I have followed the search for decent Mexican food in Thailand with interest. I believe it was Chingy who finally deduced that, "there isn't any".

Until a few days ago, I had one hope left. Several people had mentioned that Tequila Reef in Pattaya is the real deal and that the owner of, the excellent, Bourbon street in Bangkok is a part owner as well.
I finally tracked the place down this week.
I lived in San Francisco for many years, and I will tell you one thing, it looks like real Mexican Food.
However, as each and every super-type Burrito is completely covered in what tastes like bottled BBQ sauce - they call it "enchilada sauce" - I don't have the slightest idea what the other ingredients tasted like, but it wasn't like any Mexican food that I've ever had. The flour tortilla was springy rather than flat like it should be however, I can tell you that.
Anyway, one more fake Mexican place knocked from its pedestal!

It is a shame about that Judge. But it does seem as though food is changed to suit the palate when it is served in a country not of its origin. My UK mates were really suprised when I showed them how a real tom yam kung tastes...

I eat in Tequila Reef 3 times. The last time I had a very poor cheeseburger (yeah, i regret that choice but it was what I craved at the time ) anyway, got violently sick from it and haven't gone back since.

It's ok, not the best, but I've had far worse. Plus we are in Thailand so never expected real mexican. Margaritas are good - a few pitchers and you'll stop worrying about your grub.

Owner is a yank from Arizona if I recall.

As you might expect from my handle, this is a pet peeve of mine!
Please, somebody, recognize an incredible opportunity and offer REAL MEXICAN FOOD in Thailand. OK, it can be real California style Mexican food, or real Texas style Mexican, or real Mexican Mexican food, but please stop with the horrible fake stuff!

I think for American expats the lack of Mexican food is high on the short list of things they can't get in Thailand. This is an incredible business opportunity for somebody and there is no excuse for the current situation. It certainly seems like you can get decent British food (oxymoron?), decent French food, decent Indian food, decent Japanese food, I could go on and on.

There is a Mexican restaurant in Bangkok I have heard and I believe offers very good gourmet style Mexican food. I have not tried it yet but the chef is apparantly very good and from Mexico. However, it is expensive, open for dinner only, and offers live music. With all due respect, this is NOT the kind of mass market earthy everyday kind of Mexican food American expats are hungering for, though it is certainly very welcome for special occasions. If you want to make your mouth water, click on the menu button of this web site and read the food desciptions. It sounds great and the place has been well reviewed.
http://hotel.rembrandtbkk.com/dining/senor_pico.html

And one other thing: if you even entertain for uno momento that the food at the Blue Parrot in Pattaya has anything in common with real Mexican food, expletive deleted.

BTW: I did finally locate 100 agave tequila for sale by the bottle in Thailand in Pattaya! Friendship Supermarket on Pattaya Tai has it and it is expensive but what did you expect. They have it in reposado and anejo.

This post has been edited by Thaiquila: 2005-02-24 22:58:39

The only time I had half decent Fahitas was in this small mexican cafe type place in Chiang Mai, I forget the name but it was on the main market road, the pita thing they roll the chicken in was ok and got decent gaukamolie (However TF you spell that!) and sour cream.

I know in Japan they had some fab Mexican places, I'd say just a matter of time before we get a gooden in Bkk

This post has been edited by Shola: 2005-02-25 00:02:05

Well, that is all very nice, and decent guacamole sounds lovely. However, the use of sour cream is suspect and not once in decades of eating good Mexican food has it been served in PITA BREAD.

In any case, it is the taste that matters, and sometimes fusiony adaptions can work.

However, still looking ...

Interestingly, it is also hard to get Thai food in Mexico. There is a place in Vallarta that is supposed to be very good, but I won't pay 600 baht for a plate of phad thai noodles.

This post has been edited by Thaiquila: 2005-02-25 04:00:59

[/quote]
Well, that is all very nice, and decent guacamole sounds lovely. However, the use of sour cream is suspect and not once in decades of eating good Mexican food has it been served in PITA BREAD.

In any case, it is the taste that matters, and sometimes fusiony adaptions can work.

However, still looking ...

Interestingly, it is also hard to get Thai food in Mexico. There is a place in Vallarta that is supposed to be very good, but I won't pay 600 baht for a plate of phad thai noodles.

[/quote]

Nooooooo! I ment decent guacawhatevermajig and sour cream on the side!
Well so far it looks like I'll be going to that rembrant place tonight with my hubby to try it out, so I'll let you all know my out of 10 score tommorow!
I don't really mind if the foods crap as long as the wines good!

OK heres the secret for at least California style and Tex Mex, since that is the only thing I know how to cook. Make yourself, you can find just about everything you need in Bangkok and Pattaya. The one thing I haven't been able to do is find a good corn tortilla. For taco's they are supposed to be lightly fried, try that with what you get for corn tortilla and they will fall apart everytime. I did some research on a tortilla press and am trying to have one built here now. It is not looking real promising, I also had tortilla mix brought in from the states. Haven't been able to find Jalipino peppers so I got some seeds from the states they just breaking ground now, they taste different then anyhting I can find locally.

I have found refried beans, jalpino cheese sauce, enchillada sauce and the alvocado I have found here are excellent for cuagamole. Probely ther reason you don't find a good mexican resturants here is the cost of the things needed to make the food. I happen to go through withdrawels being from Los Angeles a stop at a good Tacorilla in the barro is something that even thinking of makes my mouth water.

It would be cheaper to serve a very good imported steak here then good Mexican food.

So I think the bet we can do is try to make it ourselves, for me since I live in Udon, that means some very long range shopping trips, but worth it to me.

Yes,
I did suspect a large part of the problem is sourcing the proper ingredients.

But other cuisines have solved this ... so I still feel it is just a matter of an unexploited opportunity.

For example, a large scale entrepreuneur could import the tortilla making machines and masa flour and start a corn tortilla factory. And a Mexican cheese factory. And yes, I don't recall seeing fresh jalapenos in Thailand, but they can certainly be grown. Avacodos do seem expensive in the markets. But many of the other basic ingredients are plentiful: tomatos, cilantro, etc.

In a previous life I lived in California and the large Asian population demands the best ingredients and authentic food. The farming community responded by producing almost any kind of "exotic" Asian vegetable you can imagine. The result ... better Vietnamese food, for example, than I have had in Vietnam, for one example.

Western expats in Thailand can create a business opportunity over this same kind of thing, with Mexican food. Build a better burrito, and they will come!

This post has been edited by Thaiquila: 2005-02-25 10:35:49

When I was working in BKK about 18 months ago, there used to be a pretty good Tex-Mex restaurant on the first floor of the Ploenchit centre... the one with all the high-end hi-fi systems shops on the upper levels. It overlooks Sukhumvit road.

Can't remember the name but they used to sell great chicken fahitas.

Ribs were also aroy mak mak!!!

OK - Go to the entrance of Nichida Thani (Nonthaburi) from the Samakee side.

There's a little Mexican restaurant there run by an American mormon - tastes real enough to me...

Where can you buy sour cream in this country?

Try Tesco, I think they have it, I don't like it so I haven't really looked that hard, I'm sure it can be found in Bangkok. Build a better burrito and they will come I'm sure that is correct, but that really does sound like work. Think I have become much to lazy for that. I did a bit of reserach on Tortilla presses there is one available that will make an iungodly amount an hour and cook them at the same time as I recall it was like $7000.00 It more then likely be a good business here, even the one that you can get just do not taste the same. Anyone who really understand the flavors and textures involved will never settle for Taco shells. I did make some enchillada's with the the local brand and that turned out OK

The Jalapinos are no problem the seeds broke ground in a less then a week, I plan on aving seeds from these, so I should have more then enough to keep me going from the first planting.

This post has been edited by ray23: 2005-02-25 15:21:07

Everywhere! More to the point where can you buy guacawhatsitmajig over here, I love but have never seen it??

Well Tesco, Carre Four, Foodland, Tops and Big C all do not have the stuff. I guess you can't buy it at retail here

I was at the Villa at Suk 33 today. They had sour cream and little tubs of guacamole. That said, I've never found any ready-made guac all that aroy. They always seem to mix it up too much, rendering it too creamy, and I like mine a little chunky. And it's not that hard to make. Here's what I do:

I get a couple ripe (but not mushy) avocados, halve them and cube them. I mash up 2 or 3 cloves of garlic, and dice up a small onion pretty fine and a tomato or 2 pretty coarsely. In America I'd use the juice from half a lemon, but you'd better use a whole one over here. A little salt, some cayenne pepper, mash it all together, but don't beat it to death. The ingredients should be well met but not pulverized. A little cilantro on top and I'm done. And it's best to eat it as soon as possible, as it doesn't grow old gracefully. All these ingredients are available here most of the time. Good chips, well, that's another matter for another post. Cheers -

jb

You don't buy it make it very easy to do.

Ripe alvacado, must be soft to the touch you can't find them that way just buy them and wait a bit they will get soft.

Take the flesh from them add some lemon juice or lime lemon is better.

Green onions, tops only chopped small

Salt and pepper to taste

Add the lemon juice as to get the texture you want and mix vigoursly in a bowl with a fork.

You want it zesty add a bit of your favorite chilli chopped very fine.

A trick to keeping it fresh is to leave a seed in the bowl when you are done, if you don't the outside mixture will turn black very quickly.

Only takes a couple of minutes and it is great, especially if you are in Bangkok or pattaya where you can get tortilla chips.

Good information.
But please note that GARLIC is also a quite common ingredient for guacamole. Of course, Thai garlic is a different, so I don't know if it would work so well.

This has also given me an idea.
Yes, it is hard to get good chips or corn tortillas (althouth frozen flour burrito shells are available some places), but it is quite easy for a lot of people to get decent BREAD.

So, for home cooking it might be productive to play around with creating MEXICAN TORTAS, or sandwiches, which use similar ingredients to tacos and burritos. Some guacamole is a must for a good torta.

quick recipie for guacamole...mash up ripe avocados, add a couple of dollops of hot salsa (should be available in BKK), a good squeeze of lemon and bobs yer uncle...tastes ok on Ryvita if you can't find good tortilla chips...

Never tried the garlic have to give that a try. At worse case you can always buy the taco shells break um up and use them as chips

Bourbon St has a Mexican buffet on Tuesday night.
I was very pleased with the selections and quality.
Burritos a bi thin, but everything else very good.
I am a vet from SoCal/USA Mexican, but then again
I am not hard to please.
Try it.

Also heard the Great American Rib on Soi 36 has good
Mexican but I have not tried it yet.

As for Mexican food in Pattaya? I ate in a place called, I think, the Blue Parrot. I forgot what I had. As I recall, though, it was OK. I also tried a burrito once in the Tahitian Queen. I had to laugh when they served it to me with a spoon.

Rex

I'm looking to find a tasty chimichanga in this country but i know it's too much to ask. no refrieds pls

"Tia Maria" on Suk soi 23 serves as good Mexican food as any I ever had in Mexico or Belize. The Margeritas are large and cheap too.