El Loco, Surry Hills

Let's go loco with a taco !!!

Or maybe 2, 3, 4.....or maybe the whole menu ?
Which was pretty much what we 2 girls ordered the night we visited El Loco.
This Mexican themed eatery, need no further introduction, a much more laid back and casual creation of Dan Hong of Lotus and Ms. G's.

Knowing how crowded this place can be, we decided to grab an early dinner on Sunday evening at 5.00pm - very early dinner :P

Rocked up to the register to place our food and drinks order. Being unsure on how to pronounce the name, I just ordered "the pink slushy drink".

Pink Cuco  $13.50
El Loco's house slushy of El Jimador Tequila, pink grapefruit and lime juices, homemade coriander and raw ginger syrup 

The pink slushy drink is not as girly and harmless as it looked - I can vouch for that !

I will always remember this as the drink that gave me the first over hangover and officially drunk for the very first time too.

It may be harmless for you lots who are expert drinkers but for me this is a killer - no more tequila ever !!

I would have stopped drinking it if it doesn't taste so good - it tasted like ginger ale and I love ginger....if only I can have a mocktail version of it..

Classic Margarita  $13.50
Herradura Blanco Tequila, Cointreau shaken w/ freshly pressed lime juice and organic sugar

Love the decor and furnitures

After a short wait , our first round of tacos arrived !

Tacos - Round 1 

Camaron 
prawn, salsa verde and pico de gallo

The prawns were done well, sweet and crisp with a strong coriander flavour. 

Al Pastor
spit roaster pork, pineapple salsa

The pork was nice, but pretty average.

Mystery Taco 

When we inquire what is the Mystery Taco for the day, we got "it's a mystery, so you'll just have to find out :D".

How can you not order it when you are challenged like that ? The mystery challenge is on dude !!

(Inside I was hoping it's not something too weird and adventurous as Dan Hong has tweeted about).

Thankfully the mystery filling is something safe and we are familiar with ! I may be wrong, but it tasted like falafel with spicy mayo sauce with salsa and lettuce. Quite delicious if I may say so. 

Queso de Soya
chilli marinated tofu, pico de gallo

This turned out to be one of my favourite one of the night, the tofu was dressed with sweet sauce. 

Love tofu....

Stormtrooper gone loco ?

I can see the light.....o_O

Feeling peckish still, we decided to go for another round of tacos and another tequila for my cousin - whilst I sat on the table, ready to pass out anytime soon.

It was winter still when we went and lo and behold, we are seated right under the heater. 

I would usually feel light headed in a heated room, add the drunk factor that nite...boy oh boy.....

Jalapeno Margarita  $13.50
Herradura Reposado Tequila, Cointreau, roasted jalapeno syrup, freshly pressed lime juice, wash of Ilegal Mezcal

Despite already drunk as, I cannot resist the urge to try what does a Jalapeno margarita tasted like - the verdict was that it tasted like cough syrup. 

Pink Cuco still triumphs..*slurp*

Carne Asada
lemongrass beef, salsa verde

The beef was very tender and much more flavourful than the pork to our surprise. The second fave of the night for me.

Pollo
chicken, sweet corn salsa

The chicken was nice too, tender grilled chicken with gingery soy sauce marinade. 

We also got the Special of The Day : Quesadilla with pork, veal and salsa verde.

For the life of me, I have no idea what happened to the photo , did I take it or did I not take it ?

That is the question......

Now the next one....I LOVE !!! 

El Hot Dog   $9.00
grilled pork frankfurt on soft bun w/ pickled jalapeno, pico de gallo, mayonnaise and cheese

Our jaws dropped when this was placed in front of us *o*

All we see was creamy white.....if not for the 2 ends of the dog, we wouldn't have picked it for a hot dog LOL

It sure look damn good to me !! How can an avalanche of mayonnaise and shaved cheese can be wrong - NEVER !!!

Now...do we grab it (if we can find a spot to grab it at) or be posh and ladylike ?

How to eat El Hot Dog - neat way

Call me crazy, but the hotdog tasted like fillet o fish...seriously...it did....

The bun was super soft and I am not complaining on the generous topping - love every single bite of this. A pleasant mix of salty, sour and hot from the Jalapeno. 

El Hot Dog - you made me go loco !!!

We definitely were satisfied after 6 tacos, 1 quesadilla and 1 hotdog.

At $5.00 each for the tacos, that is a very reasonable price and great snack sized meals to have while you are just hanging out with friends over drinks.

p.s. what happen after my drunken adventure here ? 

I got home at 6.30 - crashed till next morning - have the hives all over (thanks to my allergy to alcohol) that last for more than a week that not even anti-histamine tablets can help.

I am proud to say I am now a reformed alcoholic......