FOOD REVIEW: Australia’s Mad Mex lands in Singapore serving authentic Mexican food
SINGAPORE— The brand synonymous with authentic Mexican food with more than 70 locations in Australia and New Zealand has landed on our sunny shores. The location of choice for their first outlet here is at Marina Bay Financial Centre, a fitting locale given their dedication to 'a fast meal, but with homemade quality, made entirely of real ingredients, with the fewest preservatives, oils, and sugars possible'.
Mad Mex is an exciting, affordable addition to Singapore's Mexican food scene, following closely in the footsteps of other established options such as Guzman y Gomez and Baja Fresh Mexican Grill. They pride themselves on several food philosophies: always using the freshest of ingredients; complete disclosure of the nutritional information in all the food they offer; big, bold, and authentic Mexican flavours; 100% customisable burritos.
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Founder and CEO Clovis Young of Mad Mex sums up the ingenuity of Mad Mex's humble but revolutionary ethos, "I started Mad Mex in 2006, because I absolutely love Mexican food, and I wanted to share that love with all of Australia, and the world. I wanted my customers to get a fast meal with homemade quality, made entirely of real ingredients. That means the fewest preservatives, oils and sugars–while always big on taste. You should never have to choose between a quick meal and quality healthy food."
It starts with a base of mild roasted tomato salsa and Guacamole, all made in-house and in-situ. From there, various toppings are added to create staples reminiscent of those you get in the streets of Mexico.
The burrito (Small, $8.90; Regular, $11.50) is made with the addition of nutrition-dense brown rice, black beans, lettuce, cheese, pico de gallo, sour cream, and, in this instance, a chicken pollo, wrapped in a roll of soft flour tortilla. Of course, everything is customisable to your taste and preference.
For diners who worship at the altar of life sans carbs, the naked burrito is made for you. It is priced similarly to the regular burrito and comes with everything except the tortilla. With options such as the Veracruz tofu, this can be easily transformed into a fresh and delicious keto dish.
No Mexican cuisine worth its grain in salt would deny diners the pleasure of a traditional soft flour taco (1 Taco, S$4.50; 3 Tacos, S$10.90). Choose from chicken Pollo, chicken chorizo or beef barbacoa. The beef barbacoa requires an additional 50 cents top up but is worth the extra cost for beef that has been slow-cooked over eight hours and seasoned with Ancho chillies and aromatic spices.
My favourite is the good ole Quesadilla (Regular, S$11.50). I suspect it's the duvet of cheese that blankets a bed of sautéed onions and capsicum, chicken chorizo, tomato salsa, and Guacamole, sandwiched in a toasted soft flour tortilla. There's just something mildly comforting about the taste of cheese mixed with ultra savoury ingredients. It makes you reach out for more and more.
End a highly Mexican meal on a highly authentic note with sticks of churros (S$5.90 for 2) served with Belgian chocolate sauce. Having made several of these on my own at home, I can attest to its authenticity. It's also not overly sweet, making it a perfect end to a quick lunch break for all of you for whom lunch is more a necessity than a luxury. Live a little. You too, deserve churros.
For more information:
Website | Marina Bay Financial Centre (MBFC) Tower 3, 12 Marina Blvd, #02-05, Singapore 018982
Mon-Fri & Eve of PH: 8am-8pm, Sat-Sun & PH: Closed
