: thanks for reading and commenting!
psychanaut: yes, if that ever happens, let me know!
jenna: i'm sorry you didn't like it. for me, it's the best option in town and affordable. especially if you've tried all the fake, overpriced mexican food in taipei. the guacamole and nachos there could definitely use improvement, but i'm happy with the burritos and fish tacos
BBQ Smoker: for awhile, all the people at Macho were expats!
observingexpressions: sadly, i did the same thing the first time i went.. the guacamole is definitely horrible..
Greg: i haven't been back to oola since it changed owners. is that the one you are talking about.
KKTG: thanks for reading and commenting!
Anonymous: sorry you didn't like it
Anonymous 2: thanks for your comments! i totally agree with what you are saying and have also eaten there often since it opened. for the people who don't like it, that's their choice, but it really is so much better than anything that was previously available at prices under NT$200. perhaps it's appealing to people mostly from california since it's the type of mexican food we are familiar with from back home, and yes they could have fresh guac and tamales and taquitos, but they don't, so until then, you can try eddy's cantina or mayan grill or make food at home, like i sometimes do.
now let's be serious, how could they call themselves a Taco Joint if they didn't have any idea how to make carne asada correctly?????? I have tried them three times and unfortunately I beg to differ. I think they don't know the recipe( or they got some bogus Taiwanese recipes) and also using wrong part of the cut. Sorry, They have NOTHING to compare with the California style Mexican food I have been craving for the past three years. Love your blogs but this one is no way. Cheers, joplin
Post a Comment