Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Mejico

Hubby and I indulged in our date night tradition after a long long time. Moving to Sydney, crazy work schedule, our India trip had kept us so busy that we hadn't gone on a date, just us two in a while. Hubby had mentioned that he wanted to take me to Mejico restaurant in Sydney CBD as he knows how much I love Mexican food. He had tried the place with work colleagues and thought I would enjoy it.

We finally got a chance to go there a few weeks ago, hubby made a reservation and we were all set to go. We got there half hour early and the place was packed. The vibe is young, hip and fun. The design elements have a strong modern industrial/warehousey feel with a pop of bright pink stripes . It's quirky and fun decor along with the sheer number of people waiting at the bar for a table meant business was good, I couldn't wait to tuck in. 

We had to wait for about 20 minutes as they were running a bit behind so I was just enjoying my cocktail while taking in the sights and sounds. They had a little open kitchen (for assembly) at the bar where plantain chips were on display and the chefs were scurrying around adding finishing touches to the food. The bartenders were dressed in striped pink and white tees, and were happily concocting delicious drinks for the happy patrons. After a drink at the bar we were escorted to our table, first thing I noticed was the mortar and pestle at the table. This was used for making fresh guacamole at the table, I knew we were definitely ordering that. We started off with a serve of the plantain chips and guacamole and blackened corn followed by a serve of tacos each. I found it rather interesting that they didn't serve corn chips which was such a staple at Mexican restaurants, instead they were using plantain which is so under utilized in Australia.




For mains I ordered their lone vegetarian option which was portobelo and croquetas and hubby ordered the Angus sirloin. They served my main first and we kept waiting for the sirloin. Then we saw another waitress serving the sirloin to the table next to us and they had only just arrived and hadn't received their entrees yet. And then our waitress discovered the mistake and tried to offer us another one but hubby was tired of waiting by then so we just shared my main and left. 

Drinks:
Apple, kiwi and cinnamon Cocktail
I can't remember what it is called but it was a combination of kiwi, apple and cinnamon. It was fruity and delicious, needed more cinnamon in my opinion.


Kiwi Apple cocktail

Cerveza Mexicali beer
Not much to get wrong, good Mexican beer.


Mexicali Beer

Entree: Market Fresh Guacamole
Traditional: Avocado. Spanish onion. Coriander. Lime juice. 
Fancy dress additional ingredients: Wasabi. Walnuts. Serrano chilli. 
Made-to-order in a molcajete; Served with our golden plantain chips 
$9
The waiter who made our guacamole was chatty and we exchanged recipes for guacamole while he was preparing it for us. I liked this interaction, it was fun and the way food should be served - fresh. Their guacamole has an interesting addition- pistachios, along with the regular ingredients onion, chilli, brown sugar, lime and avocado. It was fresh and tasty and went will with the crispy plantain chips. Only criticism it needed salt.


Our very own mortar and pestle or molcajete

Guacamole

Plantain chips

Blackened Corn
Smoky paprika. Queso Fresco. Parmesan.  
$7
The corn with the cheese was tasty but was certainly not blackened. I was hoping to get a really nice blistered and blackened corn with chili and cheese. Disappointing!


Blackened corn - not!

Smoked Pork Belly tacos (Soft shells Served three at a time)
Black bean hummus. Tomatillo salsa. Twenty hours worth of
smoking = one tasty pig (the menu said so)
$16
Very very very delicious (hubby's words) There really is nothing else to say.


Pork belly tacos

Vegetarian tacos
Roasted pumpkin, quinoa and manchego cheese
$16

This was very tasty too, I love pumpkin and quinoa and i was nice of them to make up a vegetarian taco for me as they did not have this on their menu.


Vegetarian tacos

Main 1:Portobello Mushrooms & Croquetas
Tomatillo salsa. Black bean puree. Ancho chilli. Sweet potato. Cumin. 
Onion. Manchego. 
$28
This was a nice change from the usual Mexican fare and I really enjoyed the crispy sweet potato croquetas and the tomatillo salsa. It had a nice hint of cumin and the portobello mushrooms were cooked well. 


Portobello mushrooms and croquetas


Chargrilled Black Angus Sirloin
Quinoa. Black bean. Pumpkin. Pepitas. Green chimichurri
(fancy for a mint and parsley sauce.) 
$36
No show.

The food had its highs and lows, I missed the seasoning in a few things but otherwise it was fresh and inventive. They also have a nice cocktail list and have a huge range of tequilas, so be sure to try some. The food is modern and Mexican inspired at best, don't go looking for traditional fare It gets really busy so I would recommend reserving a table on weekends. 

Food 7/10
Service 6/10
Ambience 7/10

After dinner, we walked to Circular Quay to get a glimpse of the beautiful light show Vivid Sydney. The Harbour bridge, Customs house and the Opera House looked stunning with the beautiful projection displays on their facade. It was a beautiful night to wander around taking in the gorgeous sights, lots of people had set up their cameras to take pictures of the light show.
A great finish to our date night! (excuse the picture quality, I had to use my i phone for the pictures)













For more information about Vivid Sydney visit vividsydney

MĂ©jico on Urbanspoon

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