28 Jan 2011

Late Dinner at Mamasita





















Level 1, 
11 Collins St
Melbourne, VIC 3000
(03) 9650 3821

Opening hours
Mon: 12:00 pm - till late
Tue: 12:00 pm - till late
Wed: 12:00 pm - till late
Thu: 12:00 pm - till late
Fri: 12:00 pm - till late
Sat: 6:00 pm - till late




What we ordered:
Cocktail
Michelada $10
Tecate, salt, tabasco, habanero hot sauce, tomato juice and fresh lime

To Start
Elotes callejeros $4.40
"Street style" chargrilled corn with queso, chipotle mayonnaise and lime

Tacos
de Camarones (3 serves) $18
Marinated prawns with habanero chillies and chipotle almond salsa

de Res y Chorizo (3 serves) $14
Braised beef and chorizo with coriander and onion

Quesadillas
9 inch tortillas with filling
de Huitlacoche $14
Mexican truffle, mushrooms, pepitas, epazote and pumpkin sauce.

Went to Mamasita, the modern Mexican restaurant on Collion's in the CBD for a late night bite on Saturday.
The doorman opened the glass door for us politely and climbed up the stairs, a friendly staff asked where we would like to sit as half of the restaurant was empty.
We've been told there's always a long queue from staircase to out on the street.
I guess that's why there was a doorman downstairs.
Lucky us, no need to wait.

Got a table and ordered a Michelada.
It was almost 10:50pm and their full menu served until 11pm.
We only got to choose from Primeros, Tacos and Quesadillas.
A bit disapointted as I really want to try their Tostaditas,
especially the de Cangrejo: Crab meat, avocado,cucumber, tamarind, mayonnaise and habanero.

Started with their signature street style chargrilled corn with queso, chipotle, mayonnaise and  lime.
A big smile on our faces.
Very delicious.
The sweet, juicy corn and yummy cheese made a great combination together.
Simply outstanding dish!

It was not busy there and the service was efficient and the food came out quickly.
Then we had our two tacos, de camarones: marinated prawns with habanero chillies and chipotle almond salsa and the de res y chorizo: braised beef & chorizo with coriander & onion traditional ingredients.
We shared the dishes and ate with our bare hands.

The soft tacos wrapped up the marinated prawns with sliced cabbage and salsa full of freshness and flavour.
The braised beef was beautifully spices, most flavoursome and taste delicious with coriander and onion.
It was moist and tender.
There was also a small dish of avocado, tomato, onion, cucumber and herbs with vinegar and olive oil salsa served as a side given us by our waitress which been told goes well with the beef.
That was truly amazing. I can have a large bowl of salsa along.
Awesome dishes.
For three serves on each dish, a bit too much for late supper.

Before our last orders came, the lovely waitress minded us the food might be too much for the two of us.
Thanks her and she was totally right.
We canceled the de Pollo: chargrilled chicken with ‘‘pico de gallo’’, coriander and queso fresco but still wanted try the de Huitlacoche: Mexican truffle, mushrooms, roasted corn, epazote and queso fresco.
Such good service they provided. Don't you agree with me on this one?
I mean who would care if you can or cannot finish your meal in most restaurants especially a cheap eat place.
Wait staffs just technically taking orders and  delivering your food on the table.
In many restaurants, you have to raise your hands high in the air to get the attention
and ask multiple times to top up a empty water glass.
Here in Mamasita, the wait staffs were helpful and polite and always smile back after I thank them
for serving our food.
It was not a busy night and not many people when we were there.
Still, I appreciated their good service.

The quesadillas was ordinary.
Pancakes with thin skin and had a layer of mushrooms in between and cheese on top.
A bit hard to chew and a bit dry. Nothing surprising.

Maybe that's the Mexican style.
Or maybe we were too full to have any more food.
I like their tacos better. 
Anyway, overall we were happy and  the service was great.

I couldn't tell you how authentic the food was or whether they use traditional Mexican ingredients
due to my limited knowledge on Mexican food.
However, Mamasita is a perfect place for a quick lunch or a late night snack.
Good value for small eaters like us and the atmosphere was fantastic if you like loud music (very loud).
It would be great to sit at the bar and watch the staff playing records and have a few drinks with friends.
We will be back to have more tacos.


Mamasita on Urbanspoon

Cuisine: Mexican
Food: Good
Service: Good
Atmopshere: Good
Value: $
Recommend: Good

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