Friday, August 15, 2008

Mexican food @ Carlos Mexican Canteena, Pavilion Kuala Lumpur


confused??? so are we, with the mexican decor and shisha...

I've heard a lot about this place from Splashie Boy, who had dined here before with his office friends. Thus, when we visited Pavilion last week, I dragged him here to check out the place. I love the restaurants at this area - under the roof as its airy and nice to just hang out. Since it was late afternoon, most people were just lounging around and enjoying the weekend.


you can't go wrong with these potato skins (RM10.50++)

While this place's moniker is Mexican canteena, I found them a bit confused about their identity. First, the row of shishas or hookas supposedly popular in the Middle East, seems to have found a spot here. Next was the menu dishes served to us.


I didn't know burritos (RM19.50++) are served deepfried and with a sauce?


Food arrived as fast as we could say Speedy Gonzales. In fact, all our dishes arrived even before our drinks did. I guess it shows, this place is more a bar vs a restaurant, since the bar was so pre-occupied with orders. The Mexican Potato Skins (RM10.50++), were good and tasty. A bit soft in the middle but I absolutely loved the tomato salsa it was served with, as it had the piquant taste I liked. Basically I hogged that small plate of salsa and kept ladling it on every bit of my potato skins.


the "eat until you are rolling on the floor" beef ribs (RM54++)

Splashie Boy ordered a burrito stuffed with beef (RM19.50++). We kinda expected a flour tortilla wrapped with minced beef but instead, the burrito arrived fried and swimming in a tomato like sauce. From Wikipedia, I understand this is a variation of the enchilada style burrito, where it is served with a sauce. I thought this version kinda resembled a chimicanga. I didn't like the sauce it came with as it felt quite tasteless (imagine tomato flavoured broth with no taste!). Splashie Boy did enjoy the food but claimed this wasn't what he expected.

I went for the beef ribs (RM54++) as I was super hungry that day. The ribs came highly recommended by Splashie Boy's friend. Believe me, it is good value for money as I got a stack of beef ribs with mash potatoes. That stack was so huge, two of us just could not finish it. Served with a black pepper sauce, the beef was super tender and falling off the bones.

Overall verdict on the food - its tasty stuff BUT not authentic Mexican food. The beef ribs may be pricey but the portions are very worth every sen paid.

Carlos Mexican Canteena
Lot C3-03. Pavilion
Jalan Bukit Bintang
Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 03-2145 3996

(Pork free)

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here is entirely based on my personal tastebuds and may vary for others. The reviewer also declares that she has not received any monetary or non-monetary compensation from the restaurant for writing this review.

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18 comments:

Ciki said...

looks good. too bad not authentic. what can i say.. mexican in msia is not one of my favs.. even on the border of calif/mexico i sometimes need to be in the mood for it- however authentic/fantastic.. but good to know where i can take die-hard mex fans! thx again for sniffing ths plc out :D good job!

souled_oUt said...

hi boo.. i have a question which is totally unrelated to ur entry. im planning to make myself ice blended drinks.. can i use the usual and the typical blender? will it damage the blender's blade? tqvm for ur help

J2Kfm said...

passed by this outlet a lot of times, but somehow the restaurants along the al fresco area somehow did not seem appealing.
Burrito sounds nice, though a bit different

Lyrical Lemongrass said...

Very nice pics, Boo. Looks like you've mastered your DSLR, eh? ;-) Btw, I love that pic of the beef ribs...makes me hungry (and I don't normally like beef!).

Julian Si said...

Super shooting!!! Hmm, a 90mm Macro Lens on a 40D (Canon EOS) perhaps? Or are you one of the Nikon-clan :-)

I haven't actually had the food here, but love the drink + shisha! Can't wait to try next time, thanks for the heads-up ...

ps - Exploring new Beijing place near Uptown D.Utama this weekend.. hmm.

"Joe" who is constantly craving said...

ohh so dis is where it is..thats the prob..i think i like to venture within the pavilion shopping complex instead of venturing at the outside walk..

jelly said...

i am drooling at the beef ribs....yummm yummmm

choi yen said...

It's a bit pricey for 2 pcs of potato skin for RM 10.50~~

ling239 said...

have to find a few kakis for the "eat until you are rolling on the floor" beef ribs...hahahaaaaa

D said...

Even though I live in New York where some may argue that no authentic Mexicana fare exists either (c'mon guys, we have Spanish Harlem!!), I agree with you totally that this doesn't look authentic. But hey, as long as it's tasty =)

boo_licious said...

cumi & ciki - my bf just happens to love Mexican. If he sees a place, it is always a must try for him, hence we end up trying all these places. Am sure there is enuf great Msian food to fill yr tummies.

souled out - making ice blended drinks in yr blender is fine. Just crush the ice slowly by pulsing it. Don't just hit it to high speed as the blades need a while to crush them. Good luck!

j2kfm - this stretch more like drinks place I reckon. The serious food places are downstairs or the 6th floor.

LL - Splashie Boy took that one. I reckon, he has a better grasp of the camera than I do!

Julian - oooh, Beijing restaurant sounds interesting, will wait with bated breath. Nah, can't afford a 40D, just a basic Canon DSLR, which was a birthday pressie.

Joe - must be the aircond you are addicted to?

Jelly - such a mountain of beef and so tender.

mimi - yeah, I thot the food was all pricey until they dumped the ribs on us!

ling239 - yeah, the more the merrier than you can order more dishes too!

d - one look at that floating burrito and you know it has been M'sianed...I think I read an article on the Star, they serve teh tarik!

Simon Seow said...

Might order the sisha too when I have the chance to come here lol.

boo_licious said...

simon - guess it destresses one's mind esp after u spend half your monies in Pavilion?

Jean said...

I just went there yesterday.
Not really enjoy the food..
Maybe because I ordered the wrong thing...lol
Anyway, just wanna let u noe...
I love your blog...(as I love food too!)

Unknown said...

Hey, great shots. Was there on a stopover in KL. Well you said it..ID crisis..neither Mexican nor Mid eastern.The food sucks, well except for 1 or 2. They should send the chef back to school or change him. As for the drinks, you can do better in one of the other joints, bartenders don't have a clue to what they are doing. Service wise, a few of the staff were particularly helpful and friendly, and I mean few, 1,2,3 few, the majority of the rest are in their own world, BAD. As for the price, I love food, but too expensive for inferior quality. They should change the menu or the chef..oops did I say chef again? A few mates who were in KL were also of the same opinion. Nice blog btw.

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

I remember when I went to Carlos mexican Canteena, and the environment there is fabulous, you only find kind people and delicious food, You really feel like home. I'll never forget it , because exactly that day I got married and bought viagra online by first time, and since then, my life changed.

brown said...

Me and my wife was at the Pavilion at 7pm today looking for a Mexican food but was so disapointed the service was lousy couple

1.with cold chicken fajitas.
2. the Hot chocolate taste like Milo.
3. Ordered Mexican special dessert but never came

4. They did not entertain us as a guest.

5. i shall not go there anymore and would not recommend to anyone

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