MELBOURNE | The variety of Mexican food available in Melbourne has been slowly expanding in recent years, thanks to restaurants like recently opened, Chabela. Husband and wife duo, Harry Lawrence and Karla Martinez, met in Mexico City’s Coyoacán neighbourhood, and lived there for 5 years before moving to Melbourne. They grew tired of waiting for a venue to open that served the kind of food that they enjoyed in Mexico City, so decided to do something about it.
Wanting to introduce Melburnians to something different, the menu at Chabela draws on recipes passed down through Karla’s family. It’s a tight one-pager, filled with starters like elotes and quesadillas, a tacos and huaraches section, a couple of mains, and dessert.
The elotes are a great way to start. Marrow-poached corn with queso fresco and chipotle mayo. You might also want to grab a crispy edged quesadilla filled with cheese, mushrooms, and epazote.
Tortillas are made using blue corn masa, for a nuttier, slightly sweeter flavour, and a denser, more crumbly texture compared to the more familiar white and yellow corn versions. You’ll find them across the menu, notably for the tacos, and huaraches. The latter is offered with the same toppings as the tacos, but differs in that they are oval-shaped masa bases, cooked on the comal and topped with refried beans, tender meats, queso fresco, crema, and salsa. Flavours for both include things like suadero (slow-cooked skirt steak), cochinita pibil (Yucatan-style slow-roasted pork), and costilla de barbacoa (slow-cooked lamb rib).
For mains, both the enchiladas and the enfrijoladas are excellent. The latter are similar to enchiladas, but are prepared using a sauce made from refried beans rather than chili peppers. The version at Chabela sees tortillas filled with cochinita pibil, covered in sauce, and topped with escabeche onions and a dash of cream.
Drinks wise, there’s classic Mexican cocktails, Mexican beer, tequila, and mezcal, local wines, and Jarritos sodas. Try the Mezcalita de Jamaica, a smoky blend of mezcal, Cointreau, hibiscus flower syrup, and fresh lime.
Chabela
832A High Street
Thornbury
Victoria 3071
Australia
Telephone: (03) 7302 0698
E-mail: [email protected]
Website
Open
Tue – Thu: 5:00pm to 9:00pm
Fri: 5:00pm to 10:00pm
Sat: 12:00pm to 10:00pm
Sun: 12:00pm to 9:00pm