Restaurant Review: Casa Latina

Where: 42 Waterloo Street
Cuisine: Mexican
Website: http://www.casalatina.com.sg/
Rating For The Meal: 7.5/10

Here it is, our first restaurant review. Many people, expats and locals alike have told us about a snug and authentic Mexican restaurant at Waterloo Street. Since this blog is now dedicated to latin american cuisine, we decided to check this place out. We arrived at a quaint colonial style bungalow which has been transformed into a restaurant on the first floor. We chose the outdoor dining area which looked like what used to be a courtyard and settled down quickly for a meal.

We started off with 2 frozen margharitas. Strawberry and peach. They were refreshing although not frozen enough. What made it special was the fact that it was neither too sweet nor fruity and had a good kick of tequila. However, we felt that a bit more fruitiness would be better.

We then shared 2 starters. A plate of tamales, half which was stuffed with shredded pork and half with chillies and cheese. And a special dish called Casa Latina Melted Cheese which was a sizzling stone pot of soft white cheese and salsa verde topped with chopped herbs. Eaten with flour tortillas, they tasted great. A little on the salty side but it was a good mix and delightfully chewy. The flour tortillas were so tasty that they can be eaten plain. It tasted a little like naan but compressed into the same texture as chappati. The tamales tasted alright. Nothing special about them. They were kind of dry too.

Main course was Mexican-style Milanese with guacamole. A breadcrumbed and deep fried flattened beef steak served with chunky guacamole, a small and insignificant side salad of shredded iceberg lettuce and diced tomatoes, as well as thick cut soft fries tossed with fried onions and fresh herbs. It was an extremely fresh take but nothing amazing in terms of taste. The milanese paired well with the guacamole. And the fries tasted great on its own. Pretty much standard. We tried to innovate the dish a little by cutting the steak into bite sized portions, piling each of them with guacamole and adding a squeeze of lime juice. It tasted amazing then, so much so that we had to order another bowl of guacamole. Which was a whooping $6. The other main course was a recommendation. Pork Carnitas with corn tortillas, salsa fresca and another sauce which was either salsa ranchera or salsa negra. The salsa fresca was not crisp and quite sour. The other salsa was biting hot and a little bitter. The carnitas were dry and not exactly tasty and the corn tortillas smelled like feet. However, they tasted amazing when mixed together and rolled up like a popiah. The tortilla was a bit small for proper rolling though, so we had to roll it burrito-style instead.

The dessert seemed to be the highlight for the night. Tres Leches Cake which is a special cake found in many latin american countries. It is called Three Milk Cake in English as the cake usually comprises of 3 types of milk. Fresh, condensed and evaporated. The version at Casa Latina was a buttery cake made from cornmeal flour and soaked in all 3 types of milk. It was a generous square of cake oozing with cold milk and topped with sweet cream and thinly sliced strawberries. The cream tasted rich but it came from a canister. Although we did not ask, we suspect that it was from the French brand 'President'.

In conclusion, our view for the night is that Casa Latina has a great menu range (it is available in their website) with an amazing selection. A lot of time and effort was used to piece together their menu items. They also have good service and a decent ambience. However, their food quality was only so-so. Nothing special or particular in terms of taste. The entire meal with GST included was about $145 for 3 people. From our point of view, that was quite a reasonable pricing. Considering the fact that we also had 2 alcoholic drinks.