Q Mex Taqueria's New Mexican Brunch Will Blitz Your Hangover Into Next Weekend
Admit it, you're hungover. Your eyelids are twitching, there's unexplainable leakage from a number of your body parts, and the last thing you remember is getting your head stuck in a car door. Or at least that's most certainly what it feels like happened.
Well, you're in luck, my confused friend, because Q Mex Taqueria have just launched their new brunch menu and it's going to save your life/weekend. Available Saturday and Sunday, 11am-4pm, the all-new menu is packed with food that'll have your tastebuds sensing something other than ash and rotting plant matter.
First, it would be wise to start where all your troubles began by ordering an icy, refreshing pitcher of Bloody Mary (RMB 268). Seriously, you won't have time to think about what went wrong once you're presented with this beacon of red, a stick of celery motioning for you to drink it, and the DIY selection of grilled prawns, jalapenos, cheese cubes, and some veg for good measure, signaling what's to come in the feast ahead. (There's also a three-hour all-you-can-drink deal on margaritas, sangrias, mimosas, and sparkling wine for RMB 188 if you're ready to get back on it.)
Couple your liquid starter with some soft ground corn and potato molotes (RMB 60), filled with homemade spicy beef chorizo and topped with sour cream, tomatilla salsa, and a sprinkling of cilantro. These molotes are light enough to get your head out of your hands and looking at the menu proper.
Now that you're back with the living, the world is your oyster! Celebrate with some eggs Benedict with a Mexican twist (RMB 75), namely the addition of chorizo and slow-burn chipotle hollandaise sauce. One complaint with these was that the standard English muffin was comparatively lackluster to the rest of the dish, only for being undercooked and plain.
No matter, the brunch tamale (RMB 80) will do you no wrong and comes neatly wrapped in banana leaves stacked with gooey layer upon layer of polenta, moist beef barbacoa, spicy chunks of chicken, olives, chopped onions, jalapenos, and a sesame and chili sauce for a creeping burn.
If you're looking for an alternative, the papas con huevos and chipotle barbacoa (RMB 78) is also a good hearty side stand-in with roasted potato cubes smothered and doused in slow-roasted pulled beef with thick chipotle gravy and a poached egg perched on top with a splash of the recurring chipotle hollandaise sauce. The pulled and juicy meat couples with the potatoes in a way that will soak up any remnants of booze from your belly and have you back in form in no time.
And just like that, you can function again. Thank you Q Mex Taqueria, your new brunch may just be the best thing since Friday nights.
Photos: Tom Arnstein