Spicing up Beijing's mexican cuisine

The newly opened Q Mex restaurant in Beijing offers authentic Mexican cuisine with ingredients imported from Mexico. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Q Mex is diversifying its offerings with a new location in the Chinese capital. Xu Lin reports.

Q Mex is bringing more of the magic of Mexican cuisine to Beijing with a second location within walking distance of Liangmaqiao subway station. Q Mex Taqueria is offering new dishes made with ingredients imported from Mexico, chef and co-owner Marcus Medina says. The Mexican-American traveled throughout Mexico to learn all he could about the country's fare, he says. The new location's dishes differ from the maiden Q Mex Bar & Grill in Sanlitun, which focuses more on regional cuisine and borrows from his mother's cooking.

"The first restaurant is more spacious, like a party-bar restaurant. The new one is more like a place where you'd like to sit down and enjoy yourself," he says.

Chorizo taco salad is a popular, spicy appetizer made with beef chorizo, grilled bacon, shredded lettuce, cheese, corn chips, tomatoes and pickled onions.

"In Mexico, the salad is a popular street food served in a plastic bag. Then I had an idea: let's serve it in a plate," Medina says.

Mexicans and Chinese both enjoy spice, he points out.

The spiciness of some Mexican areas' dishes resembles that of Sichuan or Hunan provinces', which are his favorite Chinese cuisines.

The new restaurant offers classic guacamole－a mashed avocado dip seasoned with lemon juice, onions, fresh tomatoes, chopped cilantro and red chillies.

"Guacamole has become a tradition in the US. Just like the ubiquitous pizza, they don't think it's Italian food anymore－they think it's their food," Medina says.