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Mamasita is one of those places that I would love to visit more often but the long lines deter me. Last Friday however we got there early, just before the crowds started lining up down the staircase.
My uncle's wife was in town from Germany and good Mexican food is hard to come by in Germany. I thought Mamasita is a great, fun restaurant that also caters to food intolerances.
For entrées we ordered elote callejero (grilled corn) and tostadita de pato (plantain chips). I've had both here before and loved them. The corn comes with a sprinkle of cheese, chipotle mao and line. The chipotle is such a unique and great flavour that adds so much depth to Mexican cooking, I love it!
I had to convince the other two to also order the plantain chips, but they were vpositively surprised when the dish came out. Smothered in frijoles (black beans), cucumber onion salsa, guacamole and queso fresco (a Mexican type of cream cheese). Next out came delicious little morsels of antojitos tostadita de pato, crispy tortillas filled with duck
carnitas & pineapple, blackbean
puree and habanero crema. Unfortunately there were only two per person, I probably could have polished off the whole plate just by myself!
Out of the big variety of tacos we chose fish and prawn, one of each for each of us. The tacos de camarones were filled with marinated prawns, that had a decent spice kick to them, creamed corn puree, epazote and jalapeño crema.
They were pretty good but I preferred the tacos de pescado, Grilled market fish, red onion salsa
lime, achiote and chipotle mayo in a soft taco shell. Not too much spice but great flavour from the achiote and chipotle.
Achiote is a red paste that has an almost earthy flavour to it. L has cooked Mexican at home for me and used it, it's an amazing ingredient.
Another taco that I can definitely recommend but we didn't order this time is the taco de lengua y cachete, braised ox tongue & cheek,
pickled vegetables & ghost chilli mayo. It might sound daunting, but it's delicious.
The last savoury dishes to come out were the pancita de cerdo Guajillo and ensalada de palmitos. That is braised pork belly, habanero
cream, fried parsley & lime accompanied by a heart of palm salad with fennel,
artichoke and green tomatoes.
The pork bell was to die for. Full of flavour and melting in the mouth. The salad looked super fresh and was bursting with flavour. I especially loved the little green tomatoes, such a different flavour to red tomatoes!
The perfect finale was the helado de maiz - sweetcorn icecream, salted caramel, popcorn. The sweetcorn is very subtle but definitely there and the salted caramel popcorn, well it sits on top and is always gone too quickly.
Apparently L has the recipe for the icecream from a cooking class he attended with Andrew Logan. I can't wait until he makes this for me at home! (If you'd like to see how happy this icecream made me, head over to the About Me page!) Would we go back, of course! However, I'd probably go for a late lunch on a weekend to avoid waiting in line. Mamasita Level 1, 11 Collins St Melbourne, VIC 3000 www.mamasita.com.au
