Mexican cuisine is incredibly versatile… in fact, what you know from the Mexican around the corner is nothing compared to the delicacies you can try in Mexico (maybe unless you are from the United States). This is simply due to the lack of availability of many ingredients. In the different regions of Mexico, the local cuisine is also very different. My very personal favorite is the Mayan cuisine in Yucatan. A small introduction to Mexican cuisine can be found here.

Mexican cuisine is characterized by the excellent blend of Native American and Spanish-colonial specialities and has mostly quite little to do with the offer from the Mexican at home around the corner.

Regionally, there are big differences in Mexican food, from the beef oriented cuisine in the north to the Mayan cuisine in Yucatan that cooks with lard. Usually there is abundant seasoning with coriander (cilantro) and fresh lime juice,  and the wonderful Guacamole cream made from avocados with onion, coriander, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and chilies should not be missing either.

At breakfast, most Mexican hotels offer two different alternatives:

• The Plan Europeo, the classic European breakfast with coffee, tea (often only chamomile available), rolls and butter or jam.

• If you get the chance, don’t miss the Plan Americano – you will be offered fried eggs or scrambled eggs with ham, fried bacon, spicy chili sauces and delicious salsas, tropical fruits and with a bit of luck Agua Fresca!

If you do not want to take breakfast at your hotel, because of the time schedule or if you do not like it, just ask for a recommended restaurant to enjoy your breakfast. Everywhere in Mexico there are great locations that are visited by locals and will make sure you have a great start into your day.

The most important meal of the day in Mexico is lunch, the lunch break of a normal working day is rather long. Just the right time to try all the treats of Mexican cuisine! There may also be several courses – in Mexico there are delicious soups, and you should definitely not miss the yummy desserts. Afterwards you can use the hottest hours of the day for a cozy siesta.

If you’re just somewhere on the road and want to shorten your lunch break, you should definitely give Mexican street food culture a chance. Not only will you taste lots of delicacies from Mexican cuisine, you can also enjoy the exciting ambience of the country to the fullest and take great photos.

Maybe you will have the opportunity to taste delicious nopales  – my absolute favorite vegetable in Mexico. They come from the cactus from which you surely know the cactus figs. The nopales,  however, are the shoots of the plants. Of course, they are freed from their dangerous spines with a special knife before enjoying them.