Edith's

NYC has been nasty and rainy so it was the absolute person time for me to jet off to Cabo with some amazing friends that I've met from SoulCycle. I don't talk about SoulCycle too much in this blog since it is about food but it's been one of the most positive and amazing things that have happened to me. Apart from being a great workout, the impact it has had on my mentality and outlook on life has been incredible. I've also met so many great people and without SoulCycle I would not have embarked on this trip and had so much fun!

Ok back to the food haha I can gush on forever about SoulCycle if I don't control myself. Edith's is one of Cabo's most popular restaurants and we came here for our first dinner. The interior is very warm and festive and the food was fresh and filling. The margaritas were also HUGE and very potent. Two will definitely get you to a happy place.

Super cute and festive atmosphere 

A bowl of margarita 

Shrimp Bisque 
Creamy and bursting with shrimp flavor. This was almost like a lobster bisque and it contained hearty pieces of shrimp. 

Wally's Special - Grilled Lobster, Fish of the Day, and Prawns
Yum!! The serving was very generous and everything was fresh and delicious. This was also served with a baked potato and grilled vegetables. This was prepared simply and aimed to showcase the freshness and flavors of the ingredients. 

Instead of shawls, they gave us ponchos to keep us warm! 

I would also highly recommend the caesar salad which was made table side. The dressing was absolutely delightful! It had a nice kick to it and was very flavorful. The banana foster was also quite the performance and I loved it!

Camino a Playa El Medano S/N
El Medano
23410 Cabo San Lucas
BCS
Mexico 

Cosme

Cosme serves high end contemporary Mexican cuisine in New York's Flatiron district. I've heard various good reviews and noted it down on my list of to try's. It was quite difficult to get a table for a while but I was glad to finally be able to try it out at one of my birthday dinners with T and A.

Cobia al pastor, Pineapple Puree, Cilantro 
What a fresh and delicious start to the meal! The cobia slices were hearty and nicely spiced. The pineapple was perfectly tart and sweet and went so well with the fish. I also loved how you had the textural contrast of the puree and the slices of the fruit itself. 

Burrata, Passila Mixe Salsa, Weeds
This was very subpar. The burrata wasn't too creamy and it was a bit bland. 

Uni Tostada, Avocado, Bone Marrow Salsa, Cucumber
Delicious! Fresh uni with indulgently flavorful bone marrow on top of a crispy tostada. 

Black Garlic Rubbed NY Strip for Tacos, Shishitos, Avocado-tarragon Puree
This dish was good but nothing special. The steak was cooked nicely and I enjoyed the creamy avocado but I would have preferred more exciting flavors. 

Duck Carnitas, Onion, Radishes, Salsa Verde 
The duck carnitas is their most famous dish and I can certainly see why! The duck was very succulent and just melt in your mouth. The accompany sauces also provided a lovely flavor combination. The onions and radishes provide a much needed fresh crunch to the decadent and juicy duck meat. A must order. 

Husk Meringue, Corn Mousse 
This was an absolute dream. The corn flavor was amazing and the mousse was so creamy and luscious. Another must order. 

They also brought out this little birthday slice which I thought was a sweet touch. 

Overall I had a enjoyable meal here and also got to take a healthy amount of the duck carnitas home for a yummy leftover meal the next day! I wouldn't say I am rushing to come back or that it's a must visit but if you are interested in some refined Mexican cuisine in a sophisticated setting I would definitely recommend Cosme!

Cosme 

35 E 21st St. 

New York

NY 10010

Taco Trucks, Playa Del Carmen

I was in Mexico for T's relative's wedding was really looking forward for some authentic Mexican food. Unfortunately I did not anticipate the fact that we would be staying at a resort situated at a tourist hotspot. Luckily we were able to find some authentic taco trucks thanks to our friends recommendations and also found a very delicious restaurant that served mexican food. It took us a while to find the taco truck but we were really glad that we made the trek to indulge in some local eats. There is not a specific address to these taco trucks but they are in a small park near the ADO bus terminal. We had to ask a couple of people before we finally found it.

Cafe Habana

Cafe Habana is famous for its grilled corn and cuban sandwiches. T and I decided to pop in for a quick lunch before my classes and I really enjoyed the meal! T was really excited for the cuban sandwich and ended up not really liking it but I actually thought it was quite delicious. The corn was very tasty but I think there are other places that serve corn that is similarly scrumptious. This may be a *bit* better, but I wouldn't specially come here if there was a huge wait. We went on a weekday therefore there was no wait at all. I definitely do want to return but I think I will do the same thing and come on a weekday and avoid any wait time.

Grilled Corn - Mexican Style
The corn was grilled to perfection and the cheese and spices were just heavenly. A must order! 

Fish Tacos
The fish was really crispy on the outside and flakey and hot on the inside. I think it would have been even better if there was some guacamole or if the slaw was a bit creamier. I think it was just missing that creamy aspect to set off the crispness of the fish and the crunch of the slaw.

Signature Cuban Sandwich
The meat was tender, juicy, and full of flavor. I usually don't like pickles but I felt that the addition of the pickle was the perfect tangy kick to the sandwich. I really enjoyed the few bites I had of this but T surprisingly was not too impressed. I would return and order this next time! 

Cafe Habana

17 Prince St

Between Mott St and Elizabeth St

Nolita

New York
NY10012
USA

Cascabel Taqueria

I walked by this cute mexican restaurant when I was walking back from main campus to my apartment and was curious about whether is was good or not. There was a good amount of customers inside which is usually a good sign. T was here to visit me and we decided to come here for lunch before heading to Electric Zoo since it was near my place. The reviews on yelp were not too good but I thought it was pretty decent. I don't know if I would make a point to come here but if I was craving for a Mexican meal near home I would keep this place in mind! Flavors were really robust in all the dishes and the servings were HUGE.

Bloody Marys
I think they were having some buy one get one free special. These were ok but I think it was a bit too salty for me (this was months ago though so my memory is fuzzy oops). I did like how it came in cute mason jars though. 

Guacamole Tradicional Con Tostadas
The guacamole was pretty decent. It was creamy and fresh. Nothing amazing just regular guacamole thought. 

Pescado - Crispy yellowfin tuna belly / Hearts of palm / Olives / Onions / Thai chili
I love love love fish tacos but this was not too great for me. I expected the fish to be much more fatty and soft since it was tuna belly (toroooo oh yes) but it was a little bit dense. The ridiculous load of olives was also a bit overwhelming for me. The flavors were pretty interesting, and I enjoyed it for the first few bites, but I don't think I would order this again. 

Carne Asada - Sliced yucatan achiote hanger steak / Oyster mushroom / House made creme / Crispy shallots / Cilantro
I think this was my favorite taco of the day. Once again you can see that the serving was MASSIVE. We actually packed a lot of this to go and had a great time eating leftovers one night :) The meat was bursting with flavor and the crispy shallots were also very strong in flavor. I think it would be even better if there was some fresh salsa or something acidic to balance out the strong flavors. 

Chorizo - House made mexican spiced sausage / Smoked paprika / Onion / Cilantro
T loves chorizo and I think he quite enjoyed this. I had a bite and it was also very flavorful but I personally did not like the texture of the meat and preferred my big chunks of carne asada :D 

Please keep in mind that the servings are ginormous. We thought they would be these small tacos and we could share 3 orders but we were so so wrong. I think this is a good addition to the neighborhood but I am excited to explore other mexican places in NYC.

Cascabel Taqueria
2799 Broadway (W 108 St and Broadway)
New York
NY 10025
USA

Ricky's Fish Tacos

Fish tacos are my newest obsession and Ricky's Fish Tacos is the undisputed place to get the best fish tacos in LA so I knew that no matter what I had to eat here. Ricky's is not opened everyday and it's not set in an actual restaurant setting so remember to check out his twitter to make sure you don't end up empty handed and disappointed! Ricky was super friendly and the food was made fresh to order. I did not care too much for the shrimp taco but the fish taco was the BOMB. The fish was extremely fluffy and was encased in a delicious crunchy and flavorful batter. The cabbage was nice and crunchy and all the sauces were also packed full of flavor and spice. I will definitely hunt down this mecca of fish tacos again the next time I am in LA. SO good.

Brickhouse

No one can deny that Hong Kong is a mecca of amazing foods from all around the world, but there always seemed like there were not a lot of quality mexican to choose from. I've tried iCaramba! in soho for lunch and the food was decent. I actually really enjoy Coyotes in Wanchai, its such a fun spot and the food was actually really good! Other than that, I have not heard of many other yummy mexican spots to hit up...until Brickhouse came along. Brickhouse is located in a tiny alley in the middle of Lan Kwai Fong that many would walk by without even knowing that alley even existed. But once you venture into that dark little slit between the buildings, you discover a bustling restaurant filled with happy customers chatting away while munching on scrumptious mexican fare. Brickhouse has been getting A TON of buzz recently and we all know how much Hong Kong people care about buzz. They also don't take reservations so obviously its filled to the brim all the time (to the likes of Butao and Yardbird). C and I went on a Tuesday night around 7-8 and was delighted to find out that the wait would only be around 5-10 minutes. The seating is not exactly comfortable but it fits well with its hip and rustic decor and atmosphere. The hostess was quite friendly and came over periodically to check up on us. We felt that the feel and ambience of the restaurant was very similar to Yardbird, very hip, friendly, and laid back. But we did conclude that although the service was fine, Yardbird's service is still number 1. The waiters are just so charismatic and effortlessly make you feel so welcomed.

I actually forgot the name of the cocktails. But they were quite interesting but could use a bit more of alcohol! And this is not just coming from me (quite the alcohol lover), but C also thought her drink was a tad weak. 

Mexican Style Street Corn - sweet corn, chili, mayo, lime, queso 
The corn was quite sweet and it was covered with mayo and cheese. The chili flavor was not very strong and luckily neither was the flavor of the cilantro as I hate cilantro. The queso had a pretty strong flavor and went well with the sweetness of the corn. C commented that the corn at Cafe Habana in New York was definitely better. I unfortunately have not had Cafe Habana so was unable to make a comparison :( The corn was not bad, but I don't think I would get it again next time as it was not particularly memorable either. 

Back to Life Ceviche - shrimp, grilled tomato, smoked chilis, horseradish, citrus
Our server asked if if we preferred spicy or not and we quickly said that we loved spicy so she suggested we try the "Back to Life" ceviche. This ceviche was definitely aptly named! The dish may not look too appetizing... but the flavors and textures were spot on. One scoop of this ceviche with the crispy tortilla chips instantly woke up your taste buds. The smoked chilis provided a complex dance of flavors that did not overwhelm with the spice. The entire mixture was tangy, spicy, and oh so refreshing. The texture of the shrimp was very interesting and had the perfect balance of bite and softness. The zucchini and avocado furthermore provided a tasty crunchiness and a decadent creaminess to the entire already yummy mixture. The flavor of coriander was actually quite prominent but this actually worked very well with the entire dish and I happily devoured it all up (god forbid!). A definite must try! 

Tortillas Platter
The choice of tortillas are not on the menu and are instead written on the blackboard on the wall. We wanted to have a bite of everything so we got the tortillas platter. Our hostess was very nice and told us she could cut each tortilla into half for us. The pork tortilla was the first one we sunk our teeth into and boy was it good. The pork was bursting with flavor and you could tell it has been marinating for a long long time to soak in all those different spices. To counter the robust flavor the pork tortilla had a creamy dressing along with chunks of avocado. Great start! The fish tortilla was our next victim and the flavors were very different to that of the pork. It was much more delicate and refreshing with a creamy dressing and some crunchy purple cabbage. The fish was coated with batter and deep fried which made it crunchy and this went well with the soft tortilla. Once complaint was that the size of the fish was simply too small! The next one was the ox tongue tortilla which was also very yummy. The ox tongue had a gamey flavor and was quite tender. The slab of meat was thick and juicy and was paired with a spicy dressing and some sprinkling of crunchy onions. We happily gobbled this down as well. The fourth tortilla was unfortunately a miss. C really liked the chicken tortilla and while I agree that the flavors were fine the chicken was very dry and stringy. This could be a good choice for those who like cleaner and more mellow flavors - but hello you are eating mexican food :). The last was the ribeye which was also disappointing. The rib eye was very mushy and just tasted a bit strange. It would have been much much better if it were thick juicy slabs of medium rare ribeye smothered with robust flavorings. But unfortunately this was not the case, the meat seemed overcooked (but not in that tender beef stew way) and the other components of the tortilla did not provide any type of textural contrast either.

Home Beet Fries/Betabel Fritas - deep fried roasted beets, sweet chilli mayo, green onions
Mmmm these were soooooo good. Beets are delicious on their own, but coated with a thin crispy batter and dipped into a creamy spicy mayo is just gastronomical bliss. The beets are juicy and sweet. The coating is not greasy and perfectly crispy. I could eat a bucket of these!

Brickhouse was definitely an enjoyable dining experience. There were some misses with the food but I can definitely see the passion and thought put into the dishes and would definitely love to come again to try some of the other items on the menu. The bartenders were also extremely friendly and C and I stayed behind to take part in some serious shot taking. This is a very exciting addition to the Mexican dining scene in Hong Kong and I look forward to coming again!

Brickhouse

20A D'Aguilar Street

Central 

Hong Kong