Food in Tijuana

[MoreyKid]

You got to try Asian Tasty. Best Chinese food I have ever had. Right across from Ricardo's restaurant on Madero. Wow!

This guy is not kidding. Best Chinese I've ever had. The ambiance is kind of boring (typical strip mall Chinese restaurant) but the food is insane and the portions are gigantic. I brought back 3/4's of my general tsao chicken to Zona Norte and gave it to a particularly fucked up looking homeless guy. He seemed excited to take it but then I watched him stuff it vertically into his roller cart and I suspect it ruined all his clothes leaking everywhere before he had a chance to eat it.

[KC Questor]

Slathering dishes with cheddar and jack cheeses is definitely an American thing.

Lots of Germans settled in Mexico and brought their cheese with them. Agreed that it's not the typical American style of smothering foods with melted yellow cheese, but they do use it quite a bit. You find quesadillas all over, and white cheese is crumbled on all kinds of dishes.

Against all culinary traditions, Mexicans mix cheese and fish quite well.

The taco stand at the corner of Coahuila and Constitution grills up delicious shrimp and cheese for tacos. They can do it breaded or not.

[Captain Solo]

I am surprised comrade Jackie does not consume a lot of Mexican food. Mexican markets sell may be about 10 different types of cheeses. Mexican tacos is made with only fresh ingredients, no cheese, but quesadillas do have melted white cheese in it, taste like mozarella.

The sea food cart at Bar Gloria serves a shrimp quesadilla, stir-fried shrimp with melted cheese in a soft taco shell. Add cream sauce or salsa as you please. Mexican tacos is made with soft shells while American tacos is made with the crispy corn shell which Mexican call tostada, with ground meats, shredded cheese and sour cream. Got to admit the American tacos taste creamier, better and can be made much quicker with ground meat.

Mexicans serve chopped up seafood, fish, shrimp, octopus and whatever, with salsa on the crispy shell called tostada. One of my wingmen never ate raw seafood, but loves this chopped seafood tostada and consumes large amount each time we are in La Zona. I hate anything chopped or ground up as you don't know what they put in it. I like the shrimp cocteles or shrimp botana, blanched whole shrimp marinated in a vinaigrette with red onion, and hot pepper.

The schoolgirls mariscos cart has fresh seafood. His shrimp cocteles and botanas are probably the freshest and tastiest anywhere, much better than the Mariscos Guerresense cart in Ensenada favored by Anthony Bourdain. A couple Japanese guys living in San Diego would cross the border and buy up his inventory of live clams to take home. The large clams probably cost about $1 a piece in the fish market on calle 6, most time you cannot even find them. He use 4 in a large coctele for 160 pesos so they are not cheap.

[MoreyKid]

BTW, I've not seen cheese in any tacos, but it's common on tortas.

In other parts of Mexico it is very common to order a quesadilla on the street. They are the same as a taco but they grill an open tortilla with cheese before adding the protein. I have yet to see that available in Tijuana.

[Phordphan]

Funny but I don't often see cheese in authentic Mexican food. I wonder if its really an American thing added to Mexican food on our side of the border.

Slathering dishes with cheddar and jack cheeses is definitely an American thing. But, Mexico has some delicious cheeses. Oaxacan cheese is delicious. You can see the girls "spinning" the big balls of cheese, reminiscent of winding up a ball of yarn, in their street vendor shops. Chihuaua cheese is similar. As SMD said, they put cotija on frijoles and such. It's a Michoacan cheese kinda sorta similar to feta. Sometimes they'll use queso fresco. QF is pretty mild, while cotija is much saltier and stronger tasting. Against all culinary traditions, Mexicans mix cheese and fish quite well. But the whole giant burrito / enchilada thing, covered with red sauce and cheese, is for sure a gringo invention.

BTW, I've not seen cheese in any tacos, but it's common on tortas.

[ScatManDoo]

Funny but I don't often see cheese in authentic Mexican food. I wonder if its really an American thing added to Mexican food on our side of the border.

I seem to get a lot of queso blanco served often in Mexican restaurants in Tijuana. When I go into the Sorriano grocery stores I see large quantities and varieties of Mexican brand cheeses they must be selling successfully to Tijuana residents.

A lot of restaurants in Tijuana serve refried beans as a side dish, almost always with a small pinch or two of crumbled white cheese on top (I think that is often called Cotija, and is similar to Parmeson cheese).

Americanized "Mexican Food" in the United States is likely to use cheddar & Monterrey jack cheeses.

I too have noticed that authentic tacos in Mexico do not have cheese, unlike many tacos served in the United States.

[Jackie888]

Does anyone know any good Mexican food places in Tijuana and around Hong Kong area that serves vegetarian food?

I am thinking like veggie burritos. I do not eat dairy like milk or cheese because of lactose intolerance but I do eat occasional seafood so I am not vegan.

Funny but I don't often see cheese in authentic Mexican food. I wonder if its really an American thing added to Mexican food on our side of the border.

[StRobert]

Luvmex.

That fish looks delicious. Have to try it.

The boys probably has a bigger menu than La Perla.

Cheapest place I found that offer fried whole fish for 100 p.

Its located about 20 paces east of McDonalds on the south side of the street.

I went yesterday to this restaurant "The Boys" and ordered chicken teriyaki (tortillas free) and Coca Cola (no beer on the menu) 130 pesos or $ 8. They cook well and it was very good. It looks like local cuisine rather for local customers. I will return there for more.

[StRobert]

Does anyone know any good Mexican food places in Tijuana and around Hong Kong area that serves vegetarian food?

I am thinking like veggie burritos. I do not eat dairy like milk or cheese because of lactose intolerance but I do eat occasional seafood so I am not vegan.

Opposite Hong Kong and Adelita is a small restaurant called if I remember correctly "Sushi One". They serve sushi but also chicken teriyaki you can definitely order rice and vegetables without chicken teriyaki. You can also buy snacks in the "OXXO" mini market opposite Hong Kong.

[OlderMan4U]

There's a taco cart next to La Gloria on the corner of Coahuila and Constitution that does seafood tacos. They grill the shrimp, or can do it batter fried. They usually add cheese, but you can say "no queso por favor". But it sounds like you aren't a hardcore vegetarian so most restaurants there will have some things on the menu. Even Azul, upstairs at the Hong Kong club, could do a veggie pasta or a fish dish. The problem is when vegetarians or vegans need their food prepared in a non-meat kitchen or similar restrictions. What about eggs?

If you can get away from the zona with a short cab or uber ride, you'll find plenty of full vegetarian and vegan restaurants.

Thanks I got to try that food cart. Love me shrimp especially if it's grilled. I don't eat much eggs but occasionally am fine with it.

[KC Questor]

Does anyone know any good Mexican food places in Tijuana and around Hong Kong area that serves vegetarian food?
I am thinking like veggie burritos. I do not eat dairy like milk or cheese because of lactose intolerance but I do eat occasional seafood so I am not vegan.

There's a taco cart next to La Gloria on the corner of Coahuila and Constitution that does seafood tacos. They grill the shrimp, or can do it batter fried. They usually add cheese, but you can say "no queso por favor". But it sounds like you aren't a hardcore vegetarian so most restaurants there will have some things on the menu. Even Azul, upstairs at the Hong Kong club, could do a veggie pasta or a fish dish. The problem is when vegetarians or vegans need their food prepared in a non-meat kitchen or similar restrictions. What about eggs?

If you can get away from the zona with a short cab or uber ride, you'll find plenty of full vegetarian and vegan restaurants.

[Sound7]

Less than $4. Eat oyster.

If medically approved.

Sound7 is right. This street stand has some of the best seafood in Tijuana. I took a few wingmen here. They all like his food:

Shrimp coctele with fresh shrimp, springy and tasty, made with fresh shrimp, not tasteless pre-processed Costco's shrimp.

Various live shellfish, clam, oyster, cockle, en la concha, in coctele or on tostada.

His seafood is fresh; location is cleaner, odorless, well, sometimes you can smell the schoolgirls' fragrance hehe. The other mariscos stand on Ninos Heroes, next to the HK's tacos stand, is filthy, smells horrible of rotten fish, and seafood not fresh.

Another good seafood restaurant is El Choforo on Ninos near the Cathedral, excellent food with prices lower than street stands. I have to try The Boys in the trinket alley.

Raw Osters with lemon. For half dozen plate.

[AlbrechtM]

I love that place, best al pastor. Had it for my first time in Vegas few years ago and I stop there fairly often before crossing the border.

Support, cool place.

[OlderMan4U]

Does anyone know any good Mexican food places in Tijuana and around Hong Kong area that serves vegetarian food?

I am thinking like veggie burritos. I do not eat dairy like milk or cheese because of lactose intolerance but I do eat occasional seafood so I am not vegan.

[Goyo61]

We should do a little get together at El Gordo to swap mongering adventures and such. Anyone up for it? Never been there so would be good to check out.

Goyo.