Hi, I am new to this site ( not new to Shanghai, thought... ). Does anyone know where to go for good Mexican Food in Shanghai? I am in JinAn District but would be willing to go anywhere that Metro can take me...
Thanks!!

Type in "Mexican" in the Google search tool on the left side of your screen - you will find 100's of posts.

We love Peter's Tex-Mex Gill...villa 7, No 3911, Hongmei Rd. They have wide variety of western food besides tex-mex.

Agave (drinks) and el mexicano (food).

Marakanis wrote:I have reviews up for Cantina Agave (the best), LZ Mexican and Cal Kitchen. I don't recommend Cal Kitchen.

http://www.shanghaiexpat.com/MDForum-viewtopic-t-89099.phtml

Hey, thanks for getting back to me... I found your reviews facinating!! If you want to know a few good ( excellent ) Chinese restaurants, I might be able to recommend a few!!

i have try few mexican places the last days, and i have got to the conclussion until now the el mexicano has the best mexican food in shanghai. the bad thing: the restaurant is far away from downtown. they have a deliverycenter in sowntown but they dont have all the dishes thy have at the restaurant. my mexican friends also believe this is the best place in shanghai to eat mexican food. Now Agave is also good, more convenient to go if you are near downtown and want a place to eat-in (tex-mex) but the flavour is nothing special, i dont like much the tortillas they use . Maya is also good but expensive and more mexican-fusion. mexico lindo just soso, and expensive for what it is (tex-mex food). i havent try Peter's Tex-Mex that will be my next

marakanis. mental problems?? whatever , just forget my review if you dont like it.

Marakanis wrote:I have reviews up for Cantina Agave (the best), LZ Mexican and Cal Kitchen. I don't recommend Cal Kitchen.

http://www.shanghaiexpat.com/MDForum-viewtopic-t-89099.phtml

DO you work for AGAVE. please get a life.

Cantina Agave is NOT Tex-Mex! They're Cal style burritos.

I second that I heard El Mexicano is really good. Heard from many different (Mexican) sources.

The burrito I had from El Mexicano I would liken to eating a moist toilette...

have you been to Mexico?

Looks like you've done your research online, but doesn't look like you've been in the field very much. I'm no food critic, but you have to eat Mexican food outside of China, particularly California, Texas, and most importantly Mexico, and then you will have something to work off from.

The 'cal style burrito' description came straight from the owner/partner of Cantina Agave.

Cal style burrito... it's mexican food, trust me. Tex-mex... Mexican food.

I've lived in Southern California for about... 25 years. I've been to Mexico about... 15 times.

I think I know just a wee bit about mexican food.

you just perfectly described your experience and taste. Case closed.

Actually, the closest thing in Shanghai to a real California style burrito is from New York City Deli. Only available on weekends though. Its very close to what you can get in the Mission district of San Francisco - not quite perfect, but the carnitas are pretty darned close. Its the right size (gigantic compared the the others mentioned above) and the fillings are good, even though they don't have black beans. The salsa isn't hot enough for me either - for that Cantina Agave wins hands down for their salsa bar. True, the nachos at El Mexicano are a joke, but I haven't given up on EM yet. Twice already I've tried to order their enchiladas and both times they were sold out, which conceivably means they are good enough for those in the know to be buying - either that or a typical case of local mismanagement, hopefully the former. I was so happy when Cantina Agave opened its doors, but then after returning from a visit home I realize they just barely rate average.

Does anyone know where I could buy sour cream in shanghai? I've looked at my local chinese markets, tesco and carrefour and didn't find it. I can't even attempt to home-make crappy mexican food if I dont have sour cream.

Maya used to suck ass, but now that Sean has taken over the kitchen it could be back on par when Brad ran the kitchen

skaaght wrote:Does anyone know where I could buy sour cream in shanghai? I've looked at my local chinese markets, tesco and carrefour and didn't find it. I can't even attempt to home-make crappy mexican food if I dont have sour cream.

What I understand about Sour Cream at Carrefour is they get their delivery on Friday's. That means if you need to go either Friday (afternoon) or Saturday to get the stock otherwise it is sold out. I had the same problem until I figured this out.

Also - I think Maya has very good Mexican Food. It is expensive but true to Mexican flavors.

I actually appreciate Marakanis's reviews, and the fact that he puts time into sharing his dining experiences with us is admirable. Why do people have to be so picky?

Why does the discussion of Mexican Food result in such negativity and name calling????

Here's my opinion (I always have one it seems! )

People who grew up on Chinese or English food have no business judging what is good mexican food. Their palate just cannot tell the difference from good or bad in this type of cusine.

People like myself, Marakanis and Leidelaohu have more refined tastes when it comes to Mexican food because we lived or grew up in California which has some of the best Mexican Food outside of Mexico. We can tell the difference.

What I would like to see if possible, is someone who is Mexican on ShanghaiExpat to give a review. That review I would trust 100%!!!!

Anyone out there that is Mexican or grew up in Mexico???

It always takes two to fight.

Having that said I think Restaurant Reviews are and will always be personal. Especially in Shanghai where most Reviews are written by users. And the few Expat Mags that provide reviews written by Staff have most of the time no clue what they talk about.

Mexican Food in Shanghai will never be authentic. Period. No matter who tries or what they do. Ingredients are lacking and the market is too small to survive in the long run if you go truly authentic. This might come as a shock to you North Americans now. But not that many people outside your part of the world care to much about it or know the difference between various Burritos.

So yeah, Cantina ain't that bad - but it is certainly not authentic. Neither is Maya or any of the other places in town.

The best part of Mexican Food is Refried Beans. No resturant I have ever eaten in the past 12 years in Asia has gotten it right.

Here is the receipe if someone is desperate to make it at home:

1/4 Cup lard or bacon drippings, or a mixture of both
1 medium onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups cooked whole pinto beans, plus 1 cup of the cooking liquid (from making the beans)
1/2 cup cream or evaporated milk
Salt to taste
1 teaspoon ground dried mild red chile
Creme fraiche (sold in Carrefour) for garnish

Warm the fat in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Stir in the onion an dgarlic and fry until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the drained beans to the skillet and smash them with a potato masher adding the cooking liquid and cream a bit at a time until they reach a fairly smooth and moist consistency. Continue to cook, strirring up from the botton with a spatula, until the beans become a thick paste.


You can find all these items listed above in the supermarket - so why does the resturants always get it wrong???

I get sour cream at City Shop. It's the only place I've ever seen it.

And I'm with you, there's no sense having Mexican food if you're not going to have the sour cream!

Mich

OK, guys, I am really starting to feel bad now...
It all started from me asking a very innocent question... I would have never imagined it would turn into these name calling sessions....
Actually, when I asked the question yesterday, I was almost ready to give up my search for a good Mexican restaurant in Shanghai already. Swisscook said it so well, " the ingredients are not readily available, and the market is too small for any good ones to survive in the long run" At this point, I don't even think it is that important for me to find "Authentic" of anything here in China. When in Rome, do as Romans do... I enjoy eating the Chinese Food here that I can't get back home anyway.... Plus which, I will be in Cancun ( some people told me that is not Mexico, either ) in December, I know I will have my share of some good homemade tomale, Happy Hours and yummy soft tocos filled with unidentifiable protein there.... Until then, I am sure Cantina Agave or Maya will satisfied my cravings for now.

I am a new comer on this site, and I was so happy and excited that we expats can have a site like this to share information and experiences while living away from our homes. It is not easy to live alone in a foriegn land, and be away from all the good things that we are used to and loved. Could we at least be kind to each other and stop fighting!! Please?
Maybe we should go get a drink and chill out!!

Sorry, fighting is more fun!

Don't give up now... give us your opinion on things!

Agreed. The chief Brad make MaYa a better place now. It is on Jule Road San Xi Road, inside Si Fang Xi Cheng. Jin An District.

Yeah, I guess you are right. I was more thinking along the line of spices & Peppers I guess. I am really not too keen on Mexican Food nor do I know too much about it.

You can find all these items listed above in the supermarket - so why does the resturants always get it wrong???

Lol, don't take this personally. But I think you have no Clue what it means to work in a kitchen in Shanghai.

Let me quote my buddy Bottle Jack who summed this up nicely in another Thread on Sept 28...

"Trying to maintain Western restaurant standards in Shanghai can be an exercise in insanity..

As a westerner coming in to an established restaurant the local staff will assume they know better than you and won't take you seriously.

Count on repeating the same instructions several times daily and having these instructions followed only when you're watching. When you show someone how to do something here, their first thought will be how to make the task easier for them and end up with a finished product vaguely resembling your example.

Assume everyone is stealing from you at all times. This could be by hiding in a stairwell sleeping or smoking, or could be more direct. Whoever does the ordering 9 times out of 10 gets kickbacks from some of the suppliers. Might be as simple as some drinks and a KTV girl once in a while to order from them, or could be a cost inflation scam.

If people tell you Shanghai is the 'next New York' of the Culinary World, or that Michelin is coming, they're full of ****. I've seen some major improvements in my time in the industry here but it still has a long way to go.

So yeah, working in a Restaurant ain't always that easy. It is not only about cooking the Food.

I have seen a lot of places open and close in my 3 years here. Good Quality and Consistency is hard to achieve and painful at times. That's why I have a lot of Respect for guys like Stillers and some of the bigger Hotels here.

Anyway, this is not an excuse for serving bad food. But maybe it answers your questions why Restaurants can't get it right.

I agree with SwissCook... as a layman I know one thing, if you are not everyday and all the time in your restaurant, you are bound for trouble. As a restaurateur you have no holidays. Some entrepreneurs (?) who get lured by the fancy world of the F&B world, and open up a restaurant, forget how much hard work behind the scenes is needed to make it become a success. By success I mean not surviving the everyday normal business. Success keeps you alive in times like these.

I went to that Mexican joint near Fudan Uni with The Mexican and it was great. The Mexican said 'This is real Mexican food, not like that microwaved bullsh*t you see in other joints'.

This, from a Mexican. Straight from the enchilada. Cha cha cha, baby.

SwissCook,

Maybe I am a little naive when it comes to in the interworking of restaurants as I only eat in them but to blame the staff is a little off, might I say. Everything including attitude starts at the top, honey...

What about the management? Maybe if the people in charge would stop belittling the staff and treat them with respect, that might help. Could teamwork training help? Unless you think all Shanghai restaurant employees are sh*t as you seem to imply...

Lady of Leisure,

I agree with you. Attitude starts at the top. Hence most of us spend 12 plus hours in the kitchen working. I don't think any of us real chefs treats their staff like idiots or yells at them. Being a chef is not really like what Bourdain writes about or how Ramsey acts on TV. Those guys just make a living portraying a picture most people have of Chefs.

Most of us believe in Team work and treat their guys nice. Unlike those guys on TV we actually need to put out Food for real people. If you treat your staff like sh1t and don't take care of them they leave. And you are on your own or need to start training new guys again.

Being a Chef is all about walking the talk. It is a straightforward Job that requires talent, good taste and above all excellent People Skills. If you don't have that you don't stand a chance. Like I said. It is not all about cooking. And yes, if you don't walk the talk your team will not take you serious or respect you and things will eventually fall apart. There is no hiding behind statistics, numbers or a in a office behind a closed door. You are out there every night in front of a team who thinks they can do your Job better than you. I mean how hard can cooking be.... right ?

The place I work has 200 + Chefs and several Restaurants. There is tons of training. Lots of team work exercises, staff parties and whatever else you could think off. They get good pay, great benefits, a chance to learn and a eventually a Transfer out of the PRC if they feel like it.

And yet, so many times I walk into one of the Restaurants and I see a guy suddenly cutting the Meat properly. Just because I am in the kitchen.

I don't think it is because their all sh1t. I know there is guys like that everywhere in the world. I worked with them elsewhere too. But I do think there is more of them here than elsewhere. Maybe it is because somehow being a Chef in China sounds less good than elsewhere. I don't know.

I did not mean to generalize. If I did. I am sorry. I just meant to say that there is more to cooking than what you see in TV shows.

What I am less clear on is why Chinese restaurants in other cities do not have these problems. Hong Kong restaurants are great. Nanjing restaurants are good. Even Haerbin is better. What the heck is wrong with Shanghai ? Talk about losers with a snotty attitude ..

I think it is because Shanghai was spoiled the past few years. Restaurants filled up every day anyway without them actually having to do something for it. Now that people have to pay on their own and don't have expense accounts things are different.

Other cities never had that luxury or learned their lesson before.

I think there will be a lot of places closing in Shanghai in the near future.