AYO Mehico

Mamasita
Level 1, 11 Collins St,
Melbourne

Mamasita roughly translates to "hot babe" in Spanish. Nice.

What's also nice is the restaurant itself, which is now undoubtedly one of the hottest new restaurants in Melbourne. In fact, Mamasita is so in demand that people line up outside before the doors open at noon... as if it were a nightclub. But boy is the wait worth it. I've been here 4 times already; mostly due to the fact that the food is phenomenal, and partly due to the fact that it's conveniently located near my office. Bun has been here twice - the first time we came together we were so impatient to eat that we didn't get any photos taken! Here goes round two.

The first thing you realise when ascending the stairs to 'real' mexican food heaven are how efficient and friendly the staff are. If you are early, and lucky enough to find a table without having to wait for too long, you are whisked to a table and presented with the easy to follow menu. The wait staff will ask if you have been here before, and if you haven't, they happily explain all the elements of the menu items to you. This is absolutely brilliant service considering how busy the place is, and that most of the dishes names are in spanish...

To start Bun and I got the Mexican 'Street Style' Corn. For what I thought was a simple corn on a cob, I was literally unprepared for the intense flavour assault of awesome which took place in my mouth. The bitey queso cheese covering a sweet corn cob with chipotle dressing offered the perfect blend of sweet, spicy, sour and salty mouthful on a stick. Be warned though, these are a little hard to eat (unless you have a huge mouth) and you'll soon have parts of this dish all over your face.

chargrilled corn with queso cheese, chipotle mayonnaise and lime

Next we got the Tostadita tasting board of four. These are little fried corn chips garnished with a selection of delicious toppings. Albeit a bit of a mouthful, these are totally worth looking like an idiot while trying to fit a whole one in the mouth hole. The tostaditas were fresh, zesty and of course, chilli! Mamasita sure knows how to pack in flavour into little packages. A definite must when sharing the experience with friends, or if you're a very fat bun.

Tostadidas (From left to right: slow braised pork shoulder with encurtidos and jalepenos, crab meat one that we forgot to write down, market fish with lime, gaucomole, nasturdiums and serrano chilli, chargrilled chicken, avocado, queso fresco and chipotle mayo)

Fish tacos came next. Let's just say these aren't your average Old El Paso tacos. Soft, chewy tacos encasing tender pieces of market fish, fresh crunchy greens and a zesty achiote sauce make these tacos truly memorable. Definitely a favourite for the buns - these come highly recommended.

grilled fish tacos with lime, achiote paste and red onion salsa

Our quesadillas - a perfect little mexican pizza, were simple and delightful. Beautifully seasoned chicken, layered with gooey cheese and other delicious tid bits with a crispy tortilla casing made these truly hard to share.

char-grilled chicken quesadilla with 'pico de gallo', coriander and queso freso

At this stage we were pretty super full, but having glanced the dessert menu prior, we knew what must occur before we departed. It was a hard decision, but we decided to go with the Chilli Chocolate Pudding with cinnamon and choc sorbet. I love desserts with varying temperatures, and this dish delivered those elements in bounds. Cold sorbet + warm pudding + my mouth = jizz in my pants, and mouth.

chilli chocolate pudding with cinnamon and chocolate sorbet

Muchos yummeh!