14 // COASTWEEKEND.COM Coast Weekend’s local restaurant review HONG KONG TACO CART Hong Kong Taco Cart a nifty addition to Astoria Station pod Rating: 1343 Duane St. Astoria, Ore. 97103 707-223-2511 Hours: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday, Monday, Thursday; 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday; closed Tuesday and Wednesday. Price: $ — Tacos are pricey, petite Service: Take-out Drinks: Bottled water, soda Review and photos by THE MOUTH OF THE COLUMBIA MOUTH@COASTWEEKEND.COM FACEBOOK.COM/MOUTHOFTHECOLUMBIA A port city whose century and a half as a British colony ended in the late 1990s, Hong Kong is one of the world’s great cultural melting pots. And when considering Hong Kong Taco Cart, the latest addition to the burgeoning Astoria Station pod at Duane and 13th streets, it’s helpful to remember the history of its namesake as a global trading nexus. Because at Hong Kong Taco Cart you’ll find a whole lot more Bubble Waffle Sundae than just Chinese favorites — details let’s talk about the delivery. like Peking duck — wrapped in Hong Kong Taco Cart offers tortillas. India (another longtime British three verticals: bulgogi beef, chick- colony) is equally represented with en tikka masala and a vegetarian deep, creamy curries; Korea, with korma curry. Each is available in sinewy bulgogi beef; and Vietnam, the following vehicle: as a street- with slurpy, warming pho. style taco; wrapped in a big flower Like the city, Hong Kong Taco tortilla as a burrito; or in a bowl Truck is a cultur- with rice. Each al mash-up. has its quirks. And to be For the price, LIKE THE CITY, sure, dear reader, the tacos ($4 HONG KONG these regional each; two for $7) specialties are are on the petite TACO TRUCK rarities in the side. The bowls IS A CULTURAL Columbia-Pa- ($9) are pure, but MASH-UP. cific. I can think might also leave of nowhere else you wanting. The doing bulgogi burritos ($9) will beef (which is fill you up but marinated in soy sauce with sugar, with carbs, dulling the flavor. garlic, sesame and more), and only In other words: Find your sweet one (Seaside’s Saigon Deli) doing spot. For me, it’s probably the pho. (Saigon Deli does it pretty tikka masala chicken, served in a well, by the way.) bowl. But it was the curries I think The yogurt-based tikka masala of most fondly after my visits to is deep and milky, rich but still Hong Kong Taco Cart. The pho left relatively lean. In a bowl it comes me a little blank. on a bed of cabbage with helpings But before we dive into the of korma and turmeric rice. It’s KEY TO STAR RATING SYSTEM Poor Below average Worth returning Very good Excellent, best in region Chicken tikka masala rice bowl Peking Duck Tacos an enticingly colorful dish of soft orange (tikka), green (korma) and yellow (rice). Should you forgo the sour cream, the korma is a vegan de- light, rich and fatty with coconut milk. It could, however, use a few more substantial hunks of veggies. The bulgogi beef’s texture was as satisfying, if not more so, than the marinade, which includes sweet Asian pear. I had the bulgogi tacos. With bean sprouts and cab- bage they were crisp, cooling and snack-sized. The bulgogi beef is also featured in the pho, and it’s the soup’s best feature. The broth is unadorned, underwhelmingly basic. (You can also get the pho as a burrito — the Phorrito — if the rice noodles alone won’t satisfy your starch needs.) Then there are the Peking Duck Tacos (three for $12), a neat spe- cialty that doesn’t quite squelch my desire for the real thing. Edged by fatty, slightly crisp skin, the thick, supple duck breast medallions are stuffed into pillowy bao buns alongside cucumber, then drizzled with hoisin sauce and sprinkled with green onions. They’re good, not great. Which is how I felt about most everything I tried at Hong Kong Taco Cart: nifty and worthwhile, if short of sublime. (For something downright irresistible — and way less healthy — try the luscious, gooey pork sandwiches from Hong Kong Taco Cart owners Abbie and Dan Rhoads’ neighboring truck, Hot Box BBQ.) I have a feeling, however, that a lot of folks are going to find favorable lanes at Hong Kong Taco Cart that they keep coming back to. Again: These worldly flavors are woefully rare in this neck of the woods. Which makes Hong Kong Taco Cart a constructive addition to an already vibrant food cart pod and patio scene — best enjoyed with a beer from Reach Break or Reveille Ciderworks cider, of course. CW