don’t you just love pronouncing these mexican food-names? haha.
an ol colleague of mine kak marliza from my days as a mag editor dropped by dubai last few weeks and we met for dinner at this mexican restaurant ‘el chico’ at the walk, JBR (jumeirah beach residence). it’s opposite the ‘bo house café’, and next to the movenpick hotel.
(at that time, mr. khairul was on a business trip back to – malaysia! uhuk uhuk. *jealous, but c ‘est la vie!*)
from its official website, this mexican restaurant ‘el chico’ claims that it has been around since 1940 – so I was expecting good spicy mexican food comin my way that night!
me with kak marliza – another take-photo-of-food kinda foodie! kak marliza is just one cool chick to hang out with, and I was just excited to have an adult conversation for a change hihi. (no offence, boys!)
like chilli’s, TGIF and many other food outlets, el chico too provides their young customers the ‘kids’ menu’ complete with drawings, coloring and other fun activities to do on paper. as a mom, this is just perfect. I don’t need no ipad to get the kids occupied!
we took the seats outside, as the dubai summer heat has already subsided, and the weather was just nice and windy. I love the round stone-tables – especially the sunflower design. so pretty!
after we made our order, we got a complimentary bowl of corn chips with salsa dip (tomato-based spicy mexican dip). crunchy!
kak marliza with her ice-lemon tea and sugar syrup, and for my boys just the mineral water. we’re given chilled glasses. cool! literally!
kak marliza the awesome foodie. I enjoy stalking her facebook for marvelous photos of food she tried during her trips all over middle east!
kak marliza had the seafood platter (because she’s tired of chicken and meat! haha) this generous plate of seafood galore consists of prawn, calamari and fish. judging from the empty plate afterwards, I’m guessing kak marliza enjoyed the dish!
my adventurous choice : the el rancho
I had this mexican party of a plate called ‘el rancho’. being a NON-adventurous foodie, I have no idea what got into me to make me pick such a WILD dish. yes, to me this is already wild haha coz it has like 2-3 items that I’ve never tried before!
it’s grilled chicken breast on a bed of onion and green peppers, topped with *pico de gallo, a beef *burrito sonora with sour cream sauce, and cheese *enchilada. I got *mexican rice and *refried beans as side dishes.
there’s so many stuff going on on this plate. some are really tasty, some are surprisingly good and a few are just disappointing. for a dish that originates from the rich taste of mexican food, the mexican rice falls flat. it’s really just tasteless. the grilled chicken, while well-done, is a tad too dry for my taste. tasty, but too dry.
this is my first try on the refried beans, and it tastes funny, but I kinda like it. my favorite are the beef burrito, (the one covered with white sour cream sauce) and cheese enchilada. the filling surprisingly did not get the burrito too soggy – it went perfectly well together – the texture, the taste – I should’ve just ordered a burrito dish.
next time!
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ok, wanna brush up on your mexican-food vocabulary? the one marked with * is in my dish.
| *pico de gallo | also called salsa fresca or salsa mexicana is a fresh, uncooked condiment made from chopped tomato, white onion, and chilis, among others |
| *burrito | consists of a wheat flour tortilla wrapped or folded into a roughly cylindrical shape to completely enclose a filling. (in contrast, a taco is generally formed by simply folding a tortilla in half around a filling, leaving the semicircular perimeter open.) |
| *enchilada | a corn tortilla rolled around a filling and covered with a chili pepper sauce. enchiladas can be filled with a variety of ingredients, including meat, cheese, beans, potatoes, vegetables, seafood or combinations. |
| empanada | a stuffed bread or pastry baked or fried – macam karipap kita! |
| quesadilla | a flour tortilla or a corn tortilla filled with a savoury mixture containing cheese and other ingredients, then folded in half to form a half-moon shape |
| fajita chimichanga | any grilled meat + deep-fried burrito |
| tortilla | flatbread, macam capati |
| tamale | a traditional mexican dish made of a kind of starchy dough, which is steamed or boiled in a leaf wrapper. the wrapping is discarded before eating. tamales can be filled with meats, cheeses, vegetables, or chilies |
| guacamole | an avocado-based condiment that originated with the aztecs in mexico |
| *refried beans | (in spanish: frijoles refritos) is a dish of cooked and mashed beans and is a traditional staple of mexican and tex-mex cuisine |
..and this LIST is why it took me more than half an hour to decide on what to eat. the menu of el chico is extensive – so many to choose from, that you just don’t know how to choose!
the boys had mac and cheese. senang cerita!
* * *
I thank kak marliza for some of the shots, and this particular one. this is a small part of ‘the walk’ that extends to strings of cafes, restaurants and a few boutiques. one of my favorite places to be in dubai. on one side are the makan places, and on the other side is the ocean!
Mexican cuisine food is the world wide food.this food are very testy.
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