Bacon-wrapped Hot Dogs

Not Quite Epic Meal Time

After finally making it out to the store for some grocery shopping over the weekend and making a call to the management to get a tank of gas, it was finally time to do some cooking. While we were at the store doing the shopping it became clear how hard it is to start a kitchen from scratch. I mean we had nothing, no salt, no oil, no knives, no cutting board, nothing.

So after we bough a lot of cooking basics, plus some other flat basics: toilet brush, broom, surface cleaner, etc. We had run up a big bill and still didn't have enough ingredients to make an actual meal, so while we were waiting at the checkout I decided to make a run and grab enough things to make some hot dogs, bacon-wrapped hot dogs. They're simple to make but hardy enough to fill you up, so I decided it would be a good first meal to make.

Ingredients
• Beef franks
• Hot dog buns
• Bell pepper
• Onion
• Avocado

The first step is to wrap the hot dogs in the bacon. There isn't really a technique or style just try to cover as much of the hot dog with the bacon as you can. Once the hot dogs are wrapped up, place them on a skillet and cook them until the bacon and the hot dogs are cooked.

The Veggies Make it Healthy

After that's done slice the bell pepper and onions into strips. Cook the bell peppers first and once they start losing their firmness add the onions. Season the veggies with salt and peper and remove from the pan once the onions get a bit caramelized.

Once the veggies are done assemble it all together and add the fresh avocado on top.

Home Cooked Goodness

Casa Latina

Carnitas

I went to Casa Latina a while ago, shortly after visiting "Señor Burrito" which left me with a craving for more Mexican food. I had heard of this place before but it was only after a friend went and sent me the picture above that I decided it was time I tried the food for myself.

After sitting down and looking at the menu I realized two things. One, the place was a bit pricey; two, they serve real Mexican food. The menu read like things my mom would suggest for dinner: carnitas, chile relleno, pozole, flautas, milanesa, etc.

There was so much I wanted to try I decided before I even got my food that I would be coming back to try most of the menu. However, for my first time I went with the carnitas and a bucket of coronas. I was there with my roommate so I'm not a drunk.

The carnitas came on a skillet and were served with tortilals, limon, and two salsas. The amount of carnitas you get in an order justifies the price, and you will most certainly be full. The carnitas were well done [although they could of used a little more manteca] and the tortillas were soft warm, and made me happier than food should. As I was eating my food, I was informed that although that unlike the rest of the staff the chef was Mexican.

The one disappointing of Casa Latina was the drink choice, especially after I'd had jamaica at Señor Burrito. They didn't have any aguas frescas, jarritos, or even a lot of Mexican beer. They did have the regular cocktails, margaritas, and the Coronas.

However, my disappointment as the lack of horchata in Casa Latina was short lived as I looked at the dessert  menu. They had flan, and if that wasn't enough they had tres leches cake. We ordered both and shared, mostly due to my insistence that my roommate try tres leches. Both desserts were good, and the tres leches was a pretty big portion.

Casa Latina is now my serious Mexican restaurant and I will definitely be going back, next time probably for the pozole.

Señor Burrito

My weekly hangout spot and go-to Mexican restaurant Señor Taco recently launched a brother store, Señor Burrito. Lack of naming creativity aside, I decided to give it a try during lunchtime since it's not far away from work.

The first challenge was finding the place, it's in the basement of Raffles City Mall, and I knew it was in the basement but since it's only a stall [there's no dining area] it was kind of hard to find. Undeterred, I walked around aimlessly until I gave in and looked at the directory, which had no mention of the place. Luckily a quick google search revealed the location.

The store front is pretty simple, and reminds you of a Subway store or for me "Felipe's" back in Boston. The serve two main dishes, burritos and nachos as well as drinks, and other small things. I went with the meal combo which is a choice of burrito/nachos and chips/drink. I decided on burrito and drink and was left wondering whether anyone would ever choose the chips. The two choices of drink are frozen margarita and sangria. Sangria, for the first time in Singapore I had found an agua fresca.

The Combo

After selecting your course you are given a choice of "filling" which again is very much like a Subway order, you can choose between chicken, steak, and ground beef. Then after you choose the filling you have a choice of lettuce, onion, sour cream, hot sauce, avoacado, etc. Each burrito comes with mexican rice and refried beans.

I finished up my order and took my meal to my desk where I could evaluate it in peace. One thing that stood out while they made my burrito was the small amount of beans and rice that you get. After the girl making my burrito had applied the beans I could still see the tortilla, which isn't right at all but I tried to ignore that as I took my first bite.

Steak Burrito

Compared to other food I've had in Singapore, this burrito was a solid 9/10 and compared to burritos in general it's still a respectable 8/10. The steak was tender and flavorful, the salsas [chipotle and jalapeño] are just the right amount of spicy, not so mild that they're glorified spreads but not spicy enough that you have to run your tongue under cold water. The $2 addition of avocado, although a bit steep, was a crucial move to make. In fact the only thing that was missing in this burrito was the thing I noticed while they were making it, not enough beans. I'm not sure whether they were good or bad, salty or bland because there wasn't enough of them in there, and while there shouldn't be so much beans in a burrito that they overpower everything else, you should still be able to notice them, even if just slightly.

They Make Sangria in Singapore?

Then there was the sangria, which by existing had already thrown my expectations out the window. After tasting it, I was torn between drinking it all in one gulp because it's good, or drinking it sip by sip so it would last me the whole day because... well because it's good. Either they're making it the good ol' fashioned way or they have their hands on some really good mix. Not too sweet, not too bitter and as refreshing as I remember it being straight from our fridge. Singapore, in it's perpetual heat and humidity needs Sangria.

Overall the food at Señor Burrito is good but a pit pricey. I paid $12.50 for my burrito and sangria combo which to me is about $2.50 too much. That aside, the portions are filling, the service is pretty fast and the food was fresh. I will definitely be going back and I doubt I'll ever deviate from my steak burrito and sangria. Now, if I could just convince the owner to start making horchata.

Tomatillos Mexican Street Food

I discovered a new Mexican restaurant through a site that catalogs new places in Singapore. Their tag line "Mexican Street Food" intrigued me and I figured who better than a Mexican to validate that claim, plus the only picture I could find of the place seemed pretty good.

Note the molcajete

So on a rainy evening after work I walked over to the place, which turns out isn't that far from where I work. Tomatillos is part of "The Foundry" which is a collection of food stalls; the stalls only sell food and they share a common sitting area. The lack of drinks was a bit disappointing since I was hoping they'd have horchata.

The menu is simple but contains all the staples; quesadillas, burritos, fajitas. I was going to get a burrito but at the last moment another item caught my eye, chimichanga. For fillings they offered chicken, beef, and pork. I wondered whether the pork meant carnitas so I gambled on the hope it would and ordered my pork chimichanga. The menu said that the chimichanga would come with guacamole, lettuce, and beans. I was happy to have found a Mexican place that finally had beans, so I sat down just a tad bit hyped about my food.

My Food Arrived

I looked at my plate with mixed reactions. I could see jalapeños, but the pork didn't look like carnitas. I figured I was expecting too much and decided to dig in and minimize my bias. After the first few bites I was a bit disappointed, and not only because I was expecting to get something different.

A Real Chimichanga

A chimichanga is supposed to be a burrito that is deep fried, just in case a regular burrito isn't fattening enough. However, what I got was a couple of deep fried tortillas with pork, beans, and guacamole on top; it felt more like a tostada although not even quite that. The beans were also a big let down, they tasted like they came from the can and they weren't mashed enough. The pork was over seasoned and overpowered everything else. The guacamole was definitely the spotlight of the dish.

I wouldn't say that the food was bad, by itself it was actually pretty good. However, given the fact that I was expecting good refried beans and a deep fried burrito I was a bit let down. If I do go back I will probably get the burrito.

Looking back I realize that the logo should have clued me to the fact that this wasn't going to be real Mexican restaurant. If you see the logo above you can notice that the chiles are wearing Chucks, a real Mexican chile would have been wearing chanclas.