Embark on a culinary trip to Mexico in Dubai

Dubai: A brand new high-end casual dining Mexican restaurant – Fuego – has just opened in Souk Al Bahar. Follow us as we explore the exotic flavours of Mexico.

As I enter the posh looking restaurant, I am greeted by a very bubbly celebrity chef - Anil Kumar – who has been roped in by Fuego owners to implement a high-end Mexican concept for the restaurant.

No sooner do I settle in my seat than pretty Macedonian waitress Biljana Dimaska comes to our table with a traditional ‘Molcajete’ (a stone tool to crush and grind spices). Holding a fresh Mexican avocado in her hand, she gives us a quick introduction of the ‘on the spot’ Guacamole (avocado-based sauce) that she is about to prepare for us, and starts crushing it with a hand-held grinding tool called a tejolote. Some cerrano chillies, red onion, fresh cilantro leaves and a dash of sea salt are added to the avocado paste. With a little lime juice and a few drops of extra virgin olive oil the dish is ready and is simply irresistable. Spread some Guacamole on warm tortilla chips and you will find it difficult to stop.

Next, Chef de Cuisine Jose Manuel comes to the table to prepare another ‘on the spot’ dish for us. This time it is the ‘Salsa Fresco with Tomatillo’, a classic Mexican vegetable dish. He crushes some grilled tomatillos in the Molcajete and adds some browned onion and garlic. A little lime juice, some sea salt and habanero chillies complete the dish. Again I spread it on warm tortilla chips, but I find the Salsa a bit too tangy for my liking.

A very interesting ‘Camaron Ceviche’ (salad) makes its way to our table. “It is made from wild tiger prawns that we soak in lime juice for 45 minutes. This is an absolutely healthy dish as there is no oil in it,” explains Kumar. It’s a must-have for all prawn lovers.

A warm soup ‘Pozole blanco’ proves a relief after all the chillies we have been consuming. It is prepared from a slow-cooked Hominy (alkalised maize kernels) with hand pulled chicken shreds and cabbage. It is followed by ‘Tacos al Pastor’, another delicious offering at the Fuego. Tender chicken breast chunks with ‘Al Pastor’ marination sit in a soft white corn tortilla. Topped with grilled pineapple and served alongside some traditional Mexican rice and charro beans, this is a yummy dish.

We then sample the authentic streetside corn on the cob doused with lime and butter, chipotle chilli powder and cheese. By now we feel we are in Mexico.

We wrap up our lunch with some exotic desserts. The Fuego Sorbets ice cream (made from chipotle, mango sorbet, lemon and cerrano chilli) disappoints me a little. While the concept of mixing lemon and chillies with ice cream is intriguing, I believe a dessert has to be sweet. Chef Jose then brings us his ‘Tres Leche cake’ which I find simply outstanding – and the best dish of the entire afternoon. It’s a butter cake sponge-soaked in three kinds of milk, namely evaporated milk, condensed milk and whole milk. The sponge cake just melts in the mouth and keeps you craving for more. A sweet way to end an exotic meal indeed.

Details

Meal for two: Dh380

Location: Souk Al Bahar, Downtown Dubai

Timings: Noon to midnight

Days: Saturday to Friday

Contact: 04-449 0977