History and geography have intertwined to create one of the most varied and rewarding cuisines in the world - the Mexican cuisine. Mexican food is one of the most popular cuisines of the world, with its famous tacos, nachos and the enchiladas. Mexican cooking is essentially family cooking, comparatively simple to prepare and characterised by fresh ingredients.
Mexican food history has enjoyed many different cultural influences, making it varied and rich. For instance, quesadillas are basically Spanish. The corn tortillas are actually native American and stuffed chilies are quintessentially French. Perhaps one of the best known influences on Mexican food comes from the Southwest United States, Texas to be exact, called ‘Tex-Mex’.
In a nutshell from bright red chillies to swollen orange mangoes to buttery green avocados, there is no more colourful cuisine in the world than that of Mexico. It’s interesting to note that UNESCO has declared it a cultural treasure.
Mexican food is popular in our part of the world too. Recently, the management of Ramada Plaza Hotel organized a four day ‘Mexican food festival’. Held at the La’ Terrasse restaurant, the festival was set to turn our taste buds upside down with dishes that reflect the colour and life of Mexico’s culture and people. At the La’ Terrasse restaurant the whole ambience was created according to the Mexican mood - depicting many shades and traditions of the country. The conventional Mexican cuisine and music gave a truly ethnic touch to the whole atmosphere.
As we entered, we were greeted by a charming lady, attired in typical Mexican dress, who took us to our reserved table. Since the whole place was decked out in accordance with the Mexican mood; as such all the waiters were adorned in Mexican costumes. People were seen enjoying different Mexican delicacies while listening to fine Mexican tunes.
Once seated, the aroma of tempting Mexican food whetted our appetite. We didn’t have to wait too long, as our attendant was very efficient. She first served us fresh juices and then it was time to savour Mexican food. An array of scrumptious appetizers was there to tempt us. Delectable nachos, tacos, fajita, quesadilla, casa tora and enchilada were few of the dishes that we tried and we truly relished each dish. It is also interesting to note that the versatile enchilada is thought to have evolved from Papadzules (papak-tsuls), a traditional Mayan dish.
To end the meal on a sweet note, it was time to indulge in the dessert section. Although there was no place in our stomachs to eat more, we couldn’t help to take a few bites of delicious ice cream.
The food festival was inaugurated by Sharjeel Memon, provincial minister for information, and Junaid Ashraf, the general manager of Ramada Plaza Hotel Karachi. It was indeed a commendable effort on the part of Ramada management to organise such an event on an elaborate scale for four consecutive nights. All in all, the successful execution of the Mexican Food Festival proved that Karachiites want to live in peace and they also want to enjoy life like others enjoy in different parts of the world.