After just over a week in Belize I was excited to be going to Mexico as I’d heard from my mate that street food in Mexico is heaven, and much more than merely taco’s and burritos. Not being a huge fan of Mexican Food (Taco Bell Anyone?) I was not convinced but prepared to enter with an open mind.
Our first port of call in Mexico was a town called the Chetumal, a large city not so famous for touristy things, but that had a seafront, and therefore street food options. We headed to the said seafront to see what the Chetumal street food scene was.
All along the seafront, there are street food stands, with the first one I saw offering huge portions of what looked like sausage and chips. I ordered and asked my Spanish speaking friend what it was called in Spanish, expecting some culinary term to blow me away “it translates as sausage and chips dude”. Smart bastard. Food was pretty good though.
It was then that my friend, who has a sweet tooth spotted what looked like ice-cream/frozen fruit type drink called “Chamoyada”, which doesn’t really mean anything apart from being the name of the sauce. To say it was not as expected would be an understatement, it had fruit, salt, mango, tomato, sugar and super spicy sauce made from pickled fruit. Name a food group and well it was in this cup.
We’ve been told it’s an acquired taste in Mexico, but alas a taste we did not acquire. We certainly didn’t hate it, but we also did not love it(or finish it). That being said I’d happily give Chamoyada another go, should I end up trying street food in Chetumal again…
With our street food hunger quenched, we now found ourselves thirsty and felt it be time that we explored the nightlife of Chetumal, which being a beach town in the Caribbean meant it was quite lively. Although, due to fighting, all drinks were served in plastic cups as our waiter told us with an alarming grin.
The night was finished in a bar called Rock Shots which was empty until about midnight which is when it seems the party starts in Chetumal. A Long Island Iced Tea cost us just over $2, you gotta love a weak Peso.
Good drinks and street food in Chetumal, a pretty Caribbean coastline, and an OK place for a stopover, but not exactly worth planning your travels in Mexico around it.
