Guzman Y Gomez (GYG)

C says:

Our friend KH seems to have achieved the impossible. First, with Two Fat Men he managed to get A to voluntarily drive all the way to East, and for Thai food, no less.

Now, with Guzman Y Gomez, he's managed to convert even me, a die-hard non-lover of Mexican food, into craving their burritos.

KH decided to bring GYG, a popular Mexican chain in Australia, to South East Asia after tasting some of their offerings on one of his trips to Sydney. They launched their first outlet in Singapore, at Asia Square, with a Free Burrito Day. No catch, no hidden terms. Literally, a free full-sized burrito of your choice as your reward for joining the queue.

The turnout was staggering, and they handled it like pros. The queues were insanely long, but they were such a well-oiled machine that the wait was no longer than 10 minutes. I was so impressed with the quality that A and I decided to go back again to do a proper review.

Unless you have a large appetite or are particularly hungry, the full-sized burrito is very filling and will pretty much guarantee a food coma after. The mini burrito may look small, but is more than sufficient for lunch. I had the mini with spicy grilled chicken, guacamole and brown rice - the chicken was tender, nicely grilled and just spicy enough to have some kick.

A tried a trio of tacos, and the great thing about GYG is that you're not forced to have 3 of the same filling. We therefore got a chance to try the steak, slow roasted beef, and the fish.

All 3 were delicious, and I would be hard pressed to pick my favourite filling. The steak was tender, the slow roasted beef packed a ton of flavour, and the fish (they use barramundi) was light and flaky.

They use good ingredients (like barramundi instead of the usual dory), and it shows in the quality and taste of the food. Plus, all orders are cooked and assembled only upon order, so they're freshly made and not sitting around waiting to be reheated.

The lines may look intimidating, but don't be deterred. They're as efficient as they were during Free Burrito Day so you barely have to wait at all. I must admit, I had my misgivings, but if they sustain their present quality then I think they're on to a winning formula. Can't wait for more outlets to open, and in the evenings/on weekends please!

A says:

Awesome except I hate beans. *fart fart fart*
Although I recently found out you can get the quesadillas which don't have beans, or request for no beans when it's not mad packed.
I especially like that when you order the tacos, you can pick different flavours. (My favourites are the two beef ones.)
WIN!

Guzman Y Gomez
12 Marina View
#02-11 Asia Square Tower 2 Food Garden
Open Mon - Fri: 10 am - 4 pm
Closed on weekends
www.gyg.com.sg

Senor Taco

C says:

I'm really not a huge fan of Mexican food, though to be fair, in Singapore most of the Mexican food you get is largely Tex-Mex. There are only so many dishes with tortillas, guacamole, sour cream and refried beans I can handle.

Senor Taco at Chijmes seems to have quite a loyal following, so when they opened at our new favourite mall, Star Vista, I decided to put aside my prejudices and headed there for dinner one evening.

They have a pretty large menu, and the dishes all seem quite authentic. My one criticism is that the waitstaff, whilst very polite and perhaps a bit too eager and enthusiastic, really had no idea what they were serving. Almost every question that I asked resulted in "er, I'm sorry, let me check". Worse still, their reply was less than helpful or, indeed, accurate.

Case in point - I asked them what the chicharron was. In the time that they took to ask around, I managed to find the answer using my phone - a dish made with pork rinds and other, whilst delicious, rather unhealthy pig products. However, the answer that the waitress came back with was simply "it's pork". I find that slightly irresponsible. Someone who doesn't like fatty meat could have relied on her answer and ordered it, only to be presented with a dish that they couldn't consume.

Anyway, enough about the service. The food itself was actually pretty good. I ended up ordering the carnitas - pulled pork served with soft tortillas and a pico de gallo sauce, that you roll up yourself. The pork was quite tender and I like the selection of hot sauces that they provided as accompaniments, but as a single main course it gets a tad monotonous after a while. Definitely better to share.

A ordered a pork taco dish, which unlike mine already came assembled. The pork had a bit more flavour and overall it was less heavy than my dish, but really, once you roll everything up and add the hot sauces, they really do end up tasting quite similar. Hence my inherent issue with Mexican food.

Still, as far as Mexican food goes, this wasn't too bad and definitely a lot better than generic Tex-Mex fare that you get at chain restaurants like Chilli's. Which, come to think of it, really shouldn't be used as a benchmark anyway.

A says:

Decent I guess. But while the servers do try very hard, they aren't the most knowledgeable when it comes to describing the ingredients. Don't think we'll be back anytime soon though.

Senor Taco
1 Vista Exchange Green
#02-22 Star Vista
Tel: 6694-2320
Opening hours: Open at noon. Closing times vary from 11 pm to 2 am - too confusing to list

Spruce Taqueria

C says:

After reading so many reviews of this Spruce offshoot, singing its praises and heralding it as the greatest thing since sliced bread, we took the opportunity to try it for lunch today, since we had the afternoon off work (the Taqueria is only open on weekdays from 12 to 3).

It certainly was not what I expected. I thought it operated from the same premises as Spruce, but it turns out it’s within the same compound but slightly further up the hill. Honestly, being a Spruce establishment, I was expecting something with at least some chi-chi vibe, so the reality couldn’t have been further from what I imagined.

It’s literally just a shack, almost like a trailer. A couple of metal tables and chairs are outside, and there’s also a bar counter lining one side of the trailer. You place your order at a window, and a lone cook fires up your tacos inside.

We started off with 2 sets – one with a pork carnitas (a traditional pulled pork) quesadilla, and one with grilled snapper tacos – both served with a drink, tortilla chips and salsa, for $9 each.


I wanted to try the snapper taco because I’ve read so much about Californian fish tacos so I thought I’d find out what the fuss was about. I think it’s an acquired taste, because although this was quite good, it didn’t really blow me away. I think I expected something a little more fresh and clean tasting, and I found the snapper quite heavily spiced and seasoned.


The quesadillas were hot pockets of cheesy goodness. They were crisp, tasty and just the right amount of cheesy without being overwhelmingly heavy.

Both sets come with freshly fried tortilla chips and home made salsa. Their chips were really good – hand cut, rustic and actually pretty healthy-tasting. I would’ve liked the salsa a little spicier, but the guacamole on the tacos was delicious.

As usual, our eyes were too big for our stomachs. When the sets arrived they looked quite small, so we promptly ordered a la carte servings of chicken heart quesadillas (the daily special), a beef tongue taco, and a short rib taco. Both the heart and the tongue had a good texture, but I liked the juicy tenderness of the slow-cooked short rib. We polished everything off and were too full to have a proper dinner. The tacos are deceptively heavy, since each is made with 2 flour tortillas, a generous dollop of guacamole and stuffed quite full of your chosen topping.

After trying supposedly authentic tacos (i.e. not from Taco Bell), I think I find them a little too heavy and doughy for my liking, which is probably why I prefer the thinner, crispier quesadillas. If we’re ever here again, I’d like to try the quesadillas with mushrooms and roasted poblano chiles. But given the option, I think the tuna tartare at Spruce Restaurant has a louder siren call than anything at the Taqueria.

A says:

The fact that it’s at the top of the hill and not the Spruce restaurant itself threw me off. But the laidback kiosk and picnic table setup won me over.

The tacos are great value at just $3 each. The quesadillas are expensive at $6 each but taste so much better. Also, the watermelon & lime drink is worth a try but it’s not really my thing.

The short opening hours are a bit of a pain, but we’ll definitely be back if the opportunity comes up.

Spruce Taqueria
320 Tanglin Road
Opening hours: 12pm-3pm (weekdays only), closed on public holidays

Café Iguana

C says:

We went to Café Iguana at Riverside Point (first time for me) on Friday night. The place was packed, and after trying the food, rightfully so. For someone who’s not a fan of Mexican food, I was pleasantly surprised with what we ordered, and may even consider a repeat visit to try some of the other items on the menu, especially their desserts.

A and I shared 2 starters and a main, because A’s friends had already finished eating when we got there so we didn’t want to hold everyone else up. We had the cheese and mushroom quesadillas, which were the best dish out of the 3. They tasted good enough on their own, but were served with a delicious tomato-based dip that had a hint of smokey bacon – very very nice. The beef mini chimichangas were pretty good too, but not outstanding. Our main course was the blackened tuna soft tacos – a few discs of blackened tuna were served on circles of soft tortilla, sprinkled with cabbage and served with rice and refried beans. The tuna, though slightly overdone, was still very well seasoned and tasty.

Happy hour is until 9 pm, so we had a Green Iguanarita (margarita with melon liqueur) and a Cazuela cocktail (tequila, with a blend of citrus juices and a splash of cassis). The Iguanarita was much better than the cocktail, which I guess is obvious given that this place is famed for its margaritas.

All in all, it was a pretty good dinner. The only downside, which prevented us from lingering there the entire evening, was the heat. Most of the seating is outside and therefore non-airconditioned, and Friday night was an inordinately warm and humid night, and after a while we just couldn’t take it and had to move on.

A says:

Food was surprisingly excellent. Staff were also very good considering how crowded it was. If you’re feeling like Mexican in Singapore, this is probably the place to go.