Cali By Night Part 3: Taco Trucks On The Street

If someone asked me, what reminds me the most about Vietnam? I will immediately answer that it is the sidewalk restaurant in the evening. When I was in Vietnam, I had to go to after-school classes outside of school hours. In fact, after-school classes have become indispensable to every Vietnamese student while still in school. Those classes take up the majority of a student's day. My after-school classes schedule is usually quite hectic—almost every day. If the main time at school is in the morning, the afternoon will be for after-school classes. And vice versa, if the afternoon is the main study, the morning is the after-school class. I liked to study mainly in the morning and take extra classes in the afternoon because I was a person who liked to take a nap. I can teach early in the morning to go to school, but if I couldn’t sleep at noon, I couldn’t concentrate all afternoon until evening. When I think about it now, I get goosebumps when I went to full-time after-school classes for a whole week and don’t understand what an invisible power back then had helped me overcome such stressful after-school classes. Imagine taking after-school classes to the point where you can only see your mother at 9 p.m. when you get home. That is enough to understand how terrible it was.

Because my after-school classes often ended in the evening, that was also an excuse for me to experience street food. There were days when my mother didn't want to cook, so when she picked me up from school, we stopped at a restaurant on the sidewalk and finished the meal. The big buffet on the street with a full variety of Vietnamese cuisine has been a part of my memory ever since. Not too fussy in decorating, not exploiting your pocket, not difficult to enjoy. Even those dishes can help you experience cuisines from different regions in Vietnam without going far. Vietnamese people have long been accustomed to a normal and easy lifestyle, which partly explains why famous restaurant chains in foreign countries cannot compete with street restaurants in Vietnam. In Vietnam, when you step out of the house, you will encounter a certain restaurant outside your alley or on a busy street. You don't have to go far to eat a dish you've been craving. When I came to Cali, the familiarity every evening with the sidewalk shops was gone, it now only exists in my mind as a beautiful memory that I will never forget. Only when I returned to Vietnam to play can I relive that atmosphere.

My favorite taco truck.

If the street food makes up the uniqueness of Vietnam every evening, the taco trucks are the interesting highlight that makes the taste of Cali night. Mexican cuisine always attracts me whenever I crave it. Their food is very diverse, from how it is prepared to how it is cooked, from the unmistakable Mexican flavors to how it is eaten, which has become a new part of my life. When I started working for my family at the flea market, we came home that night and ate tacos. I just came to the US with wet feet, so I need to find out what taco is. There was a truck in the street that I often see in American movies, especially the movie Chef by director Jon Favreau, the man behind the success of Iron Man. I also noticed those cars parked at a certain street corner every evening and a long line of hungry diners, mostly Mexicans, waiting for their turn to order. In front of me was a food truck, and several people lined up ahead of me. Next to it were two or three tables laid out with a few people enjoying the so-called taco and a few other Mexican dishes. The smell emanating from that food truck made my mouth water. Don't say you're hungry; even if you're full, you'll want to. When it was our turn, I looked through the menu and couldn't understand what was written because it was all Mexican. But I was surprised to see my uncle masterfully ordering. The cashier quickly wrote what my uncle had ordered on the piece of paper and then took the calculator to calculate the money. I stood next to him and couldn't hear. After a while, our order was ready. Hot tacos are placed on paper plates, wrapped in plastic film, stacked in black bags, and accompanied by cups of sauce and lemon to serve. When I opened those plates, the aroma of meat plus the grilled onion stimulated my appetite. I took a taco, then chan salsa and a squeeze of lemon, and took a bite. Alas, the delicious taste of the meat is well marinated to suit the taste of the eater, the crunchiness of the tacos when it has been grilled on the stove, the spicy taste of salsa, and the sour taste of lemon. It all came together in my mouth, awakening a new taste for Mexican cuisine. The taco trucks began my later culinary experiences with Mexican food. I came to know burrito, churro, chimichanga, tamale, quesadillas, margarita, or pina colada. Later, when I got used to Mexican food, I considered myself adept at ordering tacos.

Mexicans are like Vietnamese people. They also like street food, don’t ask for a dish that is too picky, and are easygoing and friendly. Many people say Mexicans are violent, irritable, lazy, and dirty. I’m afraid I have to disagree at all. It's impossible to gather all the Mexicans and call them that. In a society, there are people and people. Good people, bad guys, and scoundrels. All ingredients are available. I also have many Mexican friends that I have known since high school or my colleagues at work. They, like me, are curious to learn about each other's cultures. The aunties in the Mexican supermarkets are very welcoming. Whenever I shop at the checkout counter, I usually greet them and ask them in Mexican. Those aunties smiled at me and said a bunch of Mexicans that I hadn't learned yet. They knew I wanted to be friendly with them, so they told me, “You speak Spanish well!” The ease and ease of being around made me feel more in love with those Mexicans. They are mainly like the Vietnamese who settled in the United States. They also crossed the border, fought for equal rights, and worked hard on American farms. Since then, they have affirmed their position and importance in the US. The Vietnamese people who came later were the same. So why hate them so? Taco trucks have created beauty for the evening of Cali. I'm lucky to live in a city where most people are Mexican, so finding a taco truck to change the wind when bored at home is easy.

For Vietnamese food, I always have certain restaurants, meaning I go there to eat when I want to eat a certain Vietnamese dish. As for Mexican food, I always look for different taco trucks to eat. In the city I live in, but sometimes outside the city. It would be a big shortcoming if the taco trucks suddenly disappeared one day on the streets at night. Like many other street eateries in Vietnam, taco trucks have already begun to reside in my subconscious. Although I’ve never stepped foot in stores like Chipotle, Taco Bell, or Del Taco, I'm sure it's not authentic Mexican food. Those cars bring the quintessence and soul of Mexican cuisine to foreign lands. They have brought their homeland and culture with them and introduced them to friends everywhere. They are also proud of their roots. Go down the street, find taco trucks, and enjoy Mexican food. Those very friendly salespeople will tell you what to eat if you visit them for the first time. They let you use the sauce to accompany the dishes or ask for more lemons, onions, and cilantro. All free.