Without a doubt, Mexican has to be one of my all-time favorite world cuisines (coming a close second after Thai ofcourse!). I discovered Muchachas many months ago as Holiday Inn Express is literally at the back-door of my workplace.
The bright turquoise interiors, complete with cacti, Mexican sombreros and cantina-style minimalist furnishings is all at once eclectic, exotic and welcoming, and my colleagues are a little weary of the number of times I praise them for their tacos.
The only downside of Muchachas is their pricing. For the portion sizes that are dished out on a regular day, their menu rates really are quite steep. We still giggle about a colleague of mine who came to lunch with us there a while ago. Not sure what to order, he went for the most exotic-sounding dish and at AED 68, he was served a platter of what appeared to be 6 mini toasties topped with guacamole. The poor guy went back to the office and had a cup of instant noodles at his desk.
But I come with good news… Muchachas has started a Friday Brunch, and at AED 275 this covers an unlimited serving of appetizers, mains, dessert, jugs of absolutely delicious sangria, and very fancy margarita! And if you plan to stay sober, it gets even cheaper at AED 175 per head, inclusive of soft-drinks.
The brunch is on every Friday from 12.30 to 3.30 pm, and a couple of weeks ago, I took my wee family along to experience my Mexican discovery in my work-nook.
At Muchachas, they always start off the meal with a bowl of complimentary colorful corn chips along with dips. My little one was rather fascinated with these, and the bright paprika reds were the first to disappear.
The brunch here is served at the table, which I love! The food is freshly made, and the wastage (sadly so common in buffet-style dining) is kept to a minimum.
For the appetizers round, we were served a very delicious bowl of guacamole (the flavors of lemon tartness and salt perfectly balanced, the avocado beautifully mashed to a creamy yet chunky texture), a platter of decadently sauced chicken wings coated in smoked chipotle and burnt honey, and a very artsy-looking Veal Sope (a circular-cut serving of Pibil beef topped with avocado and red onion).
But that is just the first wave of appetizers! The second round gets even more interesting with the introduction of King Fish Ceviche marinated in a deliciously citric blood orange, chili, cocoa and avocado oil dressing and topped with a squeeze of lime and shreds of fresh coriander. To scoop it up, the ceviche is served with crisp banana chips. What an exotic combination!
This is followed by Chicken Quesadillas, where the quesadillas are stuffed with Filipino-inspired Adobo chicken, paired with coriander and served with a very generous smear of absolutely creamy, flavorful lime crema.
They also serve up a very moreish Duck Enchilada, stuffed with pasilla mole, almond and avocado.
I had all this with great lashings of ‘Unicorn Tears’. This is Muchachas’ very own ultra hot chili sauce, and how can you not love the name!
At any point in time, you can always holler out to the staff to get you more of any of the dishes you fancy to have more of. But we found ourselves to be rather satiated, and almost forgot the main course was yet to come!
The main-course is this very festive-looking platter of assorted tacos. My favorites include the Beef with Habanero guacamole and fresh cactus, and the Chicken with grilled pineapple, pickled onions, chipotle and coriander.
However, the highlights of this brunch were the drinks. We absolutely loved the very fruity, chilled sangria and the tamarind margaritas here, rimmed with chili salt, are to die for!
The menu card said we were having churros for dessert. To be honest, I am not a huge fan of this deep-fried, sugary doughnut finger, and was therefore really happy to find we got served this chocaholic mousse creation instead!
Overall, we had a wonderful Friday brunch at Muchachas. I absolutely love their food. This was the first time I had their sangria and margaritas, and I am now an even bigger fan.
I still believe their pricing is a tad bit too steep, but to make the most of their offerings, their Friday Brunch proves to be good value for money.
For bookings and other inquiries, visit their website muchachasdubai.com
The Tezzy Files 