Prepare your taste buds for REAL Mexican/Mayan food.

In my last blog, I talked about the first Mexican cruise line which should have onboard some traditional Mexican dishes.  On this blog, I will talk about traditional Yucatecan food which will be useful if you are taking a cruise that goes to the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico.

Top of the list has to be cochinita pibil, my personal favourite and Yucatan’s number one dish.  Cochinita pibil is pork that has been marinated and slow cooked in achiote (annatto) together with a very bitter type of orange/grapefruit, all wrapped up and cooked in banana leaves.

In a close second are salbutes and panuchos.  Salbutes are cooked tortillas topped with avocado, lettuce, tomato, and turkey or chicken. Panuchos are very similar to salbutes, but, once the tortilla is cooked, they open it on the side, fill it with black beans and topped with turkey or chicken, lettuce, avocado and pickled onions.

For a more simple flavor, you can order Poc Chuc, which a pork loin that has been barbecued.  Some chefs splash some achiote on it to give it a nice twist.

If you are very adventurous and like spicy food, take a bite of a habanero chile.  If it is too much for you, DO NOT drink water, it only spreads the spice around and makes it even worse!!  The locals recommend taking a pinch of salt and placing it underneath your tongue.  They recommend this after they stop laughing and giggling at you sweating and crying your eyes out (I did not find it funny AT ALL!!!!!)

There is the all strange but bizarrely flavorful Queso Relleno.  Which literally means filled cheese; it is considered a "gourmet" dish featuring pork inside of a carved Edam cheese ball served with tomato sauce and gravy.

For something completely different, try the Papadzules!  These are tortillas filled with hard boiled eggs and covered in pumpkin seed sauce and tomatoes.