Ay Caramba! – Full of Flavours!

Foodies Notes: Motel Mexicola Seminyak - Dine & Wine Bali

Those who obsessively follow the travails of Bali chefs know the story of Steve Skelly by heart. The toque, who built a reputation as one of the island’s most repu’table eatery, flipped from avant-garde cuisine to Mexican street food, sending shock waves through the Gotham food scene when moving to Motel Mexicola.

The place, well-known for its extreme parties on any given night, is now a serious contender on the dining panorama of Bali. This venture with walls covered with paintings, old style photography’s and a trippy entrance altar, wrought out of some flamboyant melted candles, is a Mexican extravaganza at its sunniest.

Steve Skelly, quick studies in replicating the food of cultures far from its own, created a new menu but much of the food is more creative and high-end than the setting suggests. Practically everything here is designed for sharing and a table cluttered with its most impressionistic fare feels Mexican in the highest colorful sense.


Steve Skelly

Diners can dig into plates like Esquites, a classic antojito or snack, made of boiled then sautéed corn, surmounted by sour cream, mayonnaise, fresh lime, chipotle chili and grated cheese. The Classic Guacamole, a beautiful mix of smashed avocado with pico de gallo made up of chopped tomato, onion, coriander leaf, lime juice, salt and pepper, comes with homemade corn chips.


Classic Guacamole with Homemade Corn Chips

The Tostada de Cangrejo, a crispy tortilla crowned with blue swimmer crab meat, lightly bounded with sour cream and mayonnaise. Delicious!


Tostada de Crangejo

Perfect to share, around a glass of Blue Agave tequila margarita, is the Calamares Fritos, some crispy on the outside and so soft on the inside deep fried whole baby squid with coriander, lime and chilli served with chipotle mayo and fresh lime.


Calamares Fritos

Additionally, the Totopos made of homemade chorizo (using recipe handed from owner Nicolaza’s great-great-great grandmother), black beans, pico de gallo then topped with salted ricotta will satisfy many. According to Steve, you have not tried a quesadilla until you have tried his Verdolagas Quesadilla and we must admit, he’s right! No word to describe it, you have to crack it to understand.


Verdolagas Quesadilla

Another imperative is the Huitlacoche Empanada. For those clueless, like me, on this incredible ingredient, it’s basically the result of a fungal infection on the corn. This transforms the texture to a less firm kernel and the flavor takes on an almost mushroom hue. It is often called the “Mexican Truffle” which is understandable if you are lucky enough to ever smell it.

Ceviche’s aficionados will be delighted with the Ceviche Mixto, a subtle blend of fish and prawn with an intense ocean flavor. Normally served separately, the mixture creates a lovely fineness and taste, overcome by the aquachile dressing used to cure the seafood. Interesting enough to be mentioned, Ceviche’s are served with blue corn tortillas chips. Similar as regular tortilla chip except they use blue corn, which is grown in Mexico and give a dark purple touch to the chips.


Ceviche Mixto

After a little pause, punctuated by a honed to perfection red wine sangria, time for Tacos! All tortillas are made with flour directly imported and are hand pressed during service and cooked to order. Among many, the Carnitas, a traditional dish of pork slowly cooked in pork fat and seasoned with orange juice and zest and a sharp vinegar, was meltingly tender. The Vegetariano with tempura pumpkin, avocado salsa and toasted peanuts is a great option even for non-vegetarian.

The highlight of the meal was definitely the Carnitas de Pato. A slow braised duck infused with the aroma of Mexican cinnamon and orange, pan-fried until crisp. Ay, caramba! Full of flavors! And the Camarones Oaxaca, consisting of chunky prawn marinated with chili, cumin, cider vinegar, black pepper, salt and sugar then grilled to excellence.


Camarones Oaxaca

As a good meal need to wind-up on a sweet note, we’ve selected 3 distinctive desserts. A simply made but gorgeous Churros with its caramel dip, the overgenerous Pingüino made of hidden chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream on top, all covered with a very light and airy warm chocolate sabayon, and the Mexican version of Arroz Con Leche, a cinnamon-infused rice pudding, cooked in 3 different types of milk (fresh, condensed and evaporated) topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.


Churros


Churros, Pinguino & Arroz con Leche

Of course, there are much more dishes that make the new menu transcendent but we ain't gotta tell you everything! Be it for lunch, dinner or an afternoon snack, there is always something to satiate your appetite and/or your thirst a Motel Mexicola. "Arriba! Arriba! Ándale! Ándale!"


Motel Mexicola's Wall Art

Experienced September 2017