In the Colonia Mexico, there is a relatively new dessert place called El Postrecito (the little dessert) run by a talented Yuca who lived in Quebec. Their coffee is great, their desserts are really delicious.

Short verdict: Go.

Have their melt in your mouth truffles or their signature Canadian dessert; a bread pudding baked with maple syrup or something to that effect.

A great option after eating fishy things at nearby Campay Sushi.

Tonight the Better Half and the Casual Restaurant Critic visited Wok to Walk, mentioned in the last post as coming into an already crowded placita called Fontana, across from the IMSS mega-hospital.

The restaurant is in the throes of opening, so there is still plenty of empty space behind the counter, there is no glass separating the flaming wok area from the public and the general feeling is that of a soft opening.

The cash register, however, is working!

The Critic and his BH had visited Wok to Walk before – the Montejo location – so knew the drill: you pick your rice or noodle, your toppings or goodies to be stir fried and your favorite sauce. They are then cooked up for you on the spot in giant woks with occasional bursts of flame flashing out to make it more showy.

Kind of like a teppan yaki restaurant except without the Japanese accent or the jokes or the knife acrobatics. OK, maybe not like a teppan yaki restaurant.

On this occasion the Critic ordered rice noodles with tofu, thai chicken, green pepper while the Better Half ordered arroz de trigo which prompted a reaction from the Critic who was surprised that there even was such an animal. Arroz de trigo means wheat rice, which is of course, not any rice that the Critic has seen in Superama lately. The Spanish menu says Arroz Integral which means brown rice, but apparently in the translation this became wheat rice. As in whole wheat perhaps? Also the green pepper mentioned above was off the English menu; the Spanish menu says pimiento, which is a red bell pepper and which is what was actually tucked in amongst the rice noodles. The noodles were ordered with the curry n coconut sauce; the rice with the Saigon sauce. Both dishes were excellent, piping hot, tasty and served in the little orange Chinese take-out boxes that have come to characterize Wok to Walk. Chopsticks were available too. And not the cheap kind either.

The decor and seating is of the minimalist style and there are similar seating options outside as well. Service was friendly enough from the young man who took the order; there were a lot of other people hanging around both outside and in: the Critic assumes these are trainees.

Would the Critic return? Probably.

The Better Half and the Critic had lunch at Il Piattino today. Nothing new about that, it’s been done before but the Critic noted that he hadn’t written about previous visits.

Il Piattino is a place for a casual pasta, panini or salad. Prices are cheap and the location is right across from the white elephant Hospital de Especialidades, run by the IMSS (say no more) in that new, fashionable part of town called Altabrisa.

Upon entering the restaurant, the Critic and his Better Half bumped into the only waiter on duty, who was so absorbed with counting the change on a bill he was returning to a table, that he was unable to acknowledge in any way the presence of two more guests that he would be serving that day. Off to a good start!

Today, a salad and a panini were ordered. The salad, a Caesar that actually looks like a Caesar unlike the awfully original Trotters’ version, came out almost immediately, while the panini took an eternity during which time the Critic was able to check multiple email accounts on his cell phone thanks to free wifi that the restaurant offers. The bathroom is an un-air conditioned cubbyhole, hot, not very clean and featuring an open hole for an air duct high up on the wall that a Komodo dragon sized lizard could crawl through at night. Needless to say the Better Half finished her salad eons before the Critics’ food was brought, making for some interesting speculation as to what was causing the delay. Perhaps they had to go to Italy (or Costco) for more prosciutto? It was decided, once the plate arrived, that it was the fault of the french fries; which probably took a while to get well, fried.

When the time came for the bill, the Critic went directly to the cashier, which caused a little confusion, since the generally accepted procedure is to get the bill from the waiter, but time was a factor and the Critic wanted/needed to leave. The cashier hummed and hawed a bit, and of course her confusion was understandable, since the Critics’ was the ONLY table left in the restaurant and it must have been challenging to locate la cuenta.

The bill came to 150 pesos with one bottle of water and the aforementioned food items. The salad was passable, the sandwich as well, but this is by no means a destination to be visited at any cost.

There will be however, a new Wok to Walk in this same plaza that already has El Viejo Molino pulling in crowds. Stay tuned!

The Critic is not what you would call your typical piña colada / margarita quaffing kinda gringo in the tropics but there is something about those “top shelf” margaritas – on the rocks, mind you – at Chili’s, that is addictive.

Last night the Critic and a group of people went to Chili’s Altabrisa for a bite; but for the Critic the main attraction was the margarita.

First of all it comes in a huge chilled beer mug, not a sissy glass with a wide rim that you have to ‘negotiate’ to your lips and then sip. Then it has lots of salt around the edges; chunks of it. Ice cubes clink happily inside. The margarita itself is the perfect blend of sweet and sour and does not taste horribly artificial (like the one at Boston’s for example). The tequila is there but not overpowering.

And because of the size of the glass and the fact that it is not an adult Slurpy ie ‘slush’, you can get in there with a big thirst on, on a hot Merida day or night, order one of these and take a big pipe-cooling swallow.

Awesome.

Just to let you all know, that La Susana Internacional, this Critic’s favorite restaurant for panuchos, salbutes and all things Yucatecan, is alive and well. A visit the other night with the Better Half and the recently returned from abroad MiniCritic confirmed that the panuchos and salbutes are as large and succulent as ever, the caldo loaded to the rim with shredded turkey (do not order the full bowl, the half bowl is all you will need), the tacos de chicharron are incredible and the Critic tried on this occasion a taco de puerco asado (roast pork) which was gigantic and finger-licking good.

Highly recommended, and make sure you sit where Regino is doing the waiter-ing. Ask him anything and he always has a quick comeback and a grin.

Hooray, the Critic is back in Merida. Actually, he has been here for a while since the outing to Vancouver, but financial concerns have kept him from anything beyond tacos here and there and a repeat visit to La Susana Internacional in Kanasin, which has been reviewed to death. That and a quick regrettable lunch at Las Gordas in La Gran Plaza mall; regrettable because as the Critic foresaw, this cheap and delicious lunch led to a serious bout of gastrointestinal distress the following day.

Shaolin is the subject of this review; this is another entry into the already crowded Chinese food array of offerings in Merida, which range from the dirty and nasty little places in people’s garages to the mall versions to the stand-alone restaurants of which Nao, formerly known as Hong Kong, is the best known.

Located on 21 street between Montejo and Plaza Fiesta, this restaurant cannot be missed thanks to an enormous gold-colored dragon out front. Plenty of parking is available in front or on the street. Inside, the place is all hard surfaces and not particularly pretty, although it gives a good first impression with the ornamental metal bamboo structures and imaginative wall treatments. Once you look closely however, you can appreciate the shoddy workmanship that went into everything from the cement to the aluminum to the gyproc false ceiling. However, the effect is not unpleasant and does not distract one from enjoying the food.

The menu offers a combination of both cream-cheese-plagued Yucatecan sushi and standard Chinese fare seemingly lifted from the Nao menu. The Critic and his always up-to-a-challenge Better Half ordered the sticky sweet and delicious Chicken Chi Maa, the chock-full-of-goodies Chow Fan rice and an order of Tres Torolos sushi. Neither the Critic nor the Better Half understand the Torolos moniker, but there were three kinds of seafood on these rolls; salmon, shrimp and tuna if the Critic remembers correctly. The sushi was, unfortunately warm and so the Critic didn’t even go there. Warm sushi is a no-no. The fish was draped rather sparingly around the rice stuffed with cream cheese and avocado. It seems that folks here think that anyone can whip up some sushi; nothing to it! Wrong.

Service was pleasant and the food arrived quickly at the table as it was prepared. First the Chow Fan, then the Chi Maa chicken and lastly the “sushi”.

There are two televisions, one at either end of the restaurant, which somehow detract from the dining experience, since obvious attention was paid to the china (plates etc) and it seemed a little too nice for a restaurant that shows soccer games on TV. Air conditioning is good.

The bill came to 256 pesos for the above mentioned meal, along with a limonada and a Coca Cola, served from a bottle, thank you very much as opposed to a can or the pre-mix version.

Would the Critic return? Maybe. For the time being, Shaolin is nothing to write home about.

Yes, Paul, we’re still in Vancouver. 🙂

The Banana Leaf is one of several restaurants mentioned in the Best Of Vancouver book Better Half had the good sense to buy on the second day in the city. The Critic and his BH visited the Denman street location, an easy stroll from the downtown West End area and right on English Bay, so a stroll onto the seawall (or a small portion thereof) at Stanley Park is not out of the question.

sampler menu

Instead of ordering off the menu, the Critic and BH decided to try the sampling menu, which featured about 4-5 dishes with a little of everything. The prices was great, the service was charming although there were some lulls between the different servings, but the food was, as the book had promised, outstanding; light, but not insipid; full of exotic flavors that appear briefly on your tongue like dancers on a stage, only to dart off again and make room for the next performer.

The dessert was a pair of delicately fried bananas, accompanied with coconut ice cream and drizzled with what tasted like molasses. The flavor combination of the slightly tart banana, the bittersweet molasses, the coconut ice cream and the texture combination of the mushy banana, the light, crispy coating, the smooth ice cream and the temperature combinations of icy cold and hot, made for one exquisite dessert!

Washed down with an ice cold Singha Thai beer, this meal was a highlight in Vancouver. Highly recommended!

top to bottom: appetizer sampler plate, salad first course, delectably fried bananas for dessert