Mexican Fiesta

Being in Mexican, you naturally have a craving for Mexican food. Unfortunately being at a resort, it's hard to get authentic Mexican fare.

Thankfully Aquamarina has alternating nights with differently themed menus. That evening, much to our delight, Mexican.

We started with some shrimp ceviche, which was lovely when paired with the chip. My only complaint was that we could have used more housemade nachos like they serve at authentic Mexican joints.

Mexican Salad with Epazote Vinaigrette

I got the Mexican salad with baked tortilla chips on a bed of lettuce, brown beans, radish, coriander and julienned carrots.  It was a nice combination of veggies and carbs, with the crunchy chips accenting the savory veggies, giving this nutritious plate an extra oomph.

Sprouts Salad with Fruits

Hubby got the sprouts salad with lettuce, papaya, mango and annatto vinaigrette. I liked the fruits in this plate more than anything, because it added a tinge of sweetness to the bitter accents of the sprouts. Here's another look at the tiny little alfalfa sprout:

Hubby, being a stickler for things, actually ventured outside his comfort zone of enchiladas, choosing the "Chile en Nogada", essentially poblano chiles stuffed with pork, beef and fruits, covered with a warm nut sauce.

Chile en Nogada

While I liked the stuffing, the chile carried way too much heat for me. I don't know how hubby managed to finish that thing when your whole mouth is exploding with spiciness (it took me a whole glass of water and another glass of mocktail to recover).



I got the beef ribs with potatoes and onions, drizzled with "mocha salsa" and steamed tortillas. When the waiter set down the plate, I was amazed at the portions. Though I was already stuffed with the appetizer, somehow I found a determination to chow down.

Spiced and Braised Beef Ribs with Steamed Tortillas

My will was short-lived though, as the beef ribs were over-spiced, making it too salty for my liking. I really enjoyed the rice and beans though, since that's my go-to comfort tex-Mex food. 

I ate two tortillas, while hubby helped with me the third. But I still had a lot of ribs left over, and much to our mutual dismay, I didn't end up finishing it.

At the end of the meal, I couldn't believe that we had dessert left over. I had to order some French press to help wash down the heaviness of meal and prepare room for the next course.

For dessert, Hubby and I got the dough fritters with dark chocolate sauce, which were essentially churros and chocolate ice cream. I really liked this pairing because the sweetness of the ice cream complemented the crunchy cocoa of the churros. Only downside was that the ice cream melted way too quickly.

Dough Fritters with Chocolate Ice Cream

We left that evening with our bellies full to the max. I wanted to walk or bike back, but it was dark so we took a cab instead. I must have done 10 laps in the bathroom when we got back because I was so full. Another downside of being too full? You can't fall asleep until 1am, which was the heavy consequence I had to face for being a fatty.

Second Chance

Life, despite all its misgivings, it all about second chances. We embraced this principle as we headed back to Amber, bearing in mind that the first time had been less than stellar.  

Bite-sized Appetizer

Dinner proceeded in the same format - bite-sized appetizer, first course, second course and dessert. Of course, we all know that dessert is the course that is the most important in meal - everything else is secondary.

We started the dinner with a shrimp brochette garnished with mint extracts, which was a mini-explosion of flavors in your mouth. After the awful lunch we'd had earlier on the Chichen Itza tour, it was a treat to our tastebuds.

Next came the bread. I stuck with a basic sesame bread and regular butter, and saved it for my main dish, the pot-au-feu.

I ordered another mocktail, this one called Rose Bay, a blend of tropical fruits and well, more fruits. It was a tad on the sweet side, but still pretty delicious.

Octopus Carpaccio

After experiencing the octopus carpaccio last time, Hubby decided to order it again. I didn't have any this time because I was waiting for my main dish.

Mixed Greens

I got the mixed greens, which was wonderfully presented. The best part was once again the figs on the side.

Pot-au-feu with Palm Heart

For my main, I got the pot-au-feu, a heaping pile of veggies with a heart of palm filled with "fake marrow". The presentation was exquisite - colorful veggies surrounding a statue-like limestone heart of palm. Here's an aerial view:

Pot-au-Feu with Heart of Palm "Fake" Marrow

And that's the unfortunate thing about life and a lot of things - what's on the outside doesn't say much about the inside. The inside of this thing, my dear friends, was a heavy sour cream that filled your palate with nothing but, well, sourness.

So while I managed to finish off the vegetables, which btw were pretty plain and lacked flavor (I almost asked for a bottle of ketchup to go with), I really didn't get to finish the heart of palm. I even gave some away to Hubby, who refused to touch it.

Beef Flank

Turns out he was having trouble finishing his own dish, the beef flank steak with chimichurri, beet puree, grilled eggplant and carrot. Unfortunately his beef flank tanked like his last dish - it was way too tough, as were the vegetables. It was like eating cardboard, chips and all.

So with only the dessert left to salvage the meal, we held our breaths. I ordered the cassis custard while hubby got the pistachio mousse with vanilla sauce.



The pistachio mousse was the right degree of creaminess, but it was too heavy on the pistachio. The result was an interesting mix of heavy (and heavily flavored) cream that made it hard to swallow.

Pistachio Mousse with Vanilla Cream

The only edible thing was the wavy chocolate strip. Here's another look at the culprit in question:

Next and finally came my cassis custard with coconut daquoise, with a side of cranberry compote and mango sorbet.

Cassis Custard with Coconut Daquoise

I didn't even know where to go with this dish, because though the presentation looked like it was deserving of Michelin stars, it was pretty much the apotheosis of creamy disgustingness (if that's even a word, oh apparently it is!)

 

The problem was that the cassis was heavily infused with the liquid flavor, making it kind of mushy, with a texture similar to con leche cake, while the coconut was basically food coloring + jello. The best part was probably the sorbet, but that melted too quickly for me to enjoy.

At the end of the day, I walked away with the understanding that while you can't have everything go your way, you can at least have a cup of joe to wash away your sorrows.

Taro, Red Bean, Green Tea

Taro, red bean, green tea - a trio of asian flavors. Do I need to say more?

I guess I will, or else you might be confused as to what this post about. Ice cream of course!

I sampled some more asian flavors, and thought I'd share them with you. One of which is my absolute favorite - red bean and taro - together. Though I'd rather have a creamier ice cream instead, a popsicle will do to jolt my energy on a lazy afternoon at work.

This ice cream bar is rather mild, without a lot of sugar or flavor. You can taste the distinct red beans prodding out of the popsicle though, which I thought is a very good thing. The taro you can't really taste, but they throw it in there anyway to wet your appetite.

Another sampling I did was Mr. Green Tea ice cream. This is perhaps the most robust and well balanced ice cream flavor I've come across in a long while, with the just right degree of sweetness balanced with the intensity of an authentic green tea flavor. Six thumbs up.

The choco-chip on the other hand dimmed in comparison next to the blazing green tea.

And finally - the red bean ice cream. Again, this was not that creamy or sweet, as most Taiwanese ice creams are. But there is a distinct red bean flavor and actual beans as you can see throughout the bar, which is a nice touch.

Despite a lack of mind-blowing taste, as least you're not packing in a lot of calories. I'd probably try some more exotic flavors next time, like lychee or even durian.

Bareburger Revisited

Last weekend I was majorly craving fries, so we went to Bareburger. This is the second time going back, and I was prepared for a feast.

After much deliberation, I got the California on brioche with buttermilk fried chicken, which is apparently a favorite there. Hubby got a beef burger on brioche. Sadly, we didn’t see any sweet potato fries on the menu, so we opted for the salted fries and onion ring combo.

To top it off, we got a peanut butter and banana shake. Apparently you can add as many ingredients as you want, and the waiter asked me if I wanted to add chocolate to make it into a half and half. I had to resist because that would be way too dangerous for my calorie intake in one day.

The fries were…disappointing. They were too salty and not crunchy enough. The onions on the other hand were pretty crunchy.

Surprisingly, the burger was pretty good. The California is exactly that – a whole avocado, spring onions, lettuce, tomato, and arugula. It tasted like a Mexican salad inside a burger. The buttermilk fried chicken? Best I’ve ever had – it was crisp and tender, and tasted like real chicken! Not like that fake chicken stuff you get at fast food restaurants these days. Even hubby was saying how much avocado they put in there (literally, a whole avocado).

The shake was out of this world. I thought it would be a little too much to handle, but the creaminess of the ice cream plus the real banana they put in there was just right. There were even real traces of peanut butter on the side of the metal cup. I was slurping that thing down like a person dying of thirst. I found out later that they use Bluemarble ice cream in their shakes – no wonder it tastes like an ice cream party inside your mouth!

You have to use your spoon to stir it a bit before gulping down.

Hubby wolfed down his burger pretty quickly, but I was taking my time between sips of the shake and the fries (that he didn’t like either).

Towards the middle of the meal, a manager looking guy came over to ask us how we were enjoying our meal, and I asked him if there were any sweet potato fries. He said yea, they always had them, but they were just in midst of changing their menu. So he was nice enough to give us some free, on the house! I was yelping for joy (literally, on Yelp sending tips to fellow Yelpers).

The sweet potato fries hit the spot – it was so sweet and delish that I had to keep on eating, lest it turned soggy the next day.

In the end, I had like ¾ of my burger left-over, and about ½ of the fries (combined from the first combo and the sweet potato) left. Needless to say, I was pretty stuffed (though I think I could have kept on going to finish off the fries). What can I say? I’m a veggie and potato girl.

For all that, the tab came out to $45. Definitely worth it for an upscale, organic burger experience. Next time I’d love to try the Wowie Mauie, with pineapples and bacon. Maybe with elk meat or ostrich. Plus a chocolate and raspberry milkshake. And definitely ask for the sweet potato fries right off the bat.

The leftover burger was kind of disgusting. No matter how much I tried to resuscitate it with ketchup, it tasted lifeless, especially the chicken. The fries even more so. I had to chuck most of them out (sorry spuds!) because they were basically inedible, unless you wanted to chew unchewable pieces of starch that got stuck to your throat everytime you wanted to swallow. Yea, didn’t think so.

After the meal we walked to the Greek White Castle pastry shop to look at chocolate mice. Much cuter than real mice, right?

**** (4/5)

$$

Bareburger

33-21 31st Avenue
Astoria, NY 11106