Square Meals: Our Mexican Sojourn

Let me start by apologizing for the long gap between posts…the excuse is lame and clichéd, but we have been really very busy.

My parents and mother-in-law are visiting from India and we took a trip to Mexico City last month. This trip had been planned almost six months in advance, and we had allotted seven days for it. On our last day in Mexico, we realized that a week was not enough for seeing the myriad churches and other sights.

The first thing that hit us when we got out of the airport was that Mexico looked just like any big Indian city…we related it to Chennai because we are all from there. The roads, the traffic, the incessant honking, and the drainage odor wafting in the air, all felt very familiar; the only things unfamiliar were the people and the language.

We had been forewarned that the city was dangerous in the nights and that we should be extra cautious when using the public transportation or local taxis. It could be because of our experience in Indian buses and trains that we found the trains quite comfortable, except for the occasional peak time crowd.

We stayed in a serviced apartment and managed to cook at least two meals on most days, at other times we ate from local joints. Being a food enthusiast, I enjoyed all the dishes I ate there and have been planning to write about them.
This was our first international vacation and we enjoyed every single moment. Thanks to the Google translate App on my husband’s phone and research done by my father, we were able to cross the language barrier a bit.

Our first restaurant experience in the city taught us that the people there are extremely patient and accommodating, especially to tourists like us. Another interesting factor that we noticed was that most of the people there, including servers and vendors, are literate. We would show them the phone (with the translated queries) and they were able to respond accordingly.

Overall, I have only one thing to say, Mexico City and its nearby locations are worth visiting. The beautiful churches, ancient pyramids, and castles together make Mexico City and its surrounding areas a tourist’s paradise.


There were many roadside eateries all over the city. We did not venture to eat from there, because we weren't sure what all was being served

Appetizers: Tortialla chips and fresh bread

Tomato Soup

Vegetable enchiladas in a spinach cream sauce

We went to Isckon temple in Mexico city and this was part of the prasadam lunch provided there: Bread and potato stuffed empanadas (tasted like samosas)

Salad

Maha prasadm: Rice pudding and a berry pie

Fresh papaya juice

Fresh tamarind juice

Vegetable soup

Main course: rice, greens, and eggplant

Dinner made at home: Curd rice with exotic garnishing, spicy boondi and bhujiya sev with mango pickle

Lunch at La Zanahoria (The Carrot): Steamed vegetables with a spicy salsa

Fresh naranja (orange) juice

Another enchilada, but this one was in a salsa verde sauce. Tasty and lighter than the spinach and cream base

Dessert was from...any guesses? McDonalds...yes you read it right!!!

Varieties of bread bought from a bakery right across from our apartment. The breads were light and fluffy, with a nice crust. Another thing we liked was the price, four breads and one sandwich cookie together cost less than $1.50