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Mexican Madness II A tale of two restaurants: That Little Mexican Place

Posted by  | Categories: Desserts, Mexican, Perth, Restaurants

Part One | Part Two

My sister’s impromptu and random visit to Perth for New Year’s seemed to keep getting extended longer and longer.  Surely she has a job back in Melbourne to return to?  My sister and I had partied fairly hard and fast for five days straight leaving us both a bit scattered and sleep deprived.  At the end point of all this, both the boy and I had to return to work whilst my sis remained on her indefinite holiday.

The problem is when you are of one of the only poor souls who have to return to work whilst being surrounded by those still in holiday mood; you completely lose your chance to chip away at your own personal sleep debt.  Eventually you may find you get a second wind of energy (or be it a third wind, or in this case – I actually think I lost track of the number).  The boy had matters made even worse for him by missing out on most of it after contracting a gastro bug that floored him for over five days.

After my literally scorching experience at Pancho’s, I really wanted to redeem Mexican cuisine for myself. Remaining local, we strolled down to the Broken Hill Hotel for a few pre-dinner drinks before heading to That Little Mexican Place.  Immediately, the differences to the mainstream Pancho’s became glaringly apparent to me.  Although TLMP was similarly filled to capacity, there was no fluoro paint on blackboards, there were no glowing happy hour cocktails, and there was most definitely no cheesy 80’s music playing.  Instead we were greeted by a cosy and sublime vibe that left you feeling like you had stumbled upon one of Perth’s best kept little secrets.  TLMP’s humble beginnings started with their tiny restaurant opening over on Fitzgerald Street in North Perth and in more recent years they have expanded over to the south into Vic Park.  The owners have spent some time travelling around Mexico where they ate their way around the country to eventually return back to Perth bringing all the flavours and ideas back with them.

Being BYO, we stopped by the Broken Hill bottle shop and bought a bottle of West Cape Howe 2010 “Styx Gully” Chardonnay.  I thought this subtly oaked wine produced by one my favourite wineries from the Great Southern region was sure to satisfy my sister’s palate but I was informed it was too fruity for her liking.  I thought the citrus was as subtle as the oak but I’m no wine expert and everyone palate is different.

Service was bubbly and helpful with the waitress returning from the kitchen with a whole list of dishes suitable for our no gluten and no onion requirements.  I was actually quite impressed with the amount of choice we had with ordering as the waitress explained that they make most of their dishes fresh.

Their guacamole is made fresh “a la mesa” (at your tableside) and is served with house made tortilla chips.  Serving tableside always reminds me of Hell’s Kitchen – Chef Ramsey is a keen fan of this however our waitress looked much more relaxed in front of us compared to Ramsey’s contestants in his show!  This guacamole was exceedingly better than that at Pancho’s, the serving was about three times the size and it was seasoned perfectly.  Even better still, I received no oil burns or other injuries whilst eating it! (TLMP $16 compared to Pancho’s $15)

Pork Taquitos "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "Perth food blog" "food blog" Chompchomp "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "That Little Mexican Place" "Victoria Park" Mexican

Taquitos de Puerco

For entrée we ordered three dishes to share amongst the four of us in addition to the guacamole.  The taquitos de Puerco was described as two crispy rolled tacos filled with shredded pork and topped with melted cheese and guacamole.  Rather than drenching the crunchy little rolls in cheese and making them soggy, there was just an elegant drizzle and the taco was as crispy as a corn chip but wafer thin.

Tamal Duck "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "Perth food blog" "food blog" Chompchomp "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "That Little Mexican Place" "Victoria Park" Mexican

Tamal de pato

Tamales are a traditional Latin American dish made of “masa” which is a starchy type of dough that is steamed or boiled wrapped up in a leaf wrapper which is then discarded before eating.  Tamales are often filled with a variety of things such as meat, cheese, fruit or vegetables.  TLMP’s tamale was made with a duck confit dressed with an orange and chipotle salsa.  This dish had a lot of warm in it due to the chipotle salsa which was strengthened by the acidity of the citrus.  Very tasty.

Taco "nopal" "cactus tacos""Perth Restaurant Reviews" "Perth food blog" "food blog" Chompchomp "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "That Little Mexican Place" "Victoria Park" Mexican

Taco de nopal

We all got quite excited about the cactus tacos which escalated when we saw it was on the list of foods we could order!  Despite all of us having a fair amount of travel under our belts – none of us had tried cactus before.  These tacos were made using “nopales” which are from the fleshy pad like part of the prickly pear.  They are a common feature in Mexican cuisine where they are farmed commercially.  It was prepared with portabella mushrooms, a popular way to serve them, however I did find that the mushroom taste overpowered the flavour of the cactus.  Not that I’m complaining – I absolutely love mushrooms – but I would have liked to be able to identify the flavours of the cactus.  They are supposed to taste like a tarty version of green beans however our dish ended up with quite a mild and nutty flavour (possibly from the mushrooms).  I will have to go back and try them again!

Prawns "sizzling prawns" "Camarones al la diabla" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "Perth food blog" "food blog" Chompchomp "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "That Little Mexican Place" "Victoria Park" Mexican

Camarones al la diabla (prawns cooked with achiote and cayenne, served sizzling)

Continuing in my desire to establish a fair comparison of TLMP to Pancho’s, we ordered the sizzling prawns.  Remember my experience back at Pancho’s?  Think soggy vegetables, stale oil and defrosted seafood dripping in slop?  Thankfully, as with rest of our dining experience at TLMP, this dish was a winner.  The vibrant colouring of the achiote paste also gave this dish a very distinct flavour.  The combination of spices produced a fair bit of heat which the boy doesn’t tolerate well and I looked over to see the familiar sight of him poking his tongue out in attempts to cool his mouth down!  (Sizzling prawns: TLMP $22, Pancho’s $27)

"That Little Mexican Place" Mexican "Lamb shank" "Victoria Park" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "Perth food blog" "food blog" Chompchomp "gluten free" "fructose malabsorption"

Barbacoa de cordero vástago (Lamb shank smoked then braised with chipotle and tomato)

Lamb shank dishes are nearly invariably off the menu for a fructose malabsorber due to the presence of onion contained in most stocks.  So when we saw that the shanks also featured on our list of acceptable dishes – there was minimal discussion, it was a done deal. It was a very good choice.  The meat fell off the bone easily and was exceedingly tender.

"That Little Mexican Place" Mexican "Victoria Park" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "Perth food blog" "food blog" Chompchomp "gluten free" "fructose malabsorption" "Enchilada de Queso" "Chevre cheese" "jack cheese" "feta cheese" "corn tortillas"

Enchilada de Queso (Chevre, jack and mild feta cheese, rolled into corn tortillas and baked with salsa asada)

The triple cheese enchiladas were a bit of a naughty treat ordered due to our interest in jack cheese as this was another thing we hadn’t tried.  Despite all the cheese, this dish was surprisingly not too oily or fatty.  Because all the cheese melted into one, once again I found it difficult to place the taste of the jack cheese alone.  Another excuse for a return visit I guess!

Fish "ceviche" mango "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "Perth food blog" "food blog" Chompchomp "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "That Little Mexican Place" "Victoria Park" Mexican

Ceviche de pescado (fish cured in citrus with mango, tomato, red onion and coriander)

The ceviche was my least favourite dish of the evening.  After experiencing such amazing spices and flavours contained in the other dishes we had ordered, delicate fish with sweet mango was simply overpowered by all the other excitement on my palate.

"Berry pannacotta" dessert "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "Perth food blog" "food blog" Chompchomp "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "That Little Mexican Place" "Victoria Park" Mexican

Berry pannacotta

All the authentic Mexican desserts on the menu were not gluten free so reluctantly I had to order the only option which was the berry pannacotta.  It was delicious but it wasn’t the right shape or texture for a pannacotta.  I wish churros were gluten free!

By contrasting my two dining experiences at Pancho’s and That Little Mexican Place, I appreciate that I may appear to some to be comparing apples with oranges, or chalk and cheese; but here is a little piece of advice for those who believe they are happily sacrificing quality in the manner of a cheap night out at Pancho’s, you may be very mistaken.   When comparing simple dishes like the guacamole and the sizzling prawns, TLMP won the fight hands down on both taste AND price.  I guarantee I won’t return to Pancho’s again, but I certain my curiosity will drag me back to That Little Mexican Place.  And probably more than once!

Price:           $$$     ($12-18 Entrée, $17-26 Mains)
Food:           4/5     (a distinct lack of slops and sour cream)
Service:       4/5      (very accommodating )
Ambience:  3.5/5  (a packed restaurant gives good vibe)
Drinks:        4/5    (you can BYO your tequila and they make margaritas for you!)
Total:          15.5/20
 
 
That Little Mexican Place | http://www.tlmp.com.au
279 Albany Highway, Victoria Park | (08) 9472 0767
382 Fitzgerald Street, North Perth | (08) 9227 5755

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Mexican Madness I A tale of two restaurants: Pancho's Mexican Villa

Posted by  | Categories: Mexican, Perth, Restaurants

Part One | Part Two

I have been keen to try the popular V Burger Bar for absolutely ages, so after creating much hype with the boy all day (including performing a little dance that he calls my Homer dance), we journeyed down to the Albany Highway café strip to give their burgers a shot.  To my extreme disappointment I was to find they had run out of gluten-free buns!  I was so devastated! I had been conjuring up images of sinking my teeth deep into a juicy burger for much of the day and nearly stamped my feet like a child in the middle of the restaurant due to my exasperation.

Walking out of the restaurant I could see the dismay on the boy’s face too.  I know how much he loves nachos, so I made what ended up being a very bad decision and suggested we stroll over to Pancho’s Mexican Villa instead.  We walked by all the tried and tested Thai and other Asian joints and walked down the dirty mall corridor into a packed and noisy restaurant.

Service started off a little slow leaving us sitting thirsty and peckish for long enough to notice.  As I perused the menu I was pleased to see there were plenty of gluten-free options and figured that all I needed to do was stay well away from any salsas to avoid the onion.  We started off with some strawberry daiquiris – this is the boy’s favourite drink when we were in Thailand.  Unfortunately none of our memories came flooding back to us when presented with this toxic looking beverage.  It came out a strange bright fluorescent red colour and was sickeningly sweet presumably with the A to Z of all things artificial.  Not exactly my kind of drink but with a half of a bottle of Cloudy Bay Chardonnay already in me I was willing to compromise and just go with the flow.

"Chilli con queso" "guacamole" "chilli con carne" "Pancho's Mexican Villa restaurant" Panchos Mexican "Victoria Park" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "Perth food blog" "food blog" Chompchomp "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "Corn chips" Dips

Trio dips: Chilli con queso, guacamole, chilli con carne

For entrées we ordered some dips with corn chips and some potato skins to share.  Our dips came out after a short delay without the accompanying potato skins entrée.  As we chatted and tapped our feet to the horrific mix of 80’s tunes playing, we ate our first half of our entrée and I began to wish we had stopped at Little Ying Thai instead.  The corn chips tasted commercially made and the dips were very oily and bland.  The guacamole was basically just mashed avocado with minimal lemon juice, tomato, spices or salt added.  The Queso dip tasted like the plastic cheese that you get in little cheese sticks for children’s lunch boxes but melted down into goop a bowl.  I avoided most of the chilli con carne dip as I figured it would most likely have some onion in it.  I had a very small taste of it which proved to be watery and as tasteless as the rest of the dips.

As we nibbled away and wondered where our skins were, a waiter zoomed past our table with a sizzling plate of hot food.  As he walked past us big spats of hot oil came showering over the top of me and left a couple of blisters on my neck.  I wasn’t sure if I was being a bit of a sook but it was stinging a fair bit!  The boy gave a quick glance at my neck in the dim light and could see little blisters starting to form on my skin!  I gestured to the waiter and explained to him what had happened.  He said he would talk to his manager however unfortunately that was all we heard from him all night.  No apology was forthcoming, nor was any discount or compensation offered.

Prawns "Cajun camerons" "Pancho's Mexican Villa restaurant" Panchos Mexican "Victoria Park" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "Perth food blog" "food blog" Chompchomp "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption"

Cajun camarons

Slowly but surely we managed to work our way through our fairly dismal entrées.  We are normally fairly speedy eaters but these dips were by no means delicious.  Finally our mains were brought to our table however we were still without our second entrée.  We let the waiter know that we were expecting another entrée and we were informed that it was on the way.

I ordered the Cajun camarons – this was described on the menu as northwest sizzling prawns, dusted in spices, served with rice and vegetables.  I figured a meat dish with spices and no sauces would be an easy way to avoid onion as it was already marked on the menu as gluten-free.  The prawns came out sizzling in about half a cup of stale oil which drenched through the whole remainder of the dish.  The vegetables that accompanied the meal consisted of a soggy slop of cooked grated carrot, zucchini and capsicum with micro-heads of mushy broccoli.  It was so overcooked the vegetables had progressed in texture to become more of a stringy mash.  The oil from the prawns soaked right through the vegetables to give everything on the plate an unpleasant and nearly rancid aftertaste.  The rice was about the only thing edible on the plate and although that was a little overcooked; in my hunger I still ate it.

The boy ordered his beef nachos.  They were unmemorable and a bit soggy and he had very little to comment about them at all.

"Pancho's Mexican Villa restaurant" Panchos Mexican "Victoria Park" "Perth Restaurant Reviews" "Perth food blog" "food blog" Chompchomp "Gluten free" "Fructose malabsorption" "Beef nachos"

Beef nachos

Once we had both finished our main meals our second entrée finally appeared.  At this point in time we had to laugh.  I was expecting some crisp skins, ones that you could eat with your fingers – a little like wedges but less meaty, with maybe some kind of sauce (we chose beef).  Nothing prepared me for the mountain of mush that was put in front of us.  We started to eat it but found all the oil, cheese and sour cream piled high on top of a barely existent poor potato skin proved as inedible as the rest of our meals.  I gestured to the waiter to take it away before I started to feel ill.

It has been nearly ten years since I have eaten Mexican – we ate it often when we lived in London as there were a couple of favourite places we used to visit.  I am reluctant to even eat it again after this experience but we are going to give it another shot and hit up another Mexican place in my next blog …. Stay tuned……

Price:           $$  ($10-16 Entrée, $17-27 Mains)
Food:           0.5/5  (near on revolting)
Service:       2/5  (service with a smile and a scar to make sure you never forget)
Ambience:  3/5  (a packed restaurant gives good vibe)
Drinks:        2/5  (too toxic and artificial for me but cheap)
 
Pancho’s Mexican Villa Restaurant
885 Albany Hwy, East Victoria Park 6101 | (08) 9361 2135 | www.panchos.com.au
 

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