Monito's Taqueria

Actual Mexican here: Having travelled throughout SE Asia over the years, I have come across more and more Mexican restaurants. One the one hand, it warms my heart that my country is exporting it's food to even more corners of the Earth. On the other hand, every place I have tried is disappointing--with one exception: Monito's in Saigon. This is the real deal if you are looking for authentic Mexican street food. The tortillas are made by hand using imported maseca, the birria is seasoned just right, and the meats are grilled just like back home. To top it off, you can get guac salsa and real Oaxaca cheese! You would be hard pressed to find this level of Mexican food elsewhere in the region.

Some of the best tacos I’ve had in Asia—and I’ve eaten Mexican food in plenty of countries across the region. As someone who always makes it a point to try Mexican food outside the U.S. and Mexico, I can honestly say these tacos are the real deal. Authentic flavors, quality ingredients, and everything done right (tortilla’s are top tier and corn!). If you’re in Ho Chi Minh City and craving proper tacos, this spot is absolutely worth a visit.

It has been so long since I’ve had some genuinely good Mexican food. Not only is this place delicious, it’s also pretty authentic! It tastes as close as you can get to a street taco in Latin America without having to fly across the world. I’m genuinely shocked because I’ve been in Asia for a while now and had honestly given up on finding good Mexican food. Sure enough, it’s tucked away on this busy party street. It’s a small stall though, so seating with a table can be nearly impossible.

I just moved back to Vietnam about 2 months ago and been craving some "real" tacos. I have tried many so-called tacos places in HCM but all were dry, bland and in many instances disgusting versions of tacos. I googled searched tacos and Monitos popped up in the search. Today I decided to go there myself and try them out. They are legit!!! The Al Pastor was cut from a spinning trompo with the perfect char. The birria was shredded perfectly with the added cheese that gave it a good "cheese pull". The consome was delicious when dipped with the tacos. They had many different sauces to choose from so I tried the tomato chili de arbol, habanero asado and the guacamole. The guacamole needed a little more heat but with the fried jalapeño was enough. I would suggest anyone wanting some real good "street tacos" to come here if you crave some delicious tacos 🌮

As a Mexican, I can confirm that the concept is very similar to what you’d find in Mexico. Street tacos usually have very few tables and sometimes you end up eating standing up, but that’s also part of the charm. The quesabirria is well executed: you can really taste the flavors, the meat is well seasoned, and the cheese is delicious. The birria broth they serve on the side is a nice plus. It has good flavor, although in my opinion it felt a bit diluted since it wasn’t as rich or intense as expected. Thinking about it more, their tacos are pricey for the tortilla size (that indeed it's only a bit bigger than normal street tacos tortilla). I’d say the birria option is the best value since you get a quesabirria plus consomé for 90k, which makes it more worth it. But the individual tacos at 50k each feel expensive, more than three times what you’d typically pay in Mexico for each one. But I kinda get it that prices are higher due to imports, etc. They also have a good variety of salsas. I tried one of the spiciest ones (the 3-chili sauce), and it was good spicy to me. One thing that could be improved is the service. I greeted the staff and politely asked if they had birria with consomé (since I know items can run out), and the response I got was simply, “it’s on the menu", it felt a bit dismissive