Sombreros, amigos and delicious tacos

Mexican singing chefs duo bring vibrancy to Colombo

By Nizla Naizer

Walking into the Atrium Café at the Cinnamon Grand last week, I temporarily lost track of where I was. Cactus springing up in cunning corners, waiters clad in colorfully striped ponchos, their sombreros hanging in true Mexican style took me to the heartland of a Mexican desert while the guitar music so unique to Mexico playing in the back ground along with the tequila bar in the centre with its colourful lights reminiscent of the beaches of Acapulco, had me dazed and enthralled.
That was before Chefs Roberto Travers and Sergio Snyder entered the atrium and with their gold and black sombreros and vaquero (cowboy) style jackets started serenading the diners as they rotated from one chequered table cloth covered table to the next. The Chefs vocal prowess is only equal to their culinary masterpieces and as they sang to the diners to the accompanied sounds of the acoustic guitar, tambourine and macaras (a Mexican percussion instrument that claps together to make a unique sound), it was like taking a step into another world altogether. The chefs with the twinkling eyes do not hesitate in involving you in their upbeat and melodious tracks and trust me, you just want to jump up and say ‘Ole!’ as they conclude with enthusiastic ‘Gracias’ for your attention.
Viva Mexicana!
The setting is the perfect background for the amazing array of Mexican cuisine on offer at the Mexican Food Promotion by the Cinnamon Grand. At Rs.1320 net, you are privileged to taste the authentic creations of the singing duo themselves, with a bit of melody resonating from each dish.
Mexican cuisine is heavily influenced by Spanish and Middle Eastern flavours and although the first Spanish conquistadors found that corn based dishes were more frequent in the country, they soon brought in the varied meats and spices the Europeans love to consume. Mexican food has a lot of chili and herb based flavours which are complemented with beans, tomatoes or nopales (a part of the cactus pear). While commercialised Mexican dishes famous across the world include the popular nachos and burritos, in Mexico, the villagers still continue to create their dishes just as the ancient Mayans and the Aztecs did. The singing chefs, have brought the best of all worlds from the popular to the obscurely delicious to the people of Colombo.

Tequila to Tortilla
Starting from the unique Carrot and Orange soup to a range of salads from Guacamole (one of my favourites) to Prawn Ceviche and Mushroom Salad in Chipote Chilli, the dishes keep getting better and bring true a taste of Mexicana to food lovers in Colombo.
Among the main dishes on offer I was taken up by the Mexican Rice along with the accompanying dishes of Mojo Prawns in Garlic Sauce which was delicious and spicy, to the flavour filled Fish Yucatan, Zuchchini Mexicana and the yummy Aztec Tortilla.
The culinary hits keep on coming however with the delicious range of enchiladas and true to form tacos made according to your preference at the work stations lining the Atrium. Deserts have always been important and with exotic creations such as the Drunken Banana and Tobasco Banana to the Mexican crème caramel, the dishes were authentic, unique in flavour and definitely attractive to the flavour loving Sri Lankan palette.
So if you’re in the mood for some colourful cuisine with the added enchantment of two, talented and vibrant singing chefs from the land of Tequila Sunrises, head to the Cinnamon Grand with a bunch of amigos and be prepared to be enthralled. The promotion is on till May 21.