The Whole Enchilada: Achiote

Seems that the dining scene at Power Plant Mall and in Rockwell in general seems to be heating up.

Literally, that is.

The newest kid on the block is Achiote, a Mexican restaurant opened by Robby Goco. It has that easy-going vibe much like the other restos he's opened such as Ristras and Charlie's Grill and Grind.

A full house- but then again, not that hard to do

Seems like Filipinos can't get enough of Mexican! Though there are other restos that I love for their nachos, potent margaritas as well as the people behind it (cough, cough, Chihuahua), I do love me an enchilada and unfortunately Chihuahua doesn't have that on its menu yet. So of course when I saw enchilada on the menu, that's what I ordered. Humans are creatures of habit.

But before that, the was guacamole that beckoned in a margarita glass. Of course, that had to be ordered as well, along with a healthy dose of chips.

The avocado was fresh and the guacamole nice and chunky. I don't like pureed avocado for my guacamole. The flavor was pretty darn good too.

Now for mains: I got one enchilada with a spicy marinated chicken and the other with carne asada. All smothered in salsa verde. With black bean on the side and the cilantro rice. Just look at that bad boy!

It has everything good. Like what Joey Tribiani of Friends said: It's got sour cream: Good. It's melted cheese: Good. It's got salsa: Good. It's got yummy fillings, tasty beans and rice: good, good, good! Well, the rice was ok. I do prefer the original Mexican rice. You know the phrase, "The whole enchilada"? Well, it is quite filling and so, in this day and age of choosing the right carbs to put in your tummy, I opted not to finish the rice.

They have a number of other dishes to try too: tortas, or sandwiches; ceviches of all kinds of seafood; burritos; quesadillas and different kind of tacos. Here are their usual hard shell tacos, topped with a healthy dose of more avocado. This was filled with carnitas.

I find it difficult to eat hard tacos so what does one do with hard tacos?

Make taco salad!

Te-kill-ya station

All in all, Achiote has a good variety of Mexican dishes that make you come back for more. The serving sizes are pretty big enough to share and the price range is affordable.

Now if someone would make frozen strawberry margaritas as good as Chevy's in San Francisco, than that would be perfect...


Achiote
G/F Power Plant Mall
Rockwell, Makati City

Andale andale, arriba arriba!

It's amazing how Mexican restaurants have cropped up in Manila. But back in the day, when I was high school, there was only Tia Maria's.

Aside from Thai and Japanese food, Mexican is tops on my list of favorites.

My friends and I loved Tia's because well, frankly, they had good food - especially the taquitos - and really, really good zombies you can take out by the bottle.

Now that's service!

Recently, I noticed a Tia Maria's near my office at the ground floor of the Enterprise Center along De la Rosa Street in Legazpi Village. At first, I didn't think it was Tia's, because the logo was different. But lo and behold, it was the same Tia's that I remembered from my teen years.

I ate there last week with some new friends, old friends and old friends I haven't seen in a long, long time and the food was really delish.

I didn't have any expectations, because it had been a long time since I had eaten at Tia's.

When Shauna and I arrived, there was a huge platter of appetizers on the table as well as a pitcher of margarita! Perfect after a long day of being on our feet at a shoot.

This is Kai's (hi Kai!) favorite dish of appetizers because it's literally got everything on it and its best to share with friends. There are (from left to right) barbecued liempo, Mexican pizza, nachos, mini tacos, buffalo wings and cheese sticks. Plus, I love the sauces that it comes with: cheese sauce, sour cream, salsa verde and ranchero sauce.

I loooove nachos, so I ordered one with the meat on the side and extra jalapenos.

This monster order of nachos has everything yummy as well. I love how the cheese sauce is that gooey nacho cheese sauce and not the thick kind. It's got olives, tomatoes, jalapenos, sour cream and a bit of salsa. Yum.

This was my main course! I could hardly fit anything else in my tummy, but Shauna ordered chicken wings.

Ok, ok, chicken wings are not very Mexican, but the spicy, crunchy wings went with everything else we were eating. This was nice and not oily or greasy at all, like some other chicken wing places.

 If you're craving for an enchilada, it might be best to share with someone, as portions are huge here. It also comes with cheese sticks. Me love me some cheese!

 Michelle, Cat and Annie

 Glenn and Shauna

The whole gang is here!

I'm happy to know that not only had Tia's maintained its consistency, it has expanded its menu to include more things for pica-pica to go with yummy drinks like margaritas, chi-chis or zombies. Plus, it's so close to my office, it will definitely be a place to have a quick lunch or celebrate five-thirsty (or more seven thirty thirsty in my case) with officemates and friends who live in Makati.

Tia Maria's
G/F Enterprise Center
De la Rosa Street corner Paseo de Roxas
Legazpi Village, Makati City