Expand your palate

Expand your palate

On a Saturday afternoon, I set out on a journey to challenge my taste buds to some different cuisine. Destination—Rice Village, Houston. When I got there neither me nor my friend who came along had an idea what to try. French, Russian, Portuguese, Spanish, German, Greek food? Finally, we ended up at  Spanish restaurant—the Mi Luna.

Spanish dishes have their own legacy in the food kingdom, with a wide variety of dishes to choose from. To start with, I ordered the Caracoles con Champinones ­—Escargot or snails and mushrooms in white wine cream sauce. To keep us busy the friendly waiter offered some bread with a nice ordinary dip prepared from mixing olive oil, basil, mint and garlic. 

Caracoles con Champinones

 In no time, the Caracoles con Champinones was served. It was quiet a simple dish nicely presented in a white plate. To my amusement, the snails looked more like the mushrooms in size, not what I expected. I thought they would be a bit bigger in their hard shells that we might have had to dig into the shell to eat them. But well and good I was ready to eat. My first bite was the snail. It was nice, soft and not slimy as I thought. Overall the dish was hot and spicy which made it unique in its own way. But it was rather cold, I thought they would have been nicer served hot. The mushrooms were nicely done, not overly cooked, just firm but still soft. The sauce was just spectacular, looked to me like they just put in some Mayo, but the taste was a lot different. It had in it a taste of freshness and a very nice aroma. The dish was satisfying and prompted us to order more, but this time we chose the a different dish.

The Lengua Con Nueces.

As the braised veal tongue in walnut port wine sauce, the Lengua Con Nueces was placed on the table, I told myself that I was only going to taste it. Basically just the thought that it is a tongue put me off, though it looked appetizing. Contrary to my initial thought of it that it was going to be gummy and tough, it was tender. The sad face I had made as I took the first bite was suddenly gone. Soon I was laughing again with my friend as we enjoyed sharing the meal. The gravy was normal, nice thick texture and spicy. The tongue is cut into nicely shaped pieces, making it hard notice that it is a tongue which I thought is a good thing. Whist enjoying the meal we ordered a round of drinks to spice the experience.

 Coconut Tequila Lime Margarita

I ordered a frozen Coconut Tequila Lime Margarita, which was nice and crispy though I thought it was a bit stronger than most of the margaritas I have tasted, which I thought was cool. I enjoyed it and swore I would visit again some other time.

 Compared to Central African cuisine which is usually flat, the Spanish dishes are made more interesting with their unique combination of spices. The spices brought with them nice aroma making the food more enjoyable. Again, most Malawian dishes will be served individually with minimal combinations. For example, the meats will be served separate from the walnuts as was served the Veal tongue. And then the mushrooms and the snails would be different dishes. I thought that this is a wonderful way to create diverse tastes—an art of creating blending foods to create unique flavors of foods

Other than the sumptuous food served at the restaurant—the ambience and the cultural preservation that they try to maintain was exciting. All their walls had some Spanish features, each of the waiters knows Spanish. I could not help it but think about how they relate in their culture and how much the food brings them together.

Overall I enjoyed my Veal Tongue and Escargot making me look forward to more days of Spanish cuisine. They surely do have some versatility in their dishes earning them a spot in the world of good foods. The aroma and freshness that comes with their dishes is obviously captivating. They make food that makes you want to explore more of their heritage. As for me, what started out as a class assignment to try out new food marks the start of my journey of exploration.