I was honoured to once again be asked to be one of the judges for this year’s annual Vancouver Foodster Taco Challenge. A competition that has restaurants submitting their tacos for scrutiny, to see which one reigns supreme. As a judge, it was my pleasure to try them all and score them based on taste, presentation, and originality. For those wanting to participate, you too can try them all and vote for your favourite as people’s choice winner for 2025. The competition runs from May 1st to the 25th.
The following are the four restaurants participating, their tacos, in the order I visited them.
Miso Taco was the only competitor to create an original taco for the competition. This is the Cochinita Shoyu Tacos with corn tortilla, pork cochinita with soy sauce base, crispy shallots, chard habanero and mango dressing, fujisenzuke pickles, and toasted sesame seeds.
I actually got two servings of this, the first was so salty that I could not muster more than two bites. We ended up informing the staff and the chef was able to make a new order from scratch. It turns out the meat was prepared at the other location, and there was a problem with the batch.
The second batch was far less salty and runny, I had to squeeze and drain the last ones. Here, you could actually make out the seasoning of the pork, and there was a lot of it. A little bland, I could have used a syrupy-like sauce to coat the meat. Either a crispy slaw or a creamy dressing would have also been nice to balance things out. There was no freshness in this, the pickle was too competitive, and better served as a pallet cleanser.
I appreciated their creativity, but did not find it cohesive. With each order of tacos, you have the option of side sauce. I went for the avocado one, and found it a great help to this and a necessary addition to resolve my concerns over the above.
The Vancouver Aquarium was competing with their Tempura Seafood Taco. Tempura Pacific Cod and Halibut in a warm flour tortilla with spicy slaw and crispy pickled ginger. I remembered judging a similar taco last year, and that they had won. Therefore, it would have been nice to get something more adventurous from them this year.
Comparatively, there was only one type of fish and a lot more pickled ginger then, and the ginger was not deep fried like it was today. I did like how crispy it made things with the extra frying. Although, as a result, it was less eye-catching as a mound of brown-ish yellow today.
As for the way it tasted there was a good mix of textures, lots of fish, but I would have liked more of the cream on the side to dip into. After the top pieces are eaten you don’t get any more at the bottom, thus making the subsequent bites bland. Similarly, more ginger on this side would have been nice as well. I wanted some in every bite, as the most exciting part of the taco. And/or a sour hot sauce for acidity and tang.
Salsa and Guacamole in Surrey was competing with their Birria Tacos aka Quesabirrias, an already popular item on their regular menu. Slow-braised beef in a golden corn tortilla, sandwiched alongside melted cheese and a served with a consommé for dunking.
These were the best Birria Tacos I have had to date. Each taco densely packed with saucy meat, where I have had others too dry and in much need of the broth. Here, each bite was juicy and cheesy. The addition of their creamy hot sauce really sealed the deal for me, offering the tang I am always looking for. And the broth so tasty that I drank what remained like soup.
Also in Surrey is the new Those Indian Guys, a modern new Indian street food restaurant, opened two months ago in the South Surrey/White Rock area. They were competing with their popular Masala-Fish Tacos. Marinated basa fish tikka prepared in a tandoori oven, and not fried. Tossed in Indian spices and herbs and wrapped in a home-made parantha taco with lime slaw, guacamole, and their signature mint chutney.
This was Indian cuisine in a Mexican format, and other than the shape, not something I would classify as a taco. Stuffed full these were three hearty wraps. Bold in flavour, the flat bread base and the fresh julienned vegetable slaw did well to cut into all the otherwise overwhelming spice coating of the fish. If you didn’t read it, you couldn’t tell this was fish. The avocado was of good help, adding some additional moisture for an enjoyable creamier mouthful. I liked the flavour of the mint chutney, but thought it would have made a better crema, for the same reason as the avocado above. This is a dish you needed to have with a drink, to be able to cleanse the palate in between bites, to be able to go back for more.
Yin have until May 25th to try all these taco above an and vote for your favourite for the people’s choice. Stay tuned to the Vancouver Foodster’s website to see who is declared the winner.
