La Monita

[lomatopo]

I'd recommend adding a small map on your website, also maybe add the opening hours.

[Powerband]

I have a feeling you guys are going to be a hit. Keep honest and don't do the bait and switch like ALL the other places.

keep it real.

btw - i miss cheese enchiladas that melt in your mouth and have velveeta like consistancy.

[hogheaven]

Just wanted to thank everyone for stopping by and for great advice. Attached is a picture from my phone of our tacos! The tacos de carne asada, lengua and chicharron have been a huge hit. Mmm getting hungry. I also wanted to thank Mr. Moo for the Tres Generaciones tequilla last night and the Cohiba. Man you made my entire month!!! I'm thinking to either make empanadas or enchiladas for next weeks special. Does anyone have a preference?

YOU JUST KEEP DOING WHAT YOU ARE DOING ,AND TEX MEX , PLEASE DO NOT GO THERE YOU WILL NEED TO BRING CHILI POWDER AND LONE STAR TO FELL GOOD .

THE REST OF THE PEOPLE THAT KNOW MEX FOOD AND LIKE AN OWNER THAT WILL MAKE TO ORDER AND YOUR PERSONAL TASTES .....IS A HAPPY , RARE AND PLEASING THING.

IF YOU DO NOT LIKE REAL MEX FOOD DO NOT GO ,IF YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT REAL MEX FOOD IS TREAT YOURSELF....I SPENT 4 OUT OF 6 MEALS IN TOWN AT THIS PLACE , TRIED IT ALL .....WAS IT GOOD ,,,YES....WAS IT GREAT..YES...WAS IT WHAT I NEEDED YES!!!!

AND WILL I BE BACK , YES ....I ORDERED 3 BURRITOS TO GO AND THE SHRIMP DIP....

THE HOME MADE TAMALES ( NOT ON MENU) WHERE AS GOOD AS I COULD MAKE HEAR AND I KNOW WILL GET BETTER.....HARD TO MAKE MEX FOOD WITHOUT PROPER FIXING ....BUT I WOULD STILL BUY AND ENGOY EVERY BITE AS I DID .....THE OWNER IS LOOKING FOR PERFECT .....THEY ARE CLOSE ....SOON TO BE I AM SURE ....AND I STILL SAY SELL THEM ....I WILL BUY THEM

THE GWOCK FOR YOU THAT DO NOT KNOW AVOCADOS .....THE BEST IN SO LONG I COULD ONLY SAY ....BURY ME WITH IT.....

I RARELY WOULD WRITE ABOUT ANYTHING TO DO WITH FOOD ,,,,THIS PLACE I WILL GO TO, TELL OTHERS ABOUT .... AND PROMOTE AS LONG AS IT STAYS THIS GOOD..........IF YOU HAVE NOT EATEN THERE DO SO.....IF YOU LIKE SALAD AND SOUR CREAM ...YOU CAN GET ....IF YOU WANT FRESH FOOD , COOKED TO ORDER ,,,TELL THEM WHAT YOU WANT AND LIKE .....YOU WILL GET IT..... NEED I SAY MORE

FIVE STARS IN A SEA OF 3

REAL, GOOD, AND FRESH.....NOTHING BETTER IN THIS COUNTRY ...I HAVE FOUND....

Edited December 19, 2009 by hogheaven

[jfchandler]

Here's my full review of La Monita, including photos, located here.... This place is one you don't want to miss... Bon appetit!!!

[SpoliaOpima]

As I mentioned in the Los Cabos thread, I recently stopped in at La Monita hoping for an evening meal, and this time they were open. It was packed with hi-so Thais, surprisingly.

Pretty standard Mexican menu of the kind you would find in the USA. Nothing as Mexican as the chilaquiles, tortilla soup or tinga at Tacos & Salsa. I tired a 'Cali-Taco' (with grilled chicken) and a 'Mexi-Taco' (with grilled steak, which they also labelled 'carne asada;). 80 baht each. Ordered soft corn tortillas. These were store-bought, not fresh, and fried before serving so they were a bit greasy and slightly crisp. I'd advise a lighter frying technique and less oil. They were more like tacos dorados in Mexico than fresh tacos.

The meat fillings in both tacos was a large serving, so large it was difficult to eat the tacos without the contents spilling out. A little bit like Sunrise tacos in that respect. In fact they reminded me a lot of Sunrise tacos. I had to ask for a fork and spoon to eat them in fact. People into quantity will be happy

The salsas served with each taco were so bland I could barely taste them. I ordered a bottle of the 'house salsa', which is a roasted, semi-pureed salsa. It had a very nice balance of flavours but was so bland it could have been eaten as gazpacho. Also I don't like salsas served in squirt bottles. Prefer the tradition Mexican way of serving in small bowls with small serving spoons. SunrisLe also serves some of their salsas in squirt bottles, but their salsas are more to my taste than La Monita. My faves are still the three served at Tacos & Salsa, of which even the mildest still has enough chile that you know it's there. The hottest at T&S is scorching hot, and delicious.

The carne asada in the Mexi-Taco tasted more like carne guisada (spicy beef stew) than actual carne asada, ie it had a soupy consistency. I like carne guisada a lot, though, and liked this version too. The menu said it was served with fresh salsa but I could neither taste nor see salsa in the taco, or perhaps it was there and was bland, but gave the meat the soupy texture.

The Cali-Taco, true to its American origins, had cheese and sour cream. The sour cream was drizzled on the filling in the same way crema is sometimes added in Mexico, which impressed me. Of course in Mexico they never put crema in tacos (only enchiladas and similar dishes) but this was Cali and it worked. The consistency of the sour cream seemed more like Mexican crema, too.

The grilled chicken was drier than the grilled steak but it wasn't bad. The pieces come in cubes, which is not necessarily the most appetizing shape. But good chicken tacos are difficult to make and these are better than many I've tried in the USA.

I also got an order of guacamole and chips. They chips were store-bought and not very good. I much prefer the totopos (chips) at Tacos & Salsa, which taste like they were home-made (I don't know whether they are). The guacamole was OK. No off flavours, fresh avocado with just a few tomatoes (which is the way I like it, or even better, no tomatoes at all). It needed more bite in the form of fresh garlic and lime juice, IMO. Rather bland. I don't think I'd order the guacamole there again except as a condiment in a taco, for which it seemed well suited. As I recall it was 150 baht, rather pricey I think.

Service was friendly and fairly quick, considering the fact the place was filled with Thais. Somehow this restaurant seems to have quickly garnered a 'trendy' reputation among Thais. This may lead to a changing of the flavours to please the Thai palate, but then again who knows.

Overall I would give La Monita passing marks. It's not as good (or as authentic) as Tacos & Salsa, IMO but I would eat there again if in the neighborhood. I'd like to try more of the menu items, esp the tacos al pastor. It's a bit pricey. In that respect it also resembles Sunrise Tacos. Didn't like the chips at all, and would not order anything with the chips, eg nachos or gauc/chips or salsa/chips. For me La Monita is more or less on an even footing with Sunrise, all in all, except I wouldn't rate the salsas at La Monita as highly. Others who aren't as chile-habituated may like them.

I still rate Tacos & Salsa clearly higher than La Monita but the choice to go to one or the other, for me, would be based mostly on which was more convenient at the time, given my location in the city.

One might expect La Monita to improve with time. On the other hand many people may like it just as it is and in particular it seems to appeal to the Thais, for whatever reason. I wish them all the best, it seems like a sincere effort.

Edited December 25, 2009 by SpoliaOpima

[jfchandler]

Everyone's entitled to their own opinion. I would say, from below, you clearly prefer T&S. I also like T&S, but it's a different style of food, more spare and tending on the drier side, whereas La Monita entrees tend to be saucier and more rich, a la the California Mexican style.

But I don't think you're giving La Monita fair credit for their offerings...particularly only on the basis of having eaten their tacos as an entree. Comments to follow...

Pretty standard Mexican menu of the kind you would find in the USA. Nothing as Mexican as the chilaquiles, tortilla soup or tinga at Tacos & Salsa.

One of the days I was there, they had homemade chorizo, which was quite tasty, and which I had special ordered into one of their super (large sized) burritos.... On other days, they've had daily specials of Mexican fish soup, tongue tacos, fresh crab tacos and more... The offerings on their regular menu, in terms of the items, are the ones you'd find on most regular Mexican-American eateries in the U.S. But the regular menu is not all they are doing.

The salsas served with each taco were so bland I could barely taste them. I ordered a bottle of the 'house salsa', which is a roasted, semi-pureed salsa. It had a very nice balance of flavors but was so bland it could have been eaten as gazpacho. Also I don't like salsas served in squirt bottles.

I also like La Monita's House Salsa, though I'd prefer, perhaps like you, a non-blended version with more kick than their House...something they don't have yet. But it clearly was nothing like gazpacho in terms of spiciness, even offered as a joking comment. I also thought it odd La Monita was serving customers their salsas in restaurant kitchen-type squeeze bottles... I suspect that will change with time, considering the place has just opened.

The guacamole was OK. No off flavours, fresh avocado with just a few tomatoes (which is the way I like it, or even better, no tomatoes at all). It needed more bite in the form of fresh garlic and lime juice, IMO. Rather bland. I don't think I'd order the guacamole there again except as a condiment in a taco, for which it seemed well suited. As I recall it was 150 baht, rather pricey I think.

I actually quite liked La Monita's guacamole...for several reasons... One, it was fresh and tasted like good avocado... and wasn't overpowering with garlic and lime. Second, the portion was quite generous for the price, probably double or more the pretty tiny portion served at Sunrise, which goes for 119 baht. The guacamole at T&S is good also for me, but I was disappointed when they stopped offering it as part of their Saturday night buffet...

Didn't like the chips at all, and would not order anything with the chips, eg nachos or gauc/chips or salsa/chips.

I had some of their tortilla chips with their burritos and also with an order of guacamole... I didn't think about whether they were locally prepared or not. But the ones I had were fine...not anything great nor anything that made me think bad of them. Not overly oily, not overly salty, crunchy and not soft.... I didn't see any reason to down or avoid them.

For me La Monita is more or less on an even footing with Sunrise, all in all, except I wouldn't rate the salsas at La Monita as highly. Others who aren't as chile-habituated may like them.

I think Sunrise probably has the best selection and range of salsas in Bangkok, even better than T&S. And I've eaten their food mostly happily for years. But the food at La Monita, especially if one ventures into their menu outside of their tacos, is clearly more authentic and better than Sunrise...

[BlueTerrace]

As I mentioned in the Los Cabos thread, I recently stopped in at La Monita hoping for an evening meal, and this time they were open. It was packed with hi-so Thais, surprisingly.

Pretty standard Mexican menu of the kind you would find in the USA. Nothing as Mexican as the chilaquiles, tortilla soup or tinga at Tacos & Salsa. I tired a 'Cali-Taco' (with grilled chicken) and a 'Mexi-Taco' (with grilled steak, which they also labelled 'carne asada;). 80 baht each. Ordered soft corn tortillas. These were store-bought, not fresh, and fried before serving so they were a bit greasy and slightly crisp. I'd advise a lighter frying technique and less oil. They were more like tacos dorados in Mexico than fresh tacos.

The meat fillings in both tacos was a large serving, so large it was difficult to eat the tacos without the contents spilling out. A little bit like Sunrise tacos in that respect. In fact they reminded me a lot of Sunrise tacos. I had to ask for a fork and spoon to eat them in fact. People into quantity will be happy

The salsas served with each taco were so bland I could barely taste them. I ordered a bottle of the 'house salsa', which is a roasted, semi-pureed salsa. It had a very nice balance of flavours but was so bland it could have been eaten as gazpacho. Also I don't like salsas served in squirt bottles. Prefer the tradition Mexican way of serving in small bowls with small serving spoons. SunrisLe also serves some of their salsas in squirt bottles, but their salsas are more to my taste than La Monita. My faves are still the three served at Tacos & Salsa, of which even the mildest still has enough chile that you know it's there. The hottest at T&S is scorching hot, and delicious.

The carne asada in the Mexi-Taco tasted more like carne guisada (spicy beef stew) than actual carne asada, ie it had a soupy consistency. I like carne guisada a lot, though, and liked this version too. The menu said it was served with fresh salsa but I could neither taste nor see salsa in the taco, or perhaps it was there and was bland, but gave the meat the soupy texture.

The Cali-Taco, true to its American origins, had cheese and sour cream. The sour cream was drizzled on the filling in the same way crema is sometimes added in Mexico, which impressed me. Of course in Mexico they never put crema in tacos (only enchiladas and similar dishes) but this was Cali and it worked. The consistency of the sour cream seemed more like Mexican crema, too.

The grilled chicken was drier than the grilled steak but it wasn't bad. The pieces come in cubes, which is not necessarily the most appetizing shape. But good chicken tacos are difficult to make and these are better than many I've tried in the USA.

I also got an order of guacamole and chips. They chips were store-bought and not very good. I much prefer the totopos (chips) at Tacos & Salsa, which taste like they were home-made (I don't know whether they are). The guacamole was OK. No off flavours, fresh avocado with just a few tomatoes (which is the way I like it, or even better, no tomatoes at all). It needed more bite in the form of fresh garlic and lime juice, IMO. Rather bland. I don't think I'd order the guacamole there again except as a condiment in a taco, for which it seemed well suited. As I recall it was 150 baht, rather pricey I think.

Service was friendly and fairly quick, considering the fact the place was filled with Thais. Somehow this restaurant seems to have quickly garnered a 'trendy' reputation among Thais. This may lead to a changing of the flavours to please the Thai palate, but then again who knows.

Overall I would give La Monita passing marks. It's not as good (or as authentic) as Tacos & Salsa, IMO but I would eat there again if in the neighborhood. I'd like to try more of the menu items, esp the tacos al pastor. It's a bit pricey. In that respect it also resembles Sunrise Tacos. Didn't like the chips at all, and would not order anything with the chips, eg nachos or gauc/chips or salsa/chips. For me La Monita is more or less on an even footing with Sunrise, all in all, except I wouldn't rate the salsas at La Monita as highly. Others who aren't as chile-habituated may like them.

I still rate Tacos & Salsa clearly higher than La Monita but the choice to go to one or the other, for me, would be based mostly on which was more convenient at the time, given my location in the city.

One might expect La Monita to improve with time. On the other hand many people may like it just as it is and in particular it seems to appeal to the Thais, for whatever reason. I wish them all the best, it seems like a sincere effort.

I went at night for the first time. Inside they had my small group of farang, a western guy with his extended Thai family and a large group of farang on the tables outside. After the family group left, a group of about a dozen well-off Thais moved in on the vacant tables. As you say, seems to attract this kind of a crowd.

By chips did you mean the corn chips or potato chips? I'd be suprised if you meant the potato chips - I tried them and loved them. They were thick cut (which I prefer to French fries) and not oily as is often the case here. My guess is that they were homemade as the slices weren't uniform. On the night I had them their taste, colour, texture, shape were as you’d get from an old school fish & chip shop.

The best part of the dish was the toppings it came with - a really good bit of grilled cubed steak, guacamole, sour cream, tomato and onion. Plenty of it - easily enough to last the whole dish.

Of the food I’ve eaten at La Montia I’d rank the top five in this order:

1) Fish tacos

2) Quesadilla

3) Chippys & Steak

4) Burrito alpastor

5) Lentil soup! (a suprisingly tasty 'special')

[jfchandler]

For translation here, I believe BT is talking about the "Carne Asada fries" dish at La Monita... which is kind of a nachos toppings over french fries dish that I too loved there.... They have a regular nachos dish on the menu as well, but the flavor and texture mix of the guacamole, sour cream sauce, melted cheese, salsa and choice of meat (the default is cubes of steak) over the french fries was surprisingly good, as were the fries themselves. I had one order on my first visit, and went back a few days later with a craving for more...

[SpoliaOpima]

Everyone's entitled to their own opinion. I would say, from below, you clearly prefer T&S. I also like T&S, but it's a different style of food, more spare and tending on the drier side, whereas La Monita entrees tend to be saucier and more rich, a la the California Mexican style.

But I don't think you're giving La Monita fair credit for their offerings...particularly only on the basis of having eaten their tacos as an entree. Comments to follow...

Pretty standard Mexican menu of the kind you would find in the USA. Nothing as Mexican as the chilaquiles, tortilla soup or tinga at Tacos & Salsa.

One of the days I was there, they had homemade chorizo, which was quite tasty, and which I had special ordered into one of their super (large sized) burritos.... On other days, they've had daily specials of Mexican fish soup, tongue tacos, fresh crab tacos and more... The offerings on their regular menu, in terms of the items, are the ones you'd find on most regular Mexican-American eateries in the U.S. But the regular menu is not all they are doing.

The salsas served with each taco were so bland I could barely taste them. I ordered a bottle of the 'house salsa', which is a roasted, semi-pureed salsa. It had a very nice balance of flavors but was so bland it could have been eaten as gazpacho. Also I don't like salsas served in squirt bottles.

I also like La Monita's House Salsa, though I'd prefer, perhaps like you, a non-blended version with more kick than their House...something they don't have yet. But it clearly was nothing like gazpacho in terms of spiciness, even offered as a joking comment. I also thought it odd La Monita was serving customers their salsas in restaurant kitchen-type squeeze bottles... I suspect that will change with time, considering the place has just opened.

The guacamole was OK. No off flavours, fresh avocado with just a few tomatoes (which is the way I like it, or even better, no tomatoes at all). It needed more bite in the form of fresh garlic and lime juice, IMO. Rather bland. I don't think I'd order the guacamole there again except as a condiment in a taco, for which it seemed well suited. As I recall it was 150 baht, rather pricey I think.

I actually quite liked La Monita's guacamole...for several reasons... One, it was fresh and tasted like good avocado... and wasn't overpowering with garlic and lime. Second, the portion was quite generous for the price, probably double or more the pretty tiny portion served at Sunrise, which goes for 119 baht. The guacamole at T&S is good also for me, but I was disappointed when they stopped offering it as part of their Saturday night buffet...

Didn't like the chips at all, and would not order anything with the chips, eg nachos or gauc/chips or salsa/chips.

I had some of their tortilla chips with their burritos and also with an order of guacamole... I didn't think about whether they were locally prepared or not. But the ones I had were fine...not anything great nor anything that made me think bad of them. Not overly oily, not overly salty, crunchy and not soft.... I didn't see any reason to down or avoid them.

For me La Monita is more or less on an even footing with Sunrise, all in all, except I wouldn't rate the salsas at La Monita as highly. Others who aren't as chile-habituated may like them.

I think Sunrise probably has the best selection and range of salsas in Bangkok, even better than T&S. And I've eaten their food mostly happily for years. But the food at La Monita, especially if one ventures into their menu outside of their tacos, is clearly more authentic and better than Sunrise...

Obviously we have very different tastes, especially on the guacamole and the chips (IMO anyone who has eaten a lot of quality Mexican would found the chips unappetizing, tasting as if they'd come from a supermarket). And sorry, but gazpacho comes in many forms the house salsa did remind me of gazpacho (maybe a California gazpacho).

I don't find La Monita more authentic than Sunrise. Both offer US-style Mexcian. Sunrise also has chorizo, that's pretty normal. I will give other menu items a chance for sure because, as I said, I'd go back. They do call themselves Taqueria La Monita, or rather La Monita Taqueria, so that is clearly what they're most promoting. I looked at burritos that a friend had ordered and they looked like San Francisco style burritos, huge, there again like at Sunrise (where the burritos can be good).

Edited December 27, 2009 by SpoliaOpima

[SpoliaOpima]

By chips did you mean the corn chips or potato chips? I'd be suprised if you meant the potato chips - I tried them and loved them. They were thick cut (which I prefer to French fries) and not oily as is often the case here. My guess is that they were homemade as the slices weren't uniform. On the night I had them their taste, colour, texture, shape were as you’d get from an old school fish & chip shop.

I meant the tortilla chips. Not a patch on the ones at T&S, but very similar to those at Sunrise.

[Jingthing]

For translation here, I believe BT is talking about the "Carne Asada fries" dish at La Monita... which is kind of a nachos toppings over french fries dish that I too loved there.... They have a regular nachos dish on the menu as well, but the flavor and texture mix of the guacamole, sour cream sauce, melted cheese, salsa and choice of meat (the default is cubes of steak) over the french fries was surprisingly good, as were the fries themselves. I had one order on my first visit, and went back a few days later with a craving for more...

That sounds like an interesting dish. I don't normally order nachos but the idea of nachos fries is intriguing. I have never seen that anywhere else. Is that a regional thing somewhere in the US? I did used to go an authentic Mexican torta shop in the US with 90 percent Mexican customers that offered fries and almost every table had them (they were excellent).

[jfchandler]

Jing, I don't know/can't recall that I've ever seen anything resembling "carne asada fries" at any Mexican or Cal-Mex place around Los Angeles, where I lived for many many years.... Maybe others have encountered it...

But for me, the La Monita dish resembles a much-loved "chili fries" offering by a L.A. area hamburger chain of some repute and fame called Tommy's Burgers.

Tommy's Burgers is famous for their homemade meat-only chili, which they serve on all their burgers. So their chili fries is a basket of their french fries topped with a generous pour of their chili, often topped then with diced fresh onions, sliced beefsteak tomatoes and a few slices of pickles, and some green chili peppers on the side.

The thick, somewhat oily chili soaks into the fries, and the resulting dish is a kind of eating heaven. I don't know where La Monita got the inspiration for their dish. But it ends up having the same kind of taste dynamic, but more in the nachos flavor than the straight chili approach.

They're putting a lot of melted jack cheese on it, along with guacamole and salsa and meat and sour cream sauce.... Mmmmmmmmmmm

By the way, they're also doing tortas... though I haven't tried any of those yet. There's, curiously, a Spanish language private school located just across the soi from La Monita's location, and the husband owner of La Monita lived in Spain for some time, So they're planning to do some other things like empanadas....

Here's the La Monita menu entries for their carne asada fries and their tortas... I had the "small" order of carne asada fries, which is almost a meal in itself... I haven't tried the large size by comparison.

[Jingthing]

Wouldn't it be funny if a Mexican dish popularized in Thailand was exported to the US?

Could this be the start of Thai-Mex?

Edited December 27, 2009 by Jingthing

[jfchandler]

I think it's interesting that La Monita seems to be attracting a large share of somewhat upper class Thai patrons, from my own experience and other reports here....

That doens't have anything to do with the style of food their serving... It has no influence or connection to anything in Thai cooking. As best as I can tell, it does have something to do with the Thai wife/co-proprietor, who seems to have some circle of acquaintances... But I haven't actually asked anyone there about that... It's just my impression.

On my second visit the other day, I watched while a table of four Thais, two men and two women in their 20s, woofed down a meal of tacos and burritos, and did so seemingly quite happily... Such things can only be good for the spread of Mexican food in Thailand...

[Jingthing]

What I would like to see is a highly skilled chef's deal between Thailand and Mexico to seed this trade, promoted by both governments. Say 100 Thai chefs go to Mexico, and 100 Mexican chefs go to Thailand. Mexico is getting some bad press lately, but it is emerging as a major economy. They already like "Chino" food, I think Thai food has potential there.

I am biased of course. Pattaya still lacks even one half decent Mexican restaurant. Its nuts.

Edited December 27, 2009 by Jingthing

[SpoliaOpima]

Carne asada fries are common in southern California, seen them in lots of places, esp San Diego. Google and ye shall see.

What I'd like to see on hand somewhere is a good salsa tamulada de habanero.

[onethailand]

Tommy's Burgers is famous for their homemade meat-only chili, which they serve on all their burgers. So their chili fries is a basket of their french fries topped with a generous pour of their chili, often topped then with diced fresh onions, sliced beefsteak tomatoes and a few slices of pickles, and some green chili peppers on the side.

Would you mind bringing chili cheese fries from Tommy's when you come back? Pack in your check-in luggage otherwise you'll eat them on the flight....

[Jingthing]

Carne asada fries are common in southern California, seen them in lots of places, esp San Diego. Google and ye shall see.

What I'd like to see on hand somewhere is a good salsa tamulada de habanero.

OK, thanks for that. Never saw the dish even once in Northern California.

[languageexpress]

On my second visit the other day, I watched while a table of four Thais, two men and two women in their 20s, woofed down a meal of tacos and burritos, and did so seemingly quite happily... Such things can only be good for the spread of Mexican food in Thailand...

It will be interesting to see what Thais make of Mexican food. They're normally a smidgeon insular in their dietry preferences, but Mexico does have the advantage of being the home of chillis. We had La Monita do the catering for our student Xmas party. I wasn’t sure what the Thai students would make of it, but we wanted to try something a bit different.

Overall they seemed to like it. Burritos were overwhelmingly their favorite dish, which we served cut into slices, to make the food handling easier. However, they wouldn't touch the beans, and they weren’t too keen on the five layer dip either... (more beans).

They did get right into the idea of spooning salsa all over everything…just like nam-pla , I guess.

One of the teachers suggested stuffed bell peppers would have been popular, and chorizo...if it could be made to taste like Issan sausage.

At the moment I’m trying to decide if we should push the boat out for the next student event and attempt something freakishly exotic like 'roast and 3 veg', or play it safe and get Thai….again.

[Jingthing]

Stuffed bell peppers? That's more east European than Mexican. Unless you meant chiles rellenos (not bell peppers).

Sadly to me because I would hate it, I do think there is a great business opportunity to create a big franchise of Thai taste Mexican food. The same idea as lowbrow American taste Mexican at Taco Bell which has no resemblance to actual Mexican food.

Edited December 29, 2009 by Jingthing

[languageexpress]

Stuffed bell peppers? That's more east European than Mexican. Unless you meant chiles rellenos (not bell peppers).

Sadly to me because I would hate it, I do think there is a great business opportunity to create a big franchise of Thai taste Mexican food. The same idea as lowbrow American taste Mexican at Taco Bell which has no resemblance to actual Mexican food.

I guess that what he meant. (Where I grew up we dont actually use the term "bell peppers".)

It always seems wrong to alter a cuisine to suit the palates of a another country, but it happens everywhere. I'm keen to see what kind of bastardised concoctions they'll come up with. (And will it compete with the "seafood in cones of flakey pastry and no cheese" that seem to monopolise locally designed pizzas)

[zaphodbeeblebrox]

Stuffed bell peppers? That's more east European than Mexican. Unless you meant chiles rellenos (not bell peppers).

Sadly to me because I would hate it, I do think there is a great business opportunity to create a big franchise of Thai taste Mexican food. The same idea as lowbrow American taste Mexican at Taco Bell which has no resemblance to actual Mexican food.

Stuffed bell peppers appear in a variety of cuisines: Greek, Middle-Eastern, Turkish, Yugoslavian, the Balkan countries, and America. The Mexican versions would be chile rellenos and jalapeno poppers, which originated in Mexico and America, respectively. I think a more traditional rice and ground beef stuffed bell pepper, with Mexican spices, and baked in a chili sauce (instead of the American tomato sauce) would be tasty. I'll try it out and let you know.

[Jingthing]

I fully agree stuffed bell peppers are found in many cultures. However, in Mexico, stuffed bell peppers are not typical. A pepper is not a pepper. A chile rellenos with a bell pepper instead of a poblano pepper would be sad.

Edited December 29, 2009 by Jingthing

[zaphodbeeblebrox]

A pepper is not a pepper. A chile rellenos with a bell pepper instead of a poblano pepper would be sad.

I would agree with that. It's near impossible to find poblanos, or any other pepper large enough (like Anaheims), to make rellenos in Thailand.

That's what makes La Monita and T&S good restaurants.

They serve food that you can't make better at home. Most Mexican dishes I can cook at home. In fact, I had pork fajitas for lunch. Well, that's Tex-Mex, but it was still delicious. So easy to make, and all the ingredients are available here in Thailand.

As for chile rellenos, I don't like deep fat frying at home: it's messy, it smells, and it heats up the house. I'll be sure to visit both La Monita and T&S next month on my run to Bangkok. In the meantime, I'll pick up my supplies for Mexican stuffed bell peppers and post the results, with pics.

[sabaijai]

Chiles rellenos are hard to make well, my sombrero's off to anyone who has mastered the recipe. I look forward to trying La Monita's.

I like Sunrise's variation on the dish, which is to make a sort of casserole of it. Like 'tamale pie' - you could call it 'chile relleno pie.'

Pedantic note:

1 chile relleno, 2 chiles rellenos

[onethailand]

Went there yesterday - and sadly they were out of carne asada - must've been your students' fault, languagexpress...

Billy offered to make the fries with al pastor, so I tried that - and it was delicious. Couldn't finish the small one with my currently damaged appetite but managed to get most of the good stuff down

Next time... carne asada - but definitely like the way La Monita has started so far!

[zaphodbeeblebrox]

Pedantic note:

chile relleno, 2 chiles rellenos

Point of grammar well taken,

but some dictionaries indicate chile rellenos is an acceptable plural. Webster's Online Dictionary

Haven't had the chiles rellenos pie at Sunrise, but I imagine that the chillies are not egg batter-fried in their version. If the chillies are stuffed, than it's rellenos. If the chillies are not stuffed, it might be more a rancheros (literally "ranch-style", but a more general category of cooking with chillies, such as Huevos Rancheros).

I'm sure it's tasty nonetheless.

[sabaijai]

It's not traditional chiles rellenos but it's delicious. The chiles are chopped and distributed throughout the casserole with egg and cheese, with corn masa holding it all together. I'd have called it 'inspired by chiles rellenos' or 'chiles rellenos pie' if I had written the menu.

I OD'ed on traditional chiles rellenos while living in Mexico. Must have eaten them hundreds of times as it's the one dish just about every Mexican cafe does right.

[powderpuff]

Robb at Los Cabos is having his chilis air lifted in. I think you connoisseurs will be pleasantly surprised.

[BackinBKK]

Robb at Los Cabos is having his chilis air lifted in. I think you connoisseurs will be pleasantly surprised.

Robb's Chili's at Los Cabos are quality and I like how they are going more towards the Seafood and fish, but still have the popular mexican standby's that most people expect from a Mexican Restaurant.

I still need to give La Monita a try as it sounds like they are doing quite a good job with the tacqueria. Will have a stop by soon and post some pics if I can.