Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Viva La Comida Mexicana!

As I have already lamented, Mexican food is scare here in Singapore. There are few Mexican restaurants and even fewer grocery stores that carry Mexican food ingredients at a price that won't break the bank. For example, one can of refried beans (forget trying to find whole pinto beans. . . they don't sell them here!) runs around $4.50. A package of 8 flour tortillas (forget about trying to find corn tortillas. . . they don't sell them here!) will cost you about $7.00. A small jar of salsa (forget about trying to find fresh salsa. . . they don't sell that here!) comes in at a whopping $8.00. An 8-oz package of cheddar cheese (forget about trying to find Mexican cheese. . . they don't sell that here!) will set you back almost $10.00!

So, as you can guess, when a surprise package arrived from my friend, Sarah Stranske, loaded with Mexican food supplies, Josh and I literally leaped for joy. Dustin and Yvette had brought us a Costco-sized jug of salsa (thanks, guys!), so combined with Sarah's items and $40 worth of beans, sour cream, cheese, lettuce, and ground beef, we were able to feast on Mexican food for 3 days straight! Freshly fried tacos. . . mmmmmmm! Tostadas loaded with tons of goodness. . . . delicious! Enchiladas for breakfast. . . why not!? Even Caleb enjoyed eating at our "Taqueria a la Singapora," and filled his tummy (and nose and hair and thigh-rolls) with beans and Mexican rice.

The stash!


Look at that "sonrisa"
("smile" for those of you that don't speak Spanish)

Beans, beans, the magical fruit. . .


If any of you are dying to send us a care package, here are a few items that would be a hit:
  • Corn tortillas
  • Plain tortilla chips (we can only get nacho-cheese chips here)
  • Green enchilada sauce
  • Chalula
  • Green taco sauce
  • Whole pinto or black beans
  • Anything else necessary for a home-grown Mexican meal!

Thanks Sarah, Dustin and Yvette for making our Fiesta possible!

9 comments:

Jess(ica) said...

"Enchilada" is a good look for Caleb! =)

christianne said...

That picture of Caleb is hilarious! He's got so much hair now!

PS: "Enchiladas for breakfast? Delicious!" Made me laugh so hard.

not2brightGRAM said...

The things we take for granted here! When we pick you up at the airport in about a month (counting the days...24!) we'll stop for lunch at a Mexican food place, if you're not too jetlagged. Sound good? Then we'll see lots of sonrisas!

This and That said...

Sounds like I need to move over there and open up a Mexican restaurant!

Gina Marie said...

Rebecca,

Fun to find your blog finally. You really need to get to Mustafa one of these days because everything is cheaper there! You can get a pack of 6 tortillas for $3.50 (or something like that). They don't carry a lot of Mexican stuff, but a few things. And it's open 24 hours a day, so it's always convenient. Go really early - after 10 is crazy. If you want to go some Saturday morning early, let me know!

D. said...

Hi,

Where in Singapore could we find a mexican grocery store?

Anonymous said...

Sorry don't know you but was googling for mexican restaurant in singapore and found your site. Anyway do you know about belmonte latinfoods? it's not cheap, but they deliver in singapore and make great corn tortillas and have great salsas. Fellow Mexican foodlover in Singapore, Catherine

Anonymous said...

I'm going to join the club of those pining for good Mexican food in Singapore. Been past this blog entry so many times and started salivating.

One site to share though is http://www.belmontelatinfoods.com - finally a place in Singapore that has a reliable supply of Chiles in Adobo, fresh Poblanos and more. Prices still aren't great, but sure beats pleading with friends and family to airmail :-)

Rebecca said...

Catherine and Toby, thanks for stopping by. It's comforting to know we aren't the only ones in Singapore wishing for some authentic Mexican. I appreciate the link to Belmonte. I hadn't heard of them. Thanks! I'll definitely be checking them out.