cancunTom a retired ex-pat's life in Cancun

September 2010
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Tag-Archive for "restaurant"

Our Friday morning walk & coffee with the “pack” Author: CancunTom Aug 30

Our special treat on Friday mornings while walking our dogs is to visit the Tradiciones Latte Art Cafe, halfway through our walk. They bring out a bowl of water for dogs and we enjoy some of their wonderful coffee while chatting and watching the early morning traffic in Cancun. Here are a few pictures of a typical Friday morning w/ Chocolat, Dylan, Sombra, & our friend Louise………

Our destination the dog and cat friendly Tradiciones Latte Art Cafe

It’s about 8am Friday………….

No traffic yet………

On our way to the cafe with our pack………….

Dylan and Sombra are best of friends …..

This is Chocolat

The pack waiting for a cookie…………..

The entire pack calmed down after a long walk to the cafe……….

While we were waiting for our cafe’s I took a picture of a few the other shops.

The first one is a men’s barber shop where you can sip some good whiskey and have a Cuban cigar while you dip your feet into a relaxing massage bath all in some very comfortable surroundings……..

This is a Spa……..for the ladies……….

next door to the barber shop

Heading back home………

An interesting customized traffic cone I saw along the way……..

There is just no end to the interesting subject matter to see on the streets of Cancun.

Category: CANCUN, Landscape, Living in Cancun, MEXICO, Q-Roo, Travel, Yucatan, animals | Tags: CANCUN, Caribbean, dogs, Drinks, el-centro, Ex-pat, Friends, Fun, living in Mexico, MEXICO, Q-Roo, restaurant, Sub-Tropical, Sun, Travel, Vacation, Water | 4 Comments

Restaurant review……el Principio restaurante Author: CancunTom Aug 17

A LITTLE MUSIC TO PUT YOU IN THE ITALIANO FRAME OF MINE WHILE YOU READ MY REVIEW:

This little Bistro is across and down the street from the Bull Ring on Bonampak. It is on the ground floor of the Hotel Bonampak. It has 8 tables and is popular among the local businessmen at lunch time. Be prepared to wait for a table. It offers good food, excellent service and reasonable prices. The salads and pastas are huge portions. You can order “medias” (half) portions, which is what we did. We had decided that since it was lunch, we would pass on a salad. I had to try the Spaghetti Bolognesa (140 pesos full/80 pesos medias) since it had been strongly recommended by an Italian friend of mine. He promised that it was the best in Cancun and even better than his own version. I was not disappointed, it was fantastic. Suzie ordered the medias Fusilli Primavera but changed the type of pasta to fettuccine. She was equally happy with her choice. We recommend that a couple order one full order of pasta and one salad and share. The full portions can easily feed 2 hungry people.

This is the doorway…..

Ambiance is plain and dignified and w/ a low noise and soft appropriate music playing in the background…..

The menu was clear and well done…….

and had several pages of selections…………..

including desserts……..

Fresh hot garlic bread baskets were served and replenished often……

Suzie’s order, the Fusilli Primavera…………..made with fettuccine pasta

my Spaghetti Bolognesa…………….

I loved these napkin holders…………..we could really use one out on our patio table……..

We were experiencing a torrential downpour that lasted over an hour, and the streets flood here very quickly…..

You can see the bull ring across the street in the background, we waited it out at the table closest to the door while enjoying a couple more glasses of wine.

After the water level subsided we were able to get to our car and head on home. We will definitely return to El Principio.

Our bill came to 330 pesos ( $26.40 USD ) which included our 2 pasta dishes, a diet coke, a beer, and 2 glasses of red wine.

Address: Ave. Bonampak 227, Sm 4, El Centro, Cancún, Quintana Roo, 77500
Phone: 998/892-8499
Cuisine: Italian
Location: El Centro/ across from the Bull Ring

Category: Living in Cancun, MEXICO, Q-Roo, Restaurant Reviews, Travel, Trip Reports, Vacation, Yucatan | Tags: CANCUN, Caribbean, Drinks, el-centro, event, fine dining, Friends, Fun, living in Mexico, MEXICO, Q-Roo, restaurant, Restaurant Reviews, Sub-Tropical, Sun, Travel, Vacation | One Comment

Restaurant Review: Yamamoto japanese restaurant Author: CancunTom Jul 26

Yamamoto is the oldest Japanese restaurant in Cancun. It is in a convenient location if you live in El Centro as we do. If you don’t they will send a van over to pick you up and bring you to the restaurant ……..for free! It’s just down the street from the Immigration office. It offers a oriental atmosphere, affordable pricing, and very good service. The phone number is: (998) 887-33-66 They have a outdoor dining room as well as a Sushi Bar and dining room inside.

From across the street………at night

during the daytime………

Hours

Location: corner of Rubia and Uxmal

Entrance and outdoor dining area……..

Menu posted on outside wall…………sorry for the bad photo, I shouldn’t have used the flash

the dining room…………

some accessories to set the mood

Each person starts out with a complimentary bowl of marinated cactus slices that were very tasty. They are a dark green and look a lot like string beans. You can just see a couple in the bowl with the chop sticks laying across it.

Wakame-Soup (Natural seaweed soup)

Sashimi-Usu-Tukuri Mix (assortment of thinly sliced fresh fish)

Don’t know what to call these but the reddish one was cabbage and the yellow one possibly turnip marinated in vinegar.

Ingredients to make Suki -Yaki (thinly sliced beef and vegetables cooked in a special sauce)

The thinly sliced beef

They start out by rendering a chunk of beef fat in the sauce pan…..

then the vegetables are added and seared….

next the beef slices are added and cooked to rare, medium, or well

When its all done the our chef/waiter, Jose spoons each of us a bowlful of Suki-Yaki….

My finished Japanese rice and Suki-Yaki

Green Tea Ice Cream…………..something a bit different

Fried Ice Cream w/ Chocolate

Here’a google map to help you find Yamamoto

The bill……

There were 4 of us, my wife and I and 2 friends.

We had: 2 glasses of red house wine, 2 bottles of beer, 3 green teas, 2 orders of the Usu-Tukuri Mix, a side w/ turnip and cabbage, 1- 1/2 order of the Suki-Yaki, 3 green tea flavored ice creams, and 1 fried ice cream w/chocolate.

The total with a 10% locals discount= 1,052 pesos (approx. $84.00 USD) not including the tip.

We definitely plan to revisit this restaurant. We really enjoyed the food and everything else about it.

Category: CANCUN, Living in Cancun, MEXICO, Q-Roo, Restaurant Reviews, Travel, Vacation, Yucatan | Tags: CANCUN, Caribbean, el-centro, fine dining, Friends, Fun, living in Mexico, MEXICO, Q-Roo, restaurant, Restaurant Reviews, Sub-Tropical, Sun, Travel, Vacation | One Comment

Restaurant review-El Shrimp Bucket (Cancun Zona Hotelera) Author: CancunTom Jul 21

While staying at the Royal Sands in Cancun a few weeks back we stopped at El Shrimp Bucket restaurant to try their Friday afternoon only buffet. It starts a 1pm. This Shrimp Bucket is located at approx. km. 15 on the lagoon side of Kululcan Blvd.. Just south of Aqua World. They have a large “L’ shaped dining area and an outdoor deck right over the water. They also have a pier where you can dock your boat. If you bring them your catch of the day, they will cook it for you. On Fridays, they have an all you can eat buffet starting at 1 PM. At other times, food is ordered from the menu. We arrived around 2pm and the small parking lot was crowded but they had valet service. The restaurant was also crowded but we were quickly seated at a nice table where we could view the current World Cup Soccer match. The buffet selections were comprised of all the usual salads, soups, ceviche and several different types of poultry, beef, fish and shrimp prepared in different styles. I really loved the coconut shrimp. The buffet was restocked often with small portions of each dish therefore keeping the food hot and fresh. The ambiance is like most theme type restaurants and it is designed to look like what it is, a dockside seafood hangout. The beer was cold and on draft which I prefer. The waiter was attentive and the food, was certainly good enough for the price and quantity. El Shrimp Bucket is a nice fun friendly place and we would recommend that you give it a try.

The roof signage from the parking lot

The entryway

Just inside the entry and before entering the dining room

Many fish nets and other interesting stuff hanging from the ceiling

The waiter brought a bucket of ice to our table which contained the various bottled sauces. I was happy to see that they were kept on ice. My wife enjoyed a few of the Oysters Rockefeller and liked them.

My first pass thru the buffet: garlic fish fillet, garlic shrimp, shish-kabob,corn, and strips of beef, croutons for the delicious soupa……

The view out towards the Nichupte’ lagoon

Their menu if you come in the evening or any afternoon except Friday.

The buffet is inexpensive and atmosphere family friendly. Give El Shrimp bucket a try on your next visit to Cancun. Phone number is: +52 (998) 840 6466 .They have a small nicely done web site at: www.shrimpbucket.com

Category: CANCUN, Living in Cancun, MEXICO, Q-Roo, Restaurant Reviews, Travel, Vacation, Yucatan | Tags: CANCUN, Caribbean, Fun, living in Mexico, MEXICO, night out, Q-Roo, restaurant, Restaurant Reviews, Sub-Tropical, Travel, Vacation, Water | One Comment

A week at the Sands……….part 4 Author: CancunTom Jul 08

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On Friday morning we wandered over to the craft area. We both picked out a piece to hand paint. Suzie choose a snail and I choose a sun god plaque to add to my collection. We worked on them for over two hours. We could hardly wait to pick them up the next day after they had been shellacked and fired in their oven. This is how they came out…………….we’re so proud.

This is Suzie’s snail, which she named “Escargot”………..