Five Tacos to Tide You Over Until Taco Bell Hits China

Get ready China to run for the border and Chalupa yourself crazy as Yum! Brands' Taco Bell makes its triumphant return to our diverse fast food scene. The first outlet is due to open in China by the end of 2016.

Unfortunately the first location is set for Shanghai (damn you Shanghai!), so we will have to remain patient while we wait for their sometimes delicious (depending on hunger levels and blood alcohol content) tacos, burritos, and other strange specialties only a seasoned fast food junky could love to hit the hutongs, perhaps in about a year’s time.

This isn't Yum! Brands' (the company responsible for 7,000 KFCs and Pizza Huts in China) first stab at getting Taco Bell to stick in China – they first gave their version of Mexican food a go in Shenzhen and Shanghai back in 2003 with a full service restaurant that they called Taco Bell Grande. These were more like a Tex-Mex version of a sit-down Pizza Hut, and not as fast food oriented as the chains you commonly encounter in America. These all shut down by 2008, leaving a gordita-sized void in the hearts and stomachs of Chinese citizens ever since.

Since then, Mexican food has gained a lot more acceptance in places like Beijing and Shanghai, and we think Taco Bell has a better chance at survival this time around. Restaurants like Q Mex and Taco Bar have done their upmost to pave the way for tacos and burritos to become staples of the adventurous urban Chinese foodies' diet. Who knows, maybe soon we will also get a Del Taco or even better, a Chipotle. We can dream, can’t we?

Until then, we can only imagine what kind of delicious weirdness will appear on the menu to make it more accommodating to Chinese tastebuds. Jianbing with a taco shell and melted queso on the inside seems about right. Anyways, we are totally excited to soon be able to partake in the very bastardized version of Mexican food that Taco Bell is known for. We hope they will take some futuristic interior design cues from the Taco Bells in Demolition Man (see above), as there is no doubt in our minds that this food chain will be a huge contender in the franchise wars of 2017.

In the mean time, there's plenty of tacos to partake in across our fair city this very minute. Here are but a few of our faves:

The Taco Bar

Winner of this year's Reader Restaurant Award for Best Mexican, The Taco Bar is intimate, trendy and tasty ... but good luck getting a seat at dinner time. The good news is they've got a daily special pretty much every day from 5-7pm in which boozers get a free taco with the purchase of any drink.

Más

Those of us sober to remember how delicious Más' tacos are tell us that they come in three varieties: carnitas, fish, and chicken. They have long been the Beixinqiao favorite for their savory taste and generous for the price helpings. You're gonna want to turn up on Wednesdays for their 30 percent off promotion.

Q Mex

With a kitchen headed by Mexican-American Marcus Medina and a hard shell taco recipe that comes straight from his mom, it's hard to find a more authentic taco in the city. Readers also chose Q Mex as an Outstanding Mexican choice in the 2016 Reader Restaurant Awards. Best news yet: there's more tacos on the way with the venue's April menu revamp, including new al carbon versions of several of their favorites.

Plan B

Those that dare venture south of China World know where the best tacos are to be found: Shuangjing watering hole Plan B, which offers a Fish Taco that's worth going out of your way for. On Fish Taco Tuesdays you can score two awesome fish tacos and a side of chips and salsa for a hard-to-beat RMB 40.

Palms L.A. Kitchen and Bar

Beijing's own take on the Korean/Mexican fusion that kicked off a few years back in California. Fancy a taco packed with kimchi and other exotic Korean flavors? Palms is your spot. The Mexican half of their pedigree was enough to earn them an Outstanding Mexican award in our 2016 Reader Restaurant Awards.

Written by Kipp Whittaker