Ah, the omnipresent Cali-Mex, also the closest thing Hong Kong has to a taco bell, or Chipotle's. The food is uninspired but at average, you won't leave saying "wow, let's take Tommy and Gina to Cali-Mex next time". Tommy and Gina might actually back down.
The choices are standard, pick from Burrito, Salad, Quesadilla or Taco; pick a meat/vegetable, black beans or refried beans and then any other add-ons. The cheapest combo will cost HKD 78 for original chicken/beef, beans or spinach. Then it's HKD 88 for grilled chicken, pulled pork or Barbacoa beef; HKD 98 for Angus steak, fish or shrimp and so on.
I have no qualms about the food actually, I come once a week for lunch because it is convenient, and in Hong Kong you are hard pressed to find a more lean and protein-rich lunch. Cali-Mex food isn't amazing, but you know exactly what you are getting at least. What's annoying is the add-ons. You have to pay extra for guac (+HKD 18), what the ef man. And coke/water is 28 bucks, meaning I am paying the full price of a happy meal to get a bottle of water? At a fast food chain? Does Hong Kong have a water and avocado shortage?
**Following is a rant. You may choose to ignore**
Here is where man fails at logic. In a club I will happily pay 3k for a bottle of champagne, and keep that change you're welcome. But that's in a club, where I am getting table service, in a much nicer environment where I am trying to impress friends, and more likely, I don't care because I am drunk. But zoom back to the sober world of Cali-Mex, where I refuse to pay 30 bucks, or 1% of the price of that champagne, for that bottle of water, which is actually good for me. Why? Because the experience! You are a fast food chain Cali Mex, not a fancy little Italian restaurant - people don't expect to pay a premium for water here! People don't expect to pay extra for guacamole in a (non-hipster) Mexican fast food chain either! Actually, I would be less infuriated if the base price was higher and guacamole was 'included'. It's all in the perception really...
When you see a restaurant open several stores in a short span of time (11 stores in 1.5 years?), it feels like this is more a way to earn a quick buck than to serve quality food. And when you actually go in and see all these margin-boosting add-ons, you realise it is not a mere feeling, but the truth.
But that being said, I'll still be coming back to Cali Mex, because there isn't much alternatives here. Sigh.
God of Cuisine, deliver us from the barren land of Hong Kong that is devoid of Mexican food options.... read more