As the story goes,
the two men had cook-off at Circles NoLibs, with dining guests rating each dish
in a six-course meal. They had to use a
mix of Thai & Mexican ingredients and guests were not told who prepared which
dish. Rincon was pronounced the winner
and named executive chef of Tuk Tuk Real, and the menu reflects his
influence. It very much leans toward the
Mexican side - nachos, tacos, sopes, quesadillas, and burritos, but with a Thai twist to each. Think chile lamb mole, chipotle curry shrimp,
lemongrass carnitas, and lamb massaman
nachos.
Salsa verde &
chile de'arbol sauce with homemade chips are served straight away. Based on the picture above, you could be at
pretty much any Mexican restaurant in Philly.
Things quickly take a turn though.
We got a plate of
the lamb massaman nachos. Homemade nachos piled high with slowly cooked
massaman spiced lamb, melted cheese, pickled red onions, cilantro and Mexican
crema. At first thought Mexican & Thai would seem strange bedfellows, but
all the limes, cilantro, fresh veggies & hot chilis present in both
cuisines make this an intriguing and sultry relationship.
Chorizo Tamales -
the specialty of the day. Beautifully steamed with a perfect texture, fork
tender chunks of chorizo sausage tucked inside like a little present. These
were excellent and could hold their own with any at the taquerias in South
Philly.
An assortment of
sides for nibbling. Some refried beans,
fried plantains and black beans going clockwise from top-left. The plantains were crisp on the outside and
tender inside. The deeply flavored beans reflect the care and expertise of Chef
Rincon. A bonus at Tuk Tuk Real, like
the Circles restaurants, is that they are BYO. So your meal just got that much
cheaper.
The list of tacos
here is impressive. From the al pastor
standby, to confit pork belly with kimchi and everything in between. I went for a plate of the pork kaprow tacos - roasted pork, salsa verde, pickled onion,
and bits of fried basil scattered on top.
The pork is braised to a lovely crispness and intoxicating aroma. The
pickled onion cuts through the succulent meat and the fried basil adds a
dimension of brightness, taking the usual place of cilantro. I absolutely loved
these.
I do think they
could use some polish and refinement on the concept and execution. There's too
many dishes that are just standard takes on Mexican dishes. I can get beef tongue tacos at Taco Riendo or
an al pastor burrito at Los Taquitos de Puebla. So I don’t really see the point
in just doing standards like quesadillas and fajitas, unless they are executed
impeccably. A few dishes were a bit dreary; fish tacos were under-fried and
soggy, the nachos could use a better distribution of toppings on the layers
underneath, and the salsas were a bit flat and lacked any real heat.
That being said,
there's a lot to like on this evolving menu. The Thai/Mexican fusion thing is
surprisingly appealing and doesn't feel like a gimmick. Although the restaurant was fairly empty on
Wednesday night in December, they seemed to be doing a brisk takeout business,
which seemed encouraging. Looking forward to some return trips to see what
twists and turns the menu takes on the road from Mexico to Thailand.
Food Baby
Rating: Twins!
Tuk Tuk Real
429 South Street
Philadelphia, PA
19147
267-639-2396
