Mexican Combination Plate
I went 3.5 years without Mexican food, apart from that Sri Lankan chorizo.
So when I returned to the States for a quick visit, Mexican food was one cuisine that my stomach was begging me for. Phoenix, Arizona, is where is satisfied myself.
There are random restaurants serving semi-authentic Mexican food in Asia, but I just nearly always chose to stick with local Thai street food and not disappoint myself with Mexican food in Asia.
Carne Asada Burrito with Rice and Beans
Above is a messy take out foam container filled with a carne asada burrito drenched in enchilada sauce with rice and beans on the inside and on the outside!
It was astonishingly amazing, each bite was a shocking jolt of Mexican food power that I hadn’t experienced in so long.
Beef, Beans, and Salsa
There’s a little restaurant in Tempe, Arizona known as El Pollo Supremo – or The Supreme Chicken. The restaurant has a very simple menu that includes, chicken (sold by the bird), beef, beans, rice, salsa, pickled onions and tortillas — that’s it!
It’s the real deal – pure Sonoran food cooked by expert Mexican street chefs. Even though the restaurant is known for their chicken, the beef was equally satisfying.
Mexican Grilled Chicken
It almost resembled tandoori chicken from the outside, but it was fully Mexican in taste and ferociously delicious. Each hunk of chicken was moist and flaky – perfect when stuffed into a tortilla and smothered in homemade salsa.
Huevos Rancheros - Heartwarming Mexican Breakfast!
I was able to spend some time with a few of my best friends (who are from Mexico) and I had the privilege of dining on a few flawless plates of huevos rancheros for breakfast.
This is the way to start your day off well!
One of my all-time favorite pieces of meat!
But… just before breakfast – we chomped on this pre-breakfast snack.
Can you guess what it is? (Hint: It’s called “lengua” in Spanish)
The greasy chunk of pure flaky meat was absolutely stunning. The meat was so tender and so flavorful that I had to close my eyes to savor the moment with every single bite. Normally I enjoy lengua tacos, but I won’t complain when faced with an in-tact hunk.
Mexican tortilla chips!
I’ve had random bags of chips throughout the world. Sichuan peppercorn Lays in China, tom yum goong chips in Thailand and just about every meaty salty flavor you can imagine. But I have to give the golden chip award to Mexico.
Seasoned with Mexican spices and doctored up with chili sauce and a squeeze of lime juice, Mexican Tostitos and Doritos are the absolute BEST!
A masterful bean burro
Sometimes all you need is a simple bean burrito. Salty refried beans, lots of cheese, and hot sauce wrapped in a tortilla is a perfect hand held treat!
Yup, just drooled on my keyboard
I totally hear you on the no good Mexican food in Asia!
Unfortunately, I was not as wise and tried a couple restaurants in Tokyo and was indeed, quite disappointed.
These photos will have to tide me over for now!
Haha, thanks for sharing Erica! Hope you are able to located some good quality Mexican food soon!
mark: MARK!!! you will not like me when I am hungry * hulk voice*
sully86 recently posted..don’t be antisocial
Ha!
These food shots are so good!! Something like this can only be taken by a photography in love with the subject…
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Thank you Naomi!
Even though I am so excited to experience all the wonderful street food of Asia, I think the one thing I will miss most about Nashville is the myriad of wonderful Mexican food options. Coming from Canada, I had never tasted authentic Mexican, so I am truly sad to say goodbye to it!
And I agree, lengua is the best! But if you get the chance to try a “taco de tripa” I urge you to try it. The crispiness of the tripe is maybe the one thing that can rival the unctuousness of tongue.
Steph (@ 20 Years Hence) recently posted..Book Review: The Good Girl’s Guide to Getting Lost by Rachel Friedman
Awesome to hear that Steph – I don’t think I’ve ever had a taco de tripa but it sounds wonderful and I’d love to try it. Yes, Asia has just about everything apart from really good Mexican food…
Thanks for the warning…you were right
Annette | Bucket List Journey recently posted..A Spin on the London Eye
Ha, thanks for taking a look Annette!
Still in Phoenix? I’ll be back in a few days.
Hey man, too bad I’m not there anymore… I got back to Thailand. Where are you living these days?
That all looks so good, I really miss good Mexican food. I basically grew up on the stuff. Now that I live in Thailand it is pretty much impossible to find decent, much less good, Mexican food. I’m gonna go cry now over a bowl of Thai noodles.
Lawrence Michaels recently posted..Top Ten Phuket Beaches
Haha, yah, I haven’t found much good Mexican food in Asia or in Thailand and now I’m just plain scared to ever try any Mexican restaurant. Eating more delicious Thai food is the way to face our sorrows!
Are burritos Mexican?
I have seen burras which are similar but never a burrito.
I love all your posts anyway, just teasing on the tex-mex.
Ayngelina recently posted..Food Friday: How to make poke
According to what I have heard from my Mexican friends, burritos do have origins in Mexico. The information found in Wikipedia seems to approve this. Now, the monster burritos we have in the United States (full of many ingredients) seem to have origins in San Francisco’s Mission District.
Ruth of Tanama Tales recently posted..Concepcion de Ataco, El Salvador
Thanks for sharing Ruth!
I think the burrito pictuered is a little Americanised, but in the north of Mexico they do eat burros – they’re just normally a lot smaller and mostly filled just with meat – no rice or beans…! Tex Mex has largely increased the size of burrito!!
I cant wait to try this food..Sounds like good to eat and delicious..
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Yes, Jared, very good and delicious!
Besides Thailand and India, Mexico is a country I’d like to revisit just for the food! Sigh, no Mexican restos where I am now… Not one
gayE @ pinaytraveljunkie recently posted..280 RTW Days… And Why We’re Home So Soon.
Awesome to hear that GayE! Mexican food really is one of the world’s greatest.
OK so I had to click on this one to see if you could make my mouth water. You see, I don’t like Mexican food. I eat it at times but never choose it. If I didn’t eat it all year I would be OK with that. However, I was curious to see if you could make any of this look good. And yes, the chicken, beef and beans, and lengua looked pretty good.
Jeremy Branham recently posted..A northern California hiking guide and photo essay
Haha, thanks this comment Jeremy and glad some of the things looked good despite your dislike of Mexican food!
Clicking this post while I am hungry with no food in sight is a big mistake
Will go to a nearby Mexican restaurant later for lunch hehe
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Haha, thanks for checking it out, and hope you found some good Mexican food too!
Is the lengua dish really what I think it is (based on the literal meaning) or just another cut of lean meat? it looks delicious either way!
Yup, really the tongue, it’s really tender and delicious!
Regarding lack of available Mexican food in Bangkok:
There used to be a decent Mexican restaurant with Mexican owner right on Sukhumvit… between Asoke and Phrom Pong. They have now relocated to Sukhumvit Soi 18, at the very end of the soi (dead end), last shop on the left side.
When they first opened it was good… bright flavors, not heavy, quite balanced, really nice homemade hot sauce (red, green, and orange). However on more recent visits it had deteriorated immensely. It’s not so BAD… but it’s not special like before. I think the cooking has been delegated to some local cooks with minimal training.
They used to make a simple cheese quesadilla into something amazing… strong flavorful cheese, seemingly homemade totrtillas. I suppose Quesadillas may be more “Tex-Mex” than Mexican… but there were also quite a lot of authentic items on the old menu. But the point it, these were prepared perfectly. Now, unfortunately, they are cooked on too low of a heat… the tortilla doesn’t get golden/charred properly and the cheese is not melted enough… not cooked enough. It’s sort of slowly boiled on the grill. The SAME problem you often find when steak is cooked incorrectly in Thailand.
Have you tried this place? I have not been in a while, but if they would get back to their old standards it would be great.
Hey Chris, thanks so much for sharing. No, never been to the place you’re describing. Sounds like it at least was worth a visit previously, and has potential to make good Mexican food. I’ll ask around to see if anyone has been there lately. Thanks for the information!
I live in Spain and while you might think we’d have tasty Mexican food in Barcelona, not so. There are Mexican eateries here but very few live up to real Mexi cuisine or the Tex-Mex I love to nosh back in the USA!
Reg of The Spain Scoop recently posted..Easter In Córdoba – Hold The Eggs, Put On The Hood
Hey Reg, thanks for the comment, too bad there’s not better Mexican food in Spain!