Down Mexico way

[rooster59]

Down Mexico way

By Khetsirin Pholdhampalit 
The Nation Weekend

 

The first Cali-Mex Bar

 

The new Cali-Mex blends South of the Border favourites with healthy California fare and self-service beer

 

WITH 20 outlets opening across Hong Kong during the past three years attesting to its popularity, Cali-Mex Bar & Grill, a casual American-style Mexican food restaurant, has spread its wings and taken up residence in Bangkok with a first branch at the Holiday Inn on the corner of Sukhumvit Soi 22.

 

It blends the original concept of taqueria – a dining venue specialising in tacos and other Mexican food – with the Californian sports bar, making it a great venue for meet-ups with friends, after-work drinks and fun nights out.

 

 

With one brick wall painted with the word Hollywood and another wall bearing the legend Mexico, you’ll know immediately you’re in the right place. Diners can sit at bar stools and watch the bartenders or relax in other chairs and watch the sports showing on LED screens. It can accommodate some 100 customers, both indoors and out. 

“We loved the staple Mexican dishes – tacos, nachos, quesadillas and burritos – but were totally sold on the Californian fresh, light and healthy take on Mexican cuisine,” writes Cali-Mex founder Jeffrey Moss in a press release, adding that the idea to open the restaurant was spawned while driving from North America to Mexico.

 

 

“The Californian food vibe added a tasty simplicity with an emphasis on quality farm produce. On the road, we decided to create the ultimate fast-food luxury experience and the Cali-Mex Bar & Grill idea was born.”

 

King Mega International (Thailand) is the brand’s franchisee here and aims to open 20 outlets within the next three years. The Silom and Sukhumvit Soi 11 branches will be launched next month and in September respectively and trendy Thonglor is the next stop.

 

“Bangkok is ideal for strategically placed Cali-Mex Bar & Grill venues. Considering the ever increasing tourist clientele plus local and expat residents who are always on the lookout for innovative, fresh new dining and bar hotspots, we tick all the boxes,” says country manager Mike Warde.

 

 

A paper menu that functions as a placemat divides the dishes into two sides. The left side offers typical American starters, burgers and grilled dishes like baked spinach and artichoke dip, double cheese burger, BBQ ribs and grilled salmon. On the right is the taqueria menu with such signature dishes as burrito, quesadilla, taco, nacho and lasagna. Many dishes are marked gluten-free and options for vegetarians and vegans are also available. 

 

Snack Platter

 

Perfect for sharing is the Snack Platter (Bt599) boasting Cajun-seasoned chicken wings, grilled chorizo, tortilla corn chips, camembert cheese bites, avocado-based dip guacamole and green salad. 

 

Tortilla Chips with four sauces in different spicy levels

 

Four spice levels of sauces are provided to give the plain tortilla chips a bit more flavour. The mild level is the green sauce known as salsa verde and the medium one is made from chipotle chilli. The hot one is bravo sauce and the super hot is diablo, made from a combination of jalepeno and small Thai chillies. 

 

Chili Corn Carne 

 

Then there’s Chilli Con Carne (Bt299) – a stew of ground beef, black bean and salsa sauce topped with cheese and sour cream and served with tortilla chips. 

 

Mexican favourite Quesadilla is available in half (Bt299) or full (Bt499) sizes and customers can choose their own meat stuffing of original chicken, grilled chicken or chipotle chilli-flavoured pulled pork. Pay an extra of Bt100 to get original Angus beef, barbacoa beef, Angus steak or Fisherman’s Wharf shrimp. Choices for vegetarians are mixed beans, spinach and mixed vegetables.

 

Grilled Chicken Quesadilla

 

“Our central kitchen has a machine imported from Mexico which can produce 900 pieces of tortilla flatbread an hour to meet our aim to open more outlets. Other ingredients are carefully picked from sustainable sources. There’s Norwegian salmon and Canadian lobster, cheeses come from San Francisco and France, avocado from Mexico and New Zealand, seafood from Vietnam, pork and chicken from local sources and vegetables from the Royal Projects,” says chef Pete Holmes.

 

 

Chipotle Pulled Pork Tacos

 

With an order of Tacos (Bt299), customers can choose between soft or crispy texture and customised fillings and top the finished article with sour cream and pico de gallo, a salsa made from chopped tomato, onion, cilantro, salt, and lime juice. 

 

Cajun-grilled Atlantic Salmon Fillet 

 

The grilled dishes have cajun-grilled Atlantic salmon fillet served with mango salsa, caramelised lemon and salad (Bt549) and Surf and Turf (Bt1,299 for 10 ounces or Bt1,699 for 14oz), rib eye steak and grilled Canadian lobster tail. 

 

Surf and Turf

 

A special feature likely to go down a treat is the self-service, chilled beer taps available at five tables. Each is equipped with a screen that will record the quantity of beers you pour in millilitres. Draft beers of Asahi and Singha cost Bt0.298 and Bt0.26 per millilitre respectively. 

 

Self-service table-top beer tap 

 

Signature cocktails include Mango Margarita (Bt269 per glass or Bt1,349 per pitcher) and Mojito (Bt229) made with rum, fresh lime, mint leaves and soda water. 

 

And Cali-Mex isn’t simply a place to hang out at night. It also provides all-day breakfast including the Big American Breakfast (Bt399) with two eggs served with crispy bacon, chorizo, avocado, black beans and salsa, and Huevos Rancheros (Bt349) offering two cooked eggs on warm tortilla served with black beans and salsa.

 

Mango Margarita 

 

TACOS AND TORTILLAS

 

Cali-Mex Bar & Grill is on the ground floor of the Holiday Inn, the corner of Sukhumvit Soi 22 of Bangkok. 

 

It’s open daily from 9am to 2am.

 

Call (02) 010 3135.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/tasty/30350909

 

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-07-28

[khwaibah]

9 minutes ago, rooster59 said:

The new Cali-Mex blends South of the Border favourites with healthy California fare and self-service beer

 

 

Cali-Mex..That there is enough to turn me off. The best Mexican restaurants are independent not franchise. The best Mexican restaurant in Thailand IMO is Miguel's Chiang Mai.  https://www.facebook.com/MiguelsChiangmai/

[lovelomsak]

I went to this thread because I have been having tortillas craving lately. The pics here reminded me it is near to impossible to get what I call a real corn tortilla. I crave a stack of warm fresh corn tortilla  wrapped in a hot warm cloth,that when I take one out of the towel steam comes  off it.Pure corn no wheat. Have not seen these for years.

 I remember a bakery near the Belmar  Hotel They had bags of dry kernels of corn . They dropped the corn in a hopper ground it made tortilla's from them and baked them all in the same open air room.Could watch them made from the street. Real tortillas not what these guys and it seems all others sell to us now.

Edited July 28, 2018 by lovelomsak

[zaphod reborn]

31 minutes ago, lovelomsak said:

I went to this thread because I have been having tortillas craving lately. The pics here reminded me it is near to impossible to get what I call a real corn tortilla. I crave a stack of warm fresh corn tortilla  wrapped in a hot warm cloth,that when I take one out of the towel steam comes  off it.Pure corn no wheat. Have not seen these for years.

 I remember a bakery near the Belmar  Hotel They had bags of dry kernels of corn . They dropped the corn in a hopper ground it made tortilla's from them and baked them all in the same open air room.Could watch them made from the street. Real tortillas not what these guys and it seems all others sell to us now.

Totally agree.  You can only get dried out hulks of cardboard in Thailand, no real corn tortillas.  This means you can't get authentic street tacos or enchiladas that are any good.  The key to making masa harina is that the corn needs to be soaked in lime (calcium hydroxide).  It is then rinsed which removes the lime and husks, and then grind the corn kernals.  I recall years ago there was a thread about making homemade corn tortillas.

Edited July 28, 2018 by zaphod reborn

[AsiaHand]

5 hours ago, zaphod reborn said:

Totally agree.  You can only get dried out hulks of cardboard in Thailand, no real corn tortillas.  This means you can't get authentic street tacos or enchiladas that are any good.  The key to making masa harina is that the corn needs to be soaked in lime (calcium hydroxide).  It is then rinsed which removes the lime and husks, and then grind the corn kernals.  I recall years ago there was a thread about making homemade corn tortillas.

As a person born in Texas with an Indian grandmother from Chihauhau Mexico I was brought up on real Tex-Mex food.California style is OK but a little too cheesy where as in Texas we rely more on the con-corne flavor ,very spicy and only corn tortillas ,The flour tortillas are for the yankee tourist..If you ever get a chance go to a Chili Cook Off in Texas and sample all as it burns a hole in your gut then washing it down with lots and lots of ice cold bee

[NickJ]

I'm spending alot of time in Merida, The Yucatan. This plate of great food was 150b. The margaritas made with Don Julio Blanco were about 65b. So I think I will give this place on Soi 22 a huge miss.

[Jingthing]

10 minutes ago, NickJ said:

I'm spending alot of time in Merida, The Yucatan. This plate of great food was 150b. The margaritas made with Don Julio Blanco were about 65b. So I think I will give this place on Soi 22 a huge miss.

Yeah, sure, but what would a big spread of decent Thai food cost you in Merida? 

[Jingthing]

8 hours ago, khwaibah said:

 

Cali-Mex..That there is enough to turn me off. The best Mexican restaurants are independent not franchise. The best Mexican restaurant in Thailand IMO is Miguel's Chiang Mai.  https://www.facebook.com/MiguelsChiangmai/

Miguels is Cali-Mex! I haven't been in awhile but it was pretty good for Thailand is about all I could say. 

[sirineou]

Tacos and self serving Beer WooHoo!!!! count me in I have being training for this all my life.

[NickJ]

The Thai food in Merida is pretty good. Even according to my Thai GF. Made by Thai people. Inexpensive. Casa Bangkok. Plate of pad Thai is about five bucks. Merida has very similar fruits and vegetables.  The cost of buying pork and chicken is near Thai prices. After 24 years in Thailand I'm not really missing Thai food that often.

[zaphod reborn]

2 hours ago, AsiaHand said:

As a person born in Texas with an Indian grandmother from Chihauhau Mexico I was brought up on real Tex-Mex food.California style is OK but a little too cheesy where as in Texas we rely more on the con-corne flavor ,very spicy and only corn tortillas ,The flour tortillas are for the yankee tourist..If you ever get a chance go to a Chili Cook Off in Texas and sample all as it burns a hole in your gut then washing it down with lots and lots of ice cold bee

There is as much authentic Mex in Cali as in Texas, but it isn't in the white suburbs where Cal Mex chains like El Torito, Chevy's and Baja Fresh flourish.  It's in the barrios of SF's Mission district, East LA and Barrio Logan in San Diego.  Chili is a Tex-Mex creation and an art form to cook.  I think the dish I enjoyed most when traveling through Texas was the chile rellenos of El Paso.

Edited July 28, 2018 by zaphod reborn

[jerry921]

I've lived in Mexico for the last 2 years. That CA-Mex stuff pictured does not look like real Mexican food. As an example, I have never yet had tacos in Mexico that came with diced tomatoes. Sadly, I haven't found any good Thai restaurants where I live.

[55Jay]

19 minutes ago, zaphod reborn said:

There is as much authentic Mex in Cali as in Texas, but it isn't in the white suburbs where Cal Mex chains like El Torito, Chevy's and Baja Fresh flourish.  It's in the barrios of SF's Mission district, East LA and Barrio Logan in San Diego.  Chili is a Tex-Mex creation and an art form to cook.  I think the dish I enjoyed most when traveling through Texas was the chile rellenos of El Paso.

Right, the independents are better.  I was in San Diego in February and March.  It was a gutt punch finding out our place for decades, had closed forever.  Seems they got swallowed up by the constant creep of redevelopment.  Hopefully they got a good buy out.

 

RIP SALAZAR'S.  ?

https://sandiego.eater.com/2017/7/18/15989696/salazars-fine-mexican-food-closing-east-village

 

 

 

 

[NickJ]

One of my Google cards a few weeks ago had a story about Taco Bell opening its first branch in Bangkok by the end of this year.  

[islandguy]

21 hours ago, lovelomsak said:

I went to this thread because I have been having tortillas craving lately. The pics here reminded me it is near to impossible to get what I call a real corn tortilla. I crave a stack of warm fresh corn tortilla  wrapped in a hot warm cloth,that when I take one out of the towel steam comes  off it.Pure corn no wheat. Have not seen these for years.

 I remember a bakery near the Belmar  Hotel They had bags of dry kernels of corn . They dropped the corn in a hopper ground it made tortilla's from them and baked them all in the same open air room.Could watch them made from the street. Real tortillas not what these guys and it seems all others sell to us now.

Try El Charro brand (made in Bangkok). I buy them at Macro in the frozen food section. Reasonably authentic, and I grew up on real Mexican food.

[Small Joke]

On 7/28/2018 at 6:02 PM, NickJ said:

The Thai food in Merida is pretty good. Even according to my Thai GF. Made by Thai people. Inexpensive. Casa Bangkok. Plate of pad Thai is about five bucks. Merida has very similar fruits and vegetables.  The cost of buying pork and chicken is near Thai prices. After 24 years in Thailand I'm not really missing Thai food that often.

That's the mistake I made last year, going to Mexico, and not bringing a thai gf! Theres a lot of similarities, crappy roads, insane drivers on the highways, hawkers at traffic lights, corrupt cops, cheap sex, and lots of drugs.

[The manic]

On 7/28/2018 at 1:06 PM, jerry921 said:

I've lived in Mexico for the last 2 years. That CA-Mex stuff pictured does not look like real Mexican food. As an example, I have never yet had tacos in Mexico that came with diced tomatoes. Sadly, I haven't found any good Thai restaurants where I live.

Is diced tomatoes salsa?

[baansgr]

Im really looking forward to going back to the UK and having a wonderful Thai meal, so fed up and bored in Thailand eating burgers, mex, greek and all kinds of food except Thai?

[jerry921]

5 hours ago, The manic said:

Is diced tomatoes salsa?

Salsa (literally "sauce") is served separately, not on the tacos from the kitchen. Typically they have a three choices, a green, a red, and a pico de gallo. The green has tomatillos in it, and the red has tomatoes in it, both are not diced they are cooked down to a paste. The pico de gallo has diced tomatoes in it, with other stuff. Tip for tourists: the green one is the hottest.

 

So I say no, tomatoes are not salsa they are just an ingredient. And you get to choose which sauce you want, and how much, you're not forced by the kitchen to pick out or eat uncooked tomatoes (which I avoid doing).

[55Jay]

On 7/30/2018 at 2:04 PM, baansgr said:

Im really looking forward to going back to the UK and having a wonderful Thai meal, so fed up and bored in Thailand eating burgers, mex, greek and all kinds of food except Thai?

That's funny!  I hear Indian curries are great in the UK as well. 

 

My not-well-traveled sister in the US, upon meeting my Thai wife for the first time over 10 years ago, first thing she suggested was a trip to her "favorite" Thai restaurant, going on and on about how "good" it was.  So we went. Typical, non-chain small place, basic furnishings - standard strip mall shop. 

 

That was the first and last time we've ever done that.  She's not interested in US Thai food, but is into everything else and really enjoys a nice prime rib/steak and various types of Mexican/Latin American food.   Trip before last, drove her out into the mountains of East San Diego county and walked over the border for a late breakfast/early lunch in Tecate.  

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Two pages of posts here, and I don't think anyone has talked thus far about actually eating at the place.

 

After reading about it elsewhere, I tried the Suk 22 Holiday Inn branch of the Hong Kong-originated Cali-Mex earlier this week, and came away with mixed feelings (as someone who grew up in So. Cal. and subsisted on various versions of Cal-Tex-Mex food for most of my life). First thing to say, I'm always glad when ANY version of Mexican food arrives in Thailand/BKK, no matter of what style, and that includes the supposedly forthcoming Taco Bell branch in BKK.

 

But for Cali-Mex, overall, I'd say the prices for food are a bit high for what's served. The plain glass margarita I had tasted OK after I told them specifically to not make it sweet, but it was served in a small glass jammed full with ice cubes, so was a pretty small serving for a 240b or so price. And the Cali-Mex food doesn't exactly "taste" like any version of food I've ever eaten in the U.S. or Mexico, so using the term "Cali" in the brand is a stretch, IMHO.

 

However, for what it was, the food tasted OK, just definitely not anything I'd recognize as Cali, definitely not Mex. The manager of the restaurant is, AFAIK, a Brit, and I'm not sure who formulated their recipes. But I'd doubt it was either a Mexican or a Californian. They have four flavors of hot sauce, for example, and the hottest one that I chose came out with a dark brown color, a flavor I couldn't identify, and certainly not hot at all.

 

The one good thing I'd say is that despite their regular menu prices, at least currently, they're running a promotion on weekdays from 9 am to 3 pm that offers several of their normally higher priced 299b menu items for just 199b apiece including a soft drink. That includes choices of a half quesadilla, a burrito, or a set of 3 small tacos.

 

The venue on the ground floor exterior of the Holiday Inn at Suk 22 is kind of a mixed experience -- part bar with pretty loud music playing, part sports bar with a couple of large televisions on the wall showing U.S. sports content but no sound, and part restaurant with both counter and table seating, and a small outdoors patio presumably for smokers. The indoor setting is marred a bit by an overhead air con system that sounds a bit like a jet engine.

 

There's already another branch open at the other Holiday Inn in the Silom area, and the folks behind this chain are working on a much larger, more formal restaurant version on Sukhumvit Soi 11 near Oskars that's slated to open later this year.

 

https://www.facebook.com/calimexbarngrillthailand/

 

https://coconuts.co/bangkok/food-drink/cali-mex-bar-grills-california-style-mexican-eats-beer-taps-table/

 

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g293916-d15078725-Reviews-Cali_Mex_Bar_And_Grill-Bangkok.html

 

Edited September 22, 2018 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Just a few added thoughts, since I got caught last night by the TVF site going down, and had to rush finish the above post re Cali-Mex:

 

--I would go back there to eat again, despite my misgivings above, not because I think the place does good Cali-Mex style food, but what they do serve is OK for what it is, a kind of foreign approximation of the food from my home. And I can accept that, considering that this is Bangkok and not Los Angeles. But I wouldn't give them high marks for authenticity.

 

--The staff service on my visit the other day was pretty good, especially for a restaurant staffed by Thais. The two waitresses around both spoke and understood decent English, and my main waitress was able to explain about their dishes and answer questions when I asked her to clarify some things. The order placed was prepared and delivered correctly, in a decent amount of time. So I'd certainly give them points for that.

 

--Because this restaurant, along with the Silom branch, are part of hotels, they're not constrained by the no alcohol sales rule between 2 and 5 pm.  So I was able to order a margarita to go with my late lunch during that period without any problem, which was nice. They also have an interesting feature at the indoor tables of offering two kinds of beer on tap at the table, Singha and Asahi, I believe, where you can pour as you like and they pay based on the amount you pour.

 

--Also, in another couple nice perks, their menu does offer all-day breakfast choices, and they open at 9 am, so it's possible to go there for their versions of huevos rancheros, breakfast enchilladas, an omelet, steak and eggs, and a breakfast burrito or bowl.   They also have a large section of their menu devoted to non-Mexican grill entrees like ribeye steak, surf and turf, Canadian lobster, BBQ ribs, salmon, and something called a seafood shepherd's pie.

 

And then lastly, some images of their promotions and food:

 

 

 

 

Weekday brunch special half quesadilla, 199b

 

Weekday brunch special burrito, 199b

 

 

Weekday brunch special fish tacos, 199b

 

 

[happy chappie]

Here in udon we have a tex mex buffet night.300b.not quite ribeye and lobster but well worth a try.also a pizza buffet night at 150b.if it got any cheaper it would be giving it away.

[CanuckThai]

Sounds like it's worth a try.  I've been craving good salsa and chips, for too long.

I miss a local "haunt" (chain) back home...

 

https://lonestartexasgrill.com/

[chubby]

2 hours ago, CanuckThai said:

Sounds like it's worth a try.  I've been craving good salsa and chips, for too long.

I miss a local "haunt" (chain) back home...

 

https://lonestartexasgrill.com/

 

there is no such thing "cali-mex" there is "tex-mex" , whatever that is,   california sports bar with  soccer on the flat screens .......  beans, rice   are cheap,   I can't see where white flour cheese and meat   comes out as  "fresh and healthy", fwiw, at the local walmart here  Asahi is the cheapest of all the 12 packs along with rolling rock, I buy the rolling rock ?,    I'd wonder as to the merits  of  Singh on tap , unless it's less than the bottle ,  I believe the best beer is in cans   ?

 

cali is what east coast ppl called california, doesn't sound right ; hollywood is "california"  wth  ?

[CanuckThai]

17 minutes ago, chubby said:

 

there is no such thing "cali-mex" there is "tex-mex" , whatever that is,   california sports bar with  soccer on the flat screens .......  beans, rice   are cheap,   I can't see where white flour cheese and meat   comes out as  "fresh and healthy", fwiw, at the local walmart here  Asahi is the cheapest of all the 12 packs along with rolling rock, I buy the rolling rock ?,    I'd wonder as to the merits  of  Singh on tap , unless it's less than the bottle ,  I believe the best beer is in cans   ?

 

cali is what east coast ppl called california, doesn't sound right ; hollywood is "california"  wth  ?

Agreed, Tex-Mex is what I'm familiar with.  Never been to a Cali-Mex place (that I recall)

Edited September 23, 2018 by CanuckThai

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

37 minutes ago, chubby said:

  I can't see where white flour cheese and meat   comes out as  "fresh and healthy"

 

I think, from my visit, the reference to "fresh and healthy" comes from their claims about sourcing their fish and perhaps some other items from sustainable, certified sources, and a few gluten-free items on the menu. That, and, offering several vegetarian choices as the main filling on their Mexican entrees like burritos, tacos, enchiladas and such --  specifically, what they list as filling options for mixed bean, spinach, mixed vegetable or Venice Beach vegan.

 

However, the first thing I ordered off their menu was a chicken and cheese quesadilla, which arrived as you can see from the photo above as a fried flour tortilla as the wrapping. I guess it's done in some places, but I personally can't recall ever having been served a quesadilla in the past made from a fried flour tortilla. Either way, next time, if I were to order again, I'd ask them NOT to serve it fried.

 

FWIW, for those who are interested, here's their full menu. Basic menu entrees start at 299b++, and go upward from there.

 

 

 

Edited September 23, 2018 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[chubby]

looks more like   american- mex-am -uk "fusion"-fried emporium  but I should be quiet  ????