sombreros...margaritas...The Mexican Food Festival

Men and children wearing sombreros , margaritas, Budin de calabacita (zucchini pudding), Arroz a la tumbada, Pico de gallo salad with jicama, shrimp 'cazuela' with bell peppers and cheese. It was a festive night at La Brasserie as HE Artoro Trejo the Ambassador of Mexico to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia inaugurated the Mexican Food Festival , that will be ongoing for the next ten days.

Chef Gostavo Pinet arrived to Riyadh two days ago from Rosewood Mayakobá hotel in Mexico to overlook and prepare for this event. Eventhough challenged by the scarcity of certain ingredients he was able to bring the true flavors of Mexico into the halls of La Brasserie Restaurant at this event.

Arriving to the event I was greeted by six different selections of margaritas: Ginger, pineapple, mango, plum, white grapes, and strawberry margarita. Even though I thought the pineapple margarita would be the one I would love at the end, it was the strawberry that won the prize… Moving along I got greeted by a smiling man wearing a sombrero hat and a ponchos. Seating was scarce at first since this event was overwhelmingly welcomed. I did not mind that at all, for it gave me more time to walk between the large selection of foods and give my eyes a treat. The setting was a buffet in the middle, a hot plate station for cooking skewers and casadias, another station for a variety of cooked sea food, and a beautiful island of at least twenty selections of deserts. As usual I decided to start with something that is made by many restaurants around the world, a traditional Mexican dish, the fajitas. Even though simple to make, it gives you an idea of how well the chef is, and what is his style of cooking. I have had oily fajitas, dry fajitas, fatty fajitas while I dinned in many Mexican restaurants in Southern California, and Mexico. I must say this fajita was excellent, light on fat, but in no means dry. Well balanced is the least I can say, a delicious start to open my appetite. Next were the cheese casadias, and the taste was just getting better. Overwhelmed and anxious to try other dishes my eyes took me towards the soups. There I met Chef Pinte for the first time. It is always nice to see a chef next to food, it gives me an essence of care, not only for the food but also for the person who will be eating the food. Chef Pinet recommended the Tortilla soup, he ladled the soup into the ball, and garnished it with some bits of tortillas. The soup was a very balanced one, not an overwhelming taste of broth as it should not be for a tortia soup, and loaded with flavors. From there even though satisfactorily full; I launched into the buffet trying bits of everything. Everything I tried was either great or divine, with one exception and that is the beautifully made ‘marinated tuna in a sweet and spicy dressing’ , it looked far better than it tasted for my own taste buds. (if anyone gets to try it, please let us know what you think).

Next stop was the Treasure Island (at least that is what I call it), the island of deserts. For once I was disappointed with my own self, for I knew I cannot try all the selections of treasures. I started off trying Sopaipilla and then the toasted almonds with vanilla sauce, the toasted almonds were really good. Then I walked around and let my eyes take the lead and choose my final desert. It was grape and almond tartlet and it was divine. Other selections of desert were rich banana nut bread, sangria roulade with Grenadine jelly, cinnamon rice pudding, steamed coconut flan, orange dust, and the most wanted 5 spice chocolate mousse cake. The mouse cake must have been exceptional for I could not get my hands on a piece, and I left before the new cake came along.

In every essence this was an amazing event, and even though the sombreros men won’t be there for the rest of the Mexican Food Festival, if you are looking for great Mexican food, La Brasserie restaurant, in Al Faisaliah Hotel, a Rosewood Hotel, is the place to dine for the next ten days. According to chef Pinet the selection in the buffet will be changing between couple of menus he has setup, and depending on the fresh ingredients they are able to secure for that day.

The Mexican Food Festival will be ongoing from the 12^th of April till the 22^nd of April in La Brasserie restaurant, Al Faisaliah Hotel, a Rosewood Hotel for dinner only, and Friday brunch will have some of the selections as well.

To reserve online through artofdining.net use this link : La Brasserie restaurant