When Kevin and I went to Amsterdam we kicked off our trip with a food tour, which was both a unique culinary experience and a great walking tour with a local guide. We were introduced to the food tour via Booking.com but since we didn’t use them for our trip this time around we decided to try a new source of fun: Airbnb “experiences”.
We participated in 2 different experiences during our trip, and the first was called “discover street food with a local“. We did this on Tuesday, and it was one of the highlights of our trip!
We started off in the morning outside of El Templo Mayor where we met our guide, Pili. She gave us a brief history of the temple and market square and church nearby. From there, we hopped on the subway and went to explore a local market. This particular market served as a distribution hub for fresh flowers, so it was quite beautiful.
Near the market was a type of food court, and we went there to learn how to cook a traditional Mexican dish, huaraches. They’re typically quite large but since we were novices, we made smaller huaraches – a corn flower dough, with a bean paste in the middle. The technique was kind of like making a perogie: flatten a small ball of dough, add in the filling, then pull the tough tight around it and pinch it sealed. However, then you also flatten out the dough and fry it.
Huaraches are served with a pile of toppings, and we also made those! Toppings included tomatillo salsa, cactus, and huitlacoche. This was pretty exciting because huitlacoche is a delicacy that originated in Aztec cuisine and is unlike anything we’d ever eat in Canada.
The English term for huitlacoche is “corn smut”. Huitlacoche is a type of corn fungus, which is why it’s rarely found north of Mexico. As we expected, it’s delicious!
After we ate our huaraches, Pili and our chef host, Evelyn, made us quesadillas as well. From there we need an energy boost, so Pili took us back to city centre to visit a market famed for its traditional coffee. I had a chocolate drink that was incredible and Kevin enjoyed an espresso.
To wrap up the day we visited a stall that sells insects as cuisine! The other couple in our group (shout out to Landon and Jerusalem!) were brave enough to try, but I was too full/afraid.
The whole “experience” lasted approximately 4 hours and was jam-packed with learning and fun. Pili was a great host and she showed us a great time. She was fun and friendly, very knowledgeable, and open to answering any questions we had. Spending the day with her was like hanging out with a friend, and I would absolutely recommend her tours to anyone.
If you’re looking for a great half-day experience in Mexico City then I definitely recommend you take her tour!
See below for the many photos of our adventure with Pili!
the stories that I'm telling. 