Hola! H & I hit the Mexican Food Festival at Mandarin Oriental last week. Our Mexican food experience has always been limited to fastfood (Mexicali, the tacos at Pancake House, Miggy’s). So when we learned about this gourmet Mexican food buffet, we said “Si! Si!” faster than Speedy Gonzalez ever would.
I was looking forward to omnomnom’ing on tacos and burritos, but later discovered that the buffet served traditional recipes and dishes from different regions of Mexico. My heart fell when there were no tacos in sight. It didn’t helped that the the Upscale Tacos Quickfire from Top Chef Season 4 was one of my favorites. 😀 But anyway, the spread looked so inviting! The dancing tacos in my head quieted down a bit. There were lots of Mexican food, but here are pictures of the ones I enjoyed the most.
The best guacamole I’ve ever tasted.
This is Mixiotes de Cordero, or lamb leg with marinated chili and vegetables. It was phenomenal. Slice through the pockets and let the savory lamb spill out. Gah.
Another favorite of ours was Carne de Cerdo Al Pastor Con Pina Asada or Marinated pork with roasted pineapple. Top a tortilla with this meat mixture and BOOM! Let the flavor explode in your mouth.
Meeting Chef Fernando Pulido was also one of my evening’s highlights. It was a twenty-second chat, as I didn’t want to get in the way of his busy night. He was very nice!
A lot of the dishes are on rotation. So if you decide to go to the Mexican food festival this week, you’d have different dishes spread before you. I hope they still serve the lamb pockets this week because it was so damn good. Now on to dessert!
This was called Variedad de Dulces Tradicionales Mexicanos or Traditional Mexican confectioneries. They tasted like macaroons.
This is a light rum cake served in a dark Mexican chocolate soup or Borrachitos con Sopa de Xocolatl Oscuro. The picture was taken by my friend Erika. Such intimate lighting ‘no!
French toast? These are Hojarascas or fried flour tortillas with cinnamon and sugar. It was served with a sauce of red wine and molasses. This was my favorite dessert of the evening.
This panna cotta lookalike is Jericayas con Vainilla de Papantla or a special flan with vanilla from Papantla. I just had a few spoonfuls because it was so overwhelming in that really good way.
This trio was good, but that Hojarascas rocked my night. The red wine and molasses syrup just blew me away, and I christened it “Tipsy Toast.” Wouldn’t this make for a great breakfast too? *starts searching the net for a recipe*
And when we were walking out of the restaurant, I heard someone humming “La Cucaracha”. I turned around and saw it was my husband. Hahaha. The buffet left a good impression on him too.
The Mexican festival runs till Sept. 29. It’s at P1,550 net, at Paseo Uno in Mandarin Oriental. For questions or reservations, you can call Paseo Uno at 750 8888 ext. 2411 / 2412. Are you going? As Speedy Gonzalez would say, “Arriba! Arriba! Andale! Andale!”
Hi! I'm Toni Tiu,
and I've been blogging at
at Wifely Steps since 2003. This started as a blog to help newly weds adjust to married life. It has evolved into a home and parenting blog. I write about things close to my heart -- good eats, good reads, family, marriage, and the little things that make everyday happy.
rye
September 22, 2008 at 1:17 pm (16 years ago)Wow! These sure look yummy. I have not tried most of them though, except for the salsa and guacamole of course. Unfortunately, my colleagues here are not so much into Mexican food =(
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ibyang
September 22, 2008 at 1:24 pm (16 years ago)i would go if i were there.
i love mexican food
ibyangs last blog post..The Saturday That Was…
Sasha
September 22, 2008 at 1:25 pm (16 years ago)This is definitely mouthwatering! Nom nom nom indeed!
chateau a.k.a. imom
September 22, 2008 at 1:40 pm (16 years ago)Goshness! What a yummy fiesta! The desserts look sinful… And the lamb pockets, interesting. What were they wrapped with?
Joey Alarilla
September 22, 2008 at 1:54 pm (16 years ago)ang sarap toni
great post, nagutom ako lalo haha 
abbee
September 22, 2008 at 1:58 pm (16 years ago)That panna cotta lookalike looks divine! Lovely salsa & guacamole, too!
Anne
September 22, 2008 at 3:29 pm (16 years ago)WOW!
those look amazing!
Annes last blog post..I turned BIG 25!
Jeanny
September 22, 2008 at 4:25 pm (16 years ago)I love mexican food. The picture made me hungry
I’ll tell hubz about this. Andale andale!!!!
JMom
September 22, 2008 at 9:41 pm (16 years ago)Oh yummy! I love Mexican food! Well, I love just about any food
Looks to me like you had the makings of a taco bar right there. BTW, what were those lamb pockets wrapped in? They really sound intriguing.
Rach (Heart of Rachel)
September 22, 2008 at 11:08 pm (16 years ago)That’s a sumptuous buffet. It’s been a while since I’ve enjoyed good Mexican food. It’s a wonderful treat to meat the chef behind it all.
Rach (Heart of Rachel)s last blog post..Weekend Snapshot #43
dyanie
September 23, 2008 at 1:17 am (16 years ago)wow! this post made me oh so hungry! yummm yummm!
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Jo Ann
September 23, 2008 at 6:57 am (16 years ago)wow, mukhang ang sasarap nga! mandarin is very near my office. i better go! arriba!
sheng
September 23, 2008 at 9:17 am (16 years ago)Oh, huhuh, that made my day! The pictures were overwhelmingly good, it made me drool. My gosh, i can eat all that!
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odette
September 25, 2008 at 5:38 pm (16 years ago)oh i’m so inggit again, the explosion of flavors is what i’m looking for right now toni, which is not on any european meal, really. you are so lucky to taste all those goodness! i am looking forward to going home to the philippines now, for the food!!!
yay, and i like how you have your photo ops with the chefs everytime!
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Christopher Garlington
November 1, 2008 at 12:44 am (16 years ago)How do you get those rounded corners on your pix? Is it java or css or do you just do it in pShop?
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Avocado Corn Soup Recipe
February 7, 2010 at 5:15 am (14 years ago)These look sooo good..now im getting hungry lol
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P90X Review
April 20, 2011 at 3:30 pm (13 years ago)Oh my God! Your pictures are so sumptous, I can’t help but feel hungry. I love Mexican food! I love guacamole too!! Where is this located? Which part of the Philippines? I am a Fil-American. And my mom is from the Philippines and we are planning to visit Cebu soon. Is this in Cebu, I am itching to try this! Please give me a message in iamurangel09@yahoo.com. thanks!