Chinese food and Mexican tacos, would you consider a China-Mex fusion? don’t think so… well, Pato Manila has and I should say, quite successfully. Pato Manila brings the Peking duck flavors to the streets of Mexico City. Adriana Segura and Edgardo Ganado Kim, owners of the restaurant try to resemble the rice crepes with duck that are served in Beijing, with the dishes they offer at Pato Manila. They came up with this foodie spot where they mix Asian and Mexican ingredients, offering guests an amazing gastronomical experience.
The tiny restaurant has room for no more than 20 people. I recommend getting there early to avoid crowds and a long wait time, especially between 2-3 pm. The restaurant serves four different dishes, yes that’s it. I recommend you try a few so you can get a better sense of the flavors. As an appetizer you can get either the duck wontons or the vegetable spring rolls (with or without duck)
For main course you have two taco options. The Kim tacos served on flour tortillas with duck, green onion, cucumber and a spicy Asian sauce. If you prefer Mexican ingredients you can go for the tacos Manila, which come in corn tortillas with coriander and black beans. Kim tacos come in orders of two while Manila tacos come with four tacos per order. All the dishes can be accompanied with the signature sauces which include Tamarind, Hibiscus, Thai and Spicy. The sauces are so good that I smeared all four of them in my tacos, they add a touch of flavor to the tacos making them even more fantastic.
The small restaurant is extremely casual, it’s the kind of spot where you go for the food not for the place itself. Believe me the food is outstanding, I had never tried such duck tacos. The idea of using local ingredients with Asian flavor make them extremely unique and a favorite amongst Mexicans. Locals love this food spot, when I tried the restaurant we where the only first- timers in, I could sense that locals love the dishes they serve and go back to the restaurant very often. The restaurant just celebrated their first anniversary and has become a hot spot for people who live and work in the Condesa neighborhood in Mexico City.
