Keep on Truckin': InfraRouge Takes Over Former Bao House Food Truck in TKL North
There are a lot of things to like about Beijing's F&B scene but one thing I've always felt it needs more of is food trucks (jianbing carts notwithstanding). Having just returned from a trip to Portland, where every parking lot seems to have a food truck camped in it, the desire for portable snacks served out of the side of a van become even stronger. Luckily for me (and the probable handful of people who feel the same way), InfraRouge has taken over the former Bao House food truck in Taikooli North for the month of April.
The snacks InfraRouge will be serving are a step above the usual casual food truck fare, amounting to an extension of the neighboring brick and mortar restaurant's French fine dining menu. The snacks on offer include octopus salad (RMB 38), a mini burger (RMB 48), truffle risotto (RMB 38), and braised beef short rib with foie gras (RMB 48 - I've got my eye on that one in particular). Wash those down with beers from Boxing Cat and Goose Island for just RMB 28.
If you're thinking that the prices are quite low for Taikooli North (or, indeed, for InfraRouge) then you're right - you'd struggle to get a bottled craft beef for RMB 28 in many places around town. Of course, that's one of the advantages of the food truck: low overheads. The portions of those aforementioned snacks look quite small, too, but then this isn't the kind of place you're coming for a full meal.
The Bao House truck has hosted a number of different pop-ups over the years, including Asian bao buns and a pet-friendly bar, but none have really caught on with the fervor that food trucks inspire in other places. In any case, InfraRouge's pop-up will be open every day from noon to 8pm for the rest of April. There's no better excuse to kick back with a cold drink and some tasty snacks, and enjoy the first days of summer.
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Photos courtesy of InfraRouge/Wang Dongmei