Eat Like Ushi

After the disappointment of Lola Valentina (http://eatlikeushi.posthaven.com/lola-valentina-isla-mujeres-07-2019) I was searching for another brunch place and found Chaya & Cacao. It's a nice unassuming but also hipster looking place with a coffee bar, an inside dining area, and a semi-covered outback with plants around. I also liked the sign "taco dirty to me..."

Points for humour and innuendo there.

Sweet Green smoothie (avocado, date, chaya, soy) 90pesos was cheaper and better than Lola's one with the date bringing out the sweetness of the other ingredients nicely. And the food was a world apart also.

- Mayan falafel bowl (chickpeas, beetroot hummus, green tomato pico de gallo, tahini, cucumber, pickled veggies, mixed greens, mixed seeds) 165pesos - look at the beautiful colours of that plate. Simply a stunning dish with all the Middle Eastern delights with a slightly Mexican tinge. The falafels themselves aren't the best I've had as they could have been a bit crunchier, but those are minor complaints. If only I had some flatbreads to crush them into...;
- Matcha hotcakes (nut milk, flax, green tea, cacao, coconut, maple syrup) 155pesos - a thick good stack of pancakes with colour although not really matcha flavour in it. Nonetheless they were quite good and soaked up the maple well. But honestly I couldn't get past the falafel bowl.

Brilliant brunch. Would love to go back.

For the last dinner in Isla Mujeres, it was just a small one. A little further away from the main hub along the north of Isla Mujeres, La Lomita was a little place serving Mexican.

My friend had a "Swiss" style burrito which was oddly (and unexpectedly for him) topped with cheese.

We stayed with the more predictable Ceviche mixto (white fish, shells, octopus, shrimp) 200pesos which was fine.

For an evening dinner after watching a stunning sunset along Playa Norte, I couldn't decide where to go. We knew we weren't all too hungry and didn't want to spend a long time out since it had been a long day and was already past 9pm. I remember seeing a burrito place on the walk back home and so sought it out, after discovering that the food stalls in the plaza weren't very appealing to us.

I do like a good kebab/spit and so seeing this pork with discernible pieces rotating under a pineapple was music to my eyes.

It was also one of the few places that had guacamole.

- Guacamole (avocado, salt, pepper) 70pesos - a thick chunky form (not creamy) served with blue corn chips. Definitely not the best guac I've had, but it did nicely;
- Alambres pastor (250g of pork spit, pepper, onion, cheese) 100pesos - I really really enjoyed this meal of pork slices mixed with vegetables and topped with cheese. Tortillas, some raw onion salad and sauced topped with lime wedges made for a DIY taco experience. It was wonderful.

A large horchata washed down the hot sauce. One of my favourite fun meals.

I was looking for a brunch place after the perfect 10am swim at Playa Norte. No daytrippers yet, no sunbeds occupying all the space, no music. Just perfection in the water and scenery. A blogger had said Lola Valentina had the best brunches she'd tried outside of Australia. That's a pretty good accolade and I gave her credit for even knowing Australia's scene.

There's the outside area with fans or an inside bit with blasting A/C. We opted for outside just for the atmosphere. A few lazy cats slept nearby under a table.

The smoothies are actually really expensive. Avocado (avocado, papaya, coconut milk, spirulina, vanilla extract, hazelnut, cacao nibs, beepollen, chia) 140 pesos reads like a dream. It was pretty good although the avocado flavour wasn't very strong. It could be underripe or just their local avocado types being used. But the real test was the food.

- Caribbean benedict (poached eggs, mixed plantain, black beans, avocado, drizzled with hollandaise sauce, served with skillet potatoes) 165pesos - ok the potatoes were really nice. But the rest not so much. Poached eggs were overcooked (1 very much so), the plantains didn't work with the dish as it made things too sweet, and the hollandaise sauce didn't taste right;
- Chilaquiles gourmet (tortilla chips soaked in traditional adobo sauce, sprinkled with cotija cheese, fried eggs and juicy tenderloin) 215pesos - the steak was cooked quite through but maintained some tenderness and was quite nice. The flavour of the tortilla was good too. However it wasn't like the chips were topped with sauce, they were soaked in sauce which meant they disintegrated into a messy thick heap. It wasn't the most pleasant to eat.

I think that blogger needs to eat more breakfasts around the world. This wasn't bad as such, but there are many better forms...

I really wanted to eat gelato at Wabi Gelato in Valladolid. We walked past one evening and it looked pure inside with metal tins and all. However the next afternoon when going to actually eat it, we discovered a sign on the front saying they weren't open that day due to water problems in Valladolid. And we left the next morning - I was so disappointed.

The next stop was Isla Mujeres which as a beach island you would think would have a lot of gelato places to choose from. Sadly that isn't true but it did look like there would be one Italian style artisan on the island.

I tried the pistachio and maracuya. Unfortunately the pistachio was a tasteless waste of time. The maracuya was actually a decent tart passionfruit, but I was too disappointed by then. Shame, Mexico.

Finally on the last night of the 2 week holiday, I had the opportunity to go to a mezcal bar to drink the specialty I'd been waiting for. Honestly I probably could have earlier in the trip, but early starts, diving/water sports, being tired, being too hot, being a bit lazy, and not really finding anywhere specifically good was the deterrent.

And so Tres Mentiras even though as a mezcal place, didn't seem to have all that much range and variety that I expected. Certainly the nearby bottle shop had way more varieties.

The mezcal drinks weren't that special to be honest. Although adding the chilli salt to the rim was a spicy and different touch.

To watch the sunset on Playa Norte in Isla Mujeres is something of dreams. Once all the sundecks have been kept, the daytrippers have left, the loud music has stopped blaring, and you just have the warmth of the Caribbean waters under the setting colours of the sun, it truly is perfect. I'm not a fan of beach clubs generally, as it tends to be something you pay for the location more than the quality. However it seemed like a good idea at the time, and the Mayan Beach Club had decent online ratings.

Because of the quiet season, the tables on the beach in front of the ocean was available. Luckily there weren't (too many) mosquitoes to ruin the atmosphere.

The prices are naturally a little higher here, but the overall vibe is fantastic. Not only the things mentioned above, but also a jazz band playing (not too loudly) entertaining us throughout the meal and the food was actually good too.

- Mayan-style fish with coconut milk 241pesos - an expertedly cooked soft fish in a lovely coconut broth;
- Local grilled octopus (from the warm waters of the Yucatan Peninsula) 325pesos - a generous amount of perfectly charred and flavoured octopus which retained a bit of bitey texture;
- Dessert of chocolate and nuts.

A lovely experience complemented by an excellent sunset (as always seems to be the case in the Yucatan).