We decided on Tex-Mex for Sunday lunch last weekend, and settled on Wild Chilies on Chulia Street, which was highly-recommended by some friends. To be honest, trying to find authentic Tex-Mex in Penang is probably next to impossible, though the folks at Wild Chilies put up an admirable effort.
We started off with some cocktails, including the Mexican Sunset - peaches, Amaretto, tequila and pineapple juice:
- Chicken quesadilla, with guacamole, Pico de Gallo & sour cream - I was pleasantly surprised by how light the chef managed to make this dish, and how delicate the chicken filling tasted. None of those strong, overly-spicy, in-your-face Indianized Mexican dishes one usually finds in this part of the world.
The guacamole was freshly-prepared, ethereally-light & with a remarkable restraint in the use of citrus juice, as if the ghost of a lime had just glided through, living behind the wispiest hint of its scent and flavor.
- Chicken cheese nachos with guacamole, Pico de Gallo & sour cream - this turned out to be my fave dish here: the lightest, crispiest nachos I’d had in town. The toppings were also not too “assertive”, as was the case in many other places. I personally prefer gentler, mellower pickles which had been allowed to mature a bit, like the ones here, than the sharp, vinegary sort.
- Beef tacos - The cubed chunks of beef (pan-fried) were tougher than I’d have liked, but the fresh lettuce & Pico de Gallo lent a nice crunch to each bite, whilst the sour cream & spiced-up cheese dressing on top gave a pleasant rich, creamy flavor to the whole ensemble.
I really liked the fresh tortillas used here.
- Coconut shrimps with arroz verde (Mexican green rice), vegetables and homemade chili sauce - crisp-fried, battered crunchy-fresh prawns. I’m hard-pressed to find the Mexican element in that, but it tasted great. The chili sauce tasted more “Thai” than Mexican - spicy, but a bit sweeter than one would find in a Mexican or Tex-Mex rendition.
Dessert: I was dreaming of having Mexican churros to dip into hot chocolate here. Sadly, Wild Chilies do not have a pastry chef capable of making Mexican desserts, so the only 3 options were brownie, cheesecake or … banana split (seriously??).
So, I just traipsed round the corner, bought some “Chinese churros”, or, more accurately, “yau char kway"(油炸粿)” to dip into my hot chocolate.
To his credit, the waiter didn’t even raise an eyebrow when he saw this:
Definitely going back for the nachos. Probably give the other menu options (fajitas, etc.) a try. It’s still a far cry from my fave Mexican spot in Malaysia: Kuala Lumpur’s Fresca Mexican Kitchen & Bar, or Singapore’s Casa Latina or Margarita’s.
Address
Wild Chilies Restaurant
273A, Ground Floor, Chulia St, 10200 George Town, Penang, Malaysia
Tel: +60 19-808 6894
Opening hours: 10.30am to 9.30pm daily
