Fusion tacos. One might be prone to skepticism at such a term. Are they overdone? Tired? How could they be better than regular old Mexican tacos? Who eats fusion food anymore?
I do.
I eat fusion tacos at one of my favourite counter-style joints in Halifax, Indochine Bahn Mi.
A no-frills experience with a massive amount of flavour, Indochine is the perfect environment for a messy, solo, eat-in fusion taco experience. Order at the counter (get the two for $7.50 deal), and ask for what they call their Korean tacos. I’ve tried the haddock and the tofu. I went back for the tofu.
Bulgogi-style marinated organic tofu (think soy, garlic, ginger and deliciousness) is done really well – it’s anything but bland – you can taste every marinade ingredient, and the texture retains some firmness. Along with tofu there is Indochine’s ‘spiced Asian slaw’ (fantastic, with fresh chiles), pickled daikon, cucumber, sprouts, and a sriracha-citrus mayo.
The textural combination is delightful, as you can probably guess, with lots of crunch. The flavours just work so well (maybe because they’re delivered efficiently and cohesively to your mouth via the near-perfect eating vessel that is a taco), the sriracha-citrus mayo, for me, sends it over the top. It isn’t overly spicy so I add a bit more sriracha and settle in, with a large pile of napkins.
The mess is worth it. I tried eating these while driving once. Don’t do that. Just find a few moments to stop in and enjoy fusion tacos at their finest.