Monday, May 19, 2014

Viva Mexico by Cinnamon at Mandarin Oriental Jakarta

I have always been an avid fan of Mexican food: Taco, Quesadilla, Enchiladas (favorite) you name it, and I am glad that Cinnamon Restaurant at Mandarin Oriental Jakarta is currently having the Viva Mexico promotion going on until 22nd, so I guess you better scan reading this, get your keys and drive by to the venue!

This event is held in coordination with The Embassy of Mexico with Chef Angel Vazquez Castelan "imported" straight from Puebla, Mexico.  A little about Chef Angel, he owned two restaurants back in Mexico: Intro and Kafeina and not only an expert in Mexican food, he's also very keen on Brazilian, Moroccan and Scandinavian cuisine, all thanks to years of working experience at some of the world's famous restaurants like Main Course in New York, Cal Ble, El Cingle and Ze Kitchen Galerie in Paris!

Also a little about Cinnamon, it's one of Mandarin Oriental Jakarta's signature restaurants, as well as the home to MO Cake Shop, I once wrote about their famous Kronut (still remains numero uno favorite btw), the restaurant was quite spacious with seating capacity for 100-150 people, and it serves both buffet and ala carte courses, nuff yakking and let the yum begins!




Good thing about Cinnamon is that even though they're having the Mexican food promotion going, they don't leave the international food section away. Here's a little piece of the Indian food section, LOVE LOVE LOVE Indian rice (Brasmati)!

Japanese section with fresh sushi and sashimi!
...still, the main focus of this particular post is THE MEXICAN FOOD! Roasted chicken, very orgasmic to the eye, and surprisingly, tasted wonderful as well, the meat was still juicy and the coating was just wonderfully crispy, fingerlickin' delish!
Tortilla chips!
Arroz Blanco con Elotes Rajas y Crema (Rice with Poblano peppers, corn and cream)
I think the cream was infused to the rice on the cooking process resulting the rice to have this gooey texture and a tad creamy flavor to it, might be simple, but I was fond of this one!
Filete de Huachinago Relleno de Mariscos con Salsa de Acuyo (Red Snapper fillet stuffed with seafood and Acuyo sauce)
Texture and flavor wise, the red snapper fillet was uber good, the texture of the fish was silky, smooth with buttery flavor.

Pollo en Salsa de Chipotle y Epatoze, Calabaza y Elote
Chicken leg and thigh in Chipotle Epatoze sauce
This might look very much like curry or if you know...gulai, but this tasted tad different, the soup consistency and flavor was lighter, not as bold as gulai, and they use beans as the vegetable dressing, the idea of eating this was along with the soup, so you didn't only take the chicken, potato and beans. The chicken was really tender but I was expecting more kick from the broth.
Camaron en Sasa de Pipian Rojo
Shrimp in Pipian Rojo (Sesame Pumpkin Seed Red Sauce)
Enmoladas de Pollo, Cebolla, Queso Cotija
Soft chicken tacos with onion and Cotija cheese in Mole Poblano Sauce
If you think this is some kind of mac, cheese and eggs, you're WRONG! These are actually corns drenched in sauces, but surprisingly they had this potato like texture.



Sambal matah? No! It's actually salsa dressing
Flautas! Generous chicken filling!


Tostada De Tinga Poblana
One of my favorites among the whole courses! It's so full of unique ingredients, so much elements in one plate that they just literally burst in your mouth, in a good way! The idea was to eat everything with one bite (not the whole round of course!), but just reach as much as you can with one bite: the meat, the veges, the red bean puree, and the sauce. Total yum and a little mexicoma!
Es Kacang for dessert. Yum!

The following beverages are actually not a part of the Viva Mexico promotion, but life's too short NOT to have a little fun and this could be your choice to pair it with the Mexican food, talk about 'legal'!

Virgin Margarita
Call me lame but since you (probably) now that I don't really drink, I went with Virgin Margarita to pair the course, and to be frank, Cinnamon's version of Virgin Margarita was surprisingly one of the best in the bunch! The amount of sourness, sweetness and that sparkling sensation were on the proper state. One is simply not enough... try!

Tequila Shot
Okay, to be fair with the others, I finally took one shot of Tequila and...I hated it! Still not my favorite drink (boo!) and my body easily reacted to the nature of the Tequila and it started getting hotter and hotter, but even though technically not my favorite, to be honest, it was still one hell of an experience. I am probably more of a Martini guy.

Come on it's just bloody Tequila no need to be so dramatic.

and to close this post, a photo of the chef! Chef Angel Vasquez Castelan.
He might be just the example of how Mexican angels should look like in real life and therefore the term "angel" is not overrated.
The food was honestly not bad at all, but one thing I need to point out is the range! I know that tacos and friends might be a little mainstream, but they're like the major identity of Mexican food and I was expecting to find them on the trays but they didn't show up. Having those courses might just be a very good idea to add up the range.

Ladies and gentlemen, bring your amigos to Cinnamon at Mandarin Oriental Jakarta to experience the authentic Mexican cuisine, best before May 22nd 2014! Ready to hear the good part: for IDR 295k++ only each person!

Cinnamon Restaurant
Mandarin Oriental Hotel Jakarta
Jalan M.H. Thamrin PO BOX 3392
Jakarta Pusat 10310
021 - 2993 8820
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This post is brought to you by Mandarin Oriental Jakarta


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