Mexi Kai

When I rocked up to the Silo markets, the Mexi Kai food truck caught my eye immediately. After sampling a few other stalls and was getting a bit full I decided I would regret walking away without trying Mexi Kai. However, just when I thought Mexican food in Auckland showed signs of promise, Mexi Kai rudely squashed that dream. I got the Al pastor (pork), Vegetarian, and Barbacoa (beef) tacos. When I ordered them I used the names on the menu (Al pastor, barbacoa etc) to which the woman replied, «Sorry I only know the tacos by ‘pork’ ‘beef’ etc.» This was already after I had to wait at least 5 minutes as the next person in line due to terrible and disorganized order/​food prep execution. Once I had gotten my tacos they were on a angle where all their liquid drained onto the single serviette I was giving, rendering it useless. If the tacos were sensational all the above could be forgiven. However, they were probably the worst tacos I’ve in in NZ to date. Complete lack of seasoning and flavour, water leaching veg, and overcooked yet watery pork. Very rarely do I have such food regret. Finally, they’ve raised the price to $ 14 for 3 tacos and there wasn’t any self serve hot sauce. For as far as we may have come, we still have a long long road to go.

The Mexi Kai truck is usually parked down in a carpark near the Autrium on Elliot and makes for a perfect weekday lunch, especially when the sun is shining and you can sit out on one of the park benches and enjoy a taco or three.
These guys stand out on the Auckland ‘food truck’ scene as actually producing food that is full of flavour and not full of fat.
I had the trio of tacos and mixed up my flavours — one beef, one pulled pork (excellently good) and one chicken. My friend had a pulled pork burrito and that looked sensational as well.
This truck can also be found at local festivals and events around Auckland so even if you don’t work in the city, hunt it down somewhere near you.

One night at the outdoor cinema at Silo Park, I wanted to grab some dinner, so decided to try MexiKai. They describe themselves as «mexican street food with a pacific vibe.»
I got the three tacos for $ 12 and they were really, really good.
On the menu was a beef taco, chicken taco and a vegetarian option (which had a nice dash of spice to it).
I tried the chicken taco which also had pumkin in it, and toasted coconut salad. It was great. I also really like my vegetarian taco — which had mushrooms, cheese, beans, corn and salad; with just the perfect amount of spice to it.
As MexiKai uses a truck that moves around various events (check their website for dates and places) — you can even hire one out for a private event. If you did, I think that would be one fine party.