Made in Mexico

Address: 185 Main S, Newmarket, ON L3Y 3Y9

Phone: (905) 235-7722

Website: http://www.madeinmexicorestaurant.com/

Photo credit to John

A Mexican restaurant situated in the old town center of Newmarket adds diversity to the neighbourhood.  The restaurant, Made in Mexico, was introduced by a Canadian Food Network show, as one of the best in Toronto. With sich a reconition and fame, the restaurant attracts popularity and many clientele on a daily basis.

Do not let the small frontage fool you. The size inside blew me away. It can sit over 150 people and probably 300 if everyone are standing. The restaurant is massive! For a Tuesday evening, it was quite busy too.

The walls were decorated with Spanish signs of sorts, from food to traffic to random words. There were Mexico related photos, wide brim hats, and authentic foodie pictures too. The brown, green, red and yellow tones were used all over the space. It reminds me of that beach like enviornment, especially Carribbean resorts. The owner is trying to submerge us in the Mexican like enviornment.

I just thought this wall decor was cute, benefits of tequila.  I think it gives us more reason to drink because it turns us into awesome, amazing people.

Sauces for our food were offered on the side. It is not mandatory to use it, but it is complimentary for everyone to try. If you like the flavour, you can buy a bottle from the restaurant. Green: Jalepeno Pepper, Onion and Cilantro Sauce (HOT!) , Red: Habanero Pepper Sauce (VERY HOT!) The “spicy” scale Scoville scale measures pungency or spicy heat of chilies. According to this scale, the habanero pepper is one of the top three spiciest in the world and jalepenpo is much lower in spiciness in comparison. Therefore, yes, I also find the habanero sauce spicier than jalepeno, but the habanero sauce also had a touch of sourness to it too. The sauce was too liquidy or runny for my liking, but IT WAS SO ADDICTING! I could not get enough of it! I was on fire and just gave me a burning, stinging and tinglish sensation. With the foods, everything tasted different and added dimension.

Steak Alambres ($15.25) is a traditional Mexican dish of grilled beef topped with green peppers, onions, cheese and served with warm corn tortillas and comes with two sides of house salad and frijoles charros bean soup.  The dish in general reminded me of beef stir fry that was very juicy, salty and flavourful.  I really liked the combination because the peppers and onions added sweetness to the salty grilled beef.  Meanwhile, the cheese assisted in combining all the ingredients together into one.  I loved how every bite was stringy and gooey.   The dish came with 6 tortillas.  Their tortillas had a very good structure, thick, and baked to right texture.  Wrapped in the tortillas, this was an extremely heavy rewarding meal.

The bean soup tasted like chicken noodle soup, heavy chicken stock flavour with a lot of beans.  I find the soup quite legitimate.  Meanwhile, the salad tasted like salsa, made with a lot of chopped fresh tomatoes and onions and cucumbers.

Fish Tacos ($12.95) were tortillas filled with lightly battered fish topped with homemade Mexican coleslaw and fresh lime, served with two sides, which I chose lime and cilantro rice and a house salad.  I personally prefer the tacos over the alambres because the fish were lightly battered and the overall result of the tacos were less oily or fat.  I enjoyed the zesty lime flavours, kind of gave the tacos a zing.  Imagine fish and chips, where the fish is always served with tartar sauce or vinegar.  The coleslaw represented and tasted like tartar sauce, which was mayonnaise based, with rough consistency.  The lime juice added a zing to the overall flavour of the fish taco, making it extra fresh.  The tacos kept its structure throughout the meal.  Neither the tacos nor fried fish became soft or soggy overtime.

I for sure got the right sides to pair with the tacos.  The rice was light, matched well with the fish tacos and strong herb flavours made it very refreshing.  The house salad was prepared like all others, lettuce with salsa, refreshing but watery.

The meal were definitely worth the price.  The portions were ginormous and additionally, all main dishes came with two sides.  The menu had a lot of different options and had a lot of variety of foods.  I had a hard time deciding what to settle on.  Everything looked mouth watering!  I wish I can try a bit of everything, but sadly, I only have one small stomach.  But I suppose this is what it means for returning visits to try other items on the menu.

Ratings

Food 4/5

Service 3.5/5

Ambiance 3.5/5

Spicy Chili Oil

It has been months since I received my regular dose of chili spiciness!  My mom is against buying the sauce from supermarkets because of health and skin reasons.  Meanwhile, there have been numerous scandals about manufacturers making oil with raw materials derived from the ground, or fake chili sauce made of plastic and food colouring, and putting poisonous MSG to enhance the taste of different condiments.  To ensure natural product, I made chili oil that you find at Asian restaurants to enhance my soup noodles and everyday foods.

It is really simple and once you made it once, you will never want to buy from the supermarkets again.  The natural and diverse flavours just cannot compare!

Ingredients

1 ounce dried whole red chili peppers

1 garlic clove

1 tablespoon Sze Chuan peppercorns (find it at T&T, or any Chinese Supermarkets)

1 anise seed

3/4 cup oil (I used sunflower oil.  You can use other types)

1 teaspoon salt

*note* You can use however much peppercorns you like.  I like to use more because I like the tongue numbing effect.  Anise seed is optional.  I used it to add more depth to the taste of the condiment and to diversify the flavours.

How I Made It

1) Place whole dried chilies, Sze Chuan peppercorns, garlic and anise seed into a blender or food processor.  Blend for 3 to 4 minutes until chilies are broken up into small pieces.

2) Heat the oil in a small sauce pan under medium low heat, until it gets hot, before you see fumes and boiling point.  It will take around 1 minute.  I recommend heating the oil in a separate bowl over boiling water because that will prevent over heating and burning the pot.

 

3) Add chopped spices into the cooked oil.  Cook and stir.  It will take 3 to 4 minutes or until oil is turning red.
4) Remove from heat.  Add salt and stir.  Let it rest.  When cool, bottle the chili oil in a glass container.  Store it in a cool, dark environment.

It is so good.  I already used it with noodles, for hot pot, and tofu!

Make you own~  It is easy, healthy and tastier!