Grocery shopping in a foreign country is always an adventure—and so is cooking in a different kitchen every few days.

Don’t count on me for fancy restaurant recommendations and Instagrammable meals. I only had take-out twice, the first two nights in Playa del Carmen. First a classic burrito de pollo, then Venezuelan arepas. Both meals were okay but nothing special. Just as well, I was planning to cook. When you’re spending weeks on the road, eating out every day isn’t the wisest move health-wise and budget-wise.

Cooking on the road is still a culinary adventure that involves wandering around supermarkets aisles full of mysterious brands and products, looking for ingredients and dinner inspiration.

But first, a word on Mexican Airbnb kitchen. Literally a word—WTF? We mostly stay in new-ish apartment buildings, and I have no idea what architects or designers had in mind… but not cooking, apparently. These kitchens all featured two-burner induction cooktops and this technology drove me crazy. It needs specific cookware with enough iron to generate a magnetic field, but most Airbnbs just provided random pots and pans not designed for it. In Tulum,, boiling water was taking 30 minutes. Induction cooktops are also very sensitive, so burners would beep randomly then stop because they were too hot.

Other design flaws included sinks way too small to wash anything in them and a lack of counter space in kitchens that weren’t particularly tiny.

Final anecdotal observations based on our Airbnb kitchens, Mexicans seem to use pans more than pots (we always had pans… and rarely had pots) and quite logically, we only had a pot drainer available twice.  

So, what can you find in a Mexican grocery store? Well, pretty much the same as in Canada or the US, just different brands, but plenty of American products.

Veggies and fruits are much cheaper and there are tons of different peppers, plus nopal cactus. There’s a lot of junk food, especially chips and cookies. The yogurt aisle was a bit disappointing—much like in Canada, the selection is small and I found yogurt extremely sweet. The cheese aisle is more exotic, with plenty of Gouda cheese, imported cheese, and local specialties like Manchego, Oaxaca and Chihuahua cheese (all pretty good).

Grocery store bakeries and independent bakeries are pretty awesome and very cheap by French and North American standards (i.e. $1 for four savoury buns, $0.50 for sweet buns). There are dozens of panes dulces, like the very popular conchas (sweet bread topped with a crumbly sugary crust), polvorones (kind of like shortbread cookies), orejas (the French palmier), oros de pancha (pound cake baked in puff pastry), budín (bread pudding)… and croissants are called cuernitos, the dough isn’t flaky and buttery, it’s more like brioche. In fact, most sweet buns are brioche-like, topped with sugar.

And if you don’t eat tortillas with your meal, you’re probably buying bolillos (the local version of baguette, each roll is about a third of the famous French bread) or teleras, often used to make sandwiches.

Mexicans apparently take Three Kings’ Day very seriously, or at least the traditional rosca de Reyes cakes eaten on January 6—there was a giant lineup at the supermarket that evening, and every customer wanted a freshly baked one!

Overall, I found food satisfying enough but not “OMG, this is so good, I want more!” There’s a lot more to Mexican cuisine than tacos, burritos, quesadillas or gorditas, yet this is what tourists expect, and that’s what they get in Playa del Carmen or Tulum. Street food and small eateries are reliably tasty but for more exotic specialties, this part of the country isn’t the place to be.

Street food in Tulum, tacos and more, Calle Sol Oriente, Tulum, Quintana Roo
Street food in Tulum, tacos and more, Calle Sol Oriente, Tulum, Quintana Roo
Street food in Tulum, tacos and more, Calle Sol Oriente, Tulum, Quintana Roo
Street food in Tulum, tacos and more, Calle Sol Oriente, Tulum, Quintana Roo
Street food in Tulum, tacos and more, Calle Sol Oriente, Tulum, Quintana Roo
Street food in Tulum, tacos and more, Calle Sol Oriente, Tulum, Quintana Roo
Street food in Tulum, tacos and more, Calle Sol Oriente, Tulum, Quintana Roo
Street food in Tulum, tacos and more, Calle Sol Oriente, Tulum, Quintana Roo
Street food in Tulum, tacos and more, Calle Sol Oriente, Tulum, Quintana Roo
Street food in Tulum, tacos and more, Calle Sol Oriente, Tulum, Quintana Roo
Street food in Tulum, tacos and more, Calle Sol Oriente, Tulum, Quintana Roo
Street food in Tulum, tacos and more, Calle Sol Oriente, Tulum, Quintana Roo
Street food in Tulum, tacos and more, Calle Sol Oriente, Tulum, Quintana Roo
Street food in Tulum, tacos and more, Calle Sol Oriente, Tulum, Quintana Roo
Street food in Tulum, tacos and more, Calle Sol Oriente, Tulum, Quintana Roo
Street food in Tulum, tacos and more, Calle Sol Oriente, Tulum, Quintana Roo
Street food in Tulum, tacos and more, Calle Sol Oriente, Tulum, Quintana Roo
Street food in Tulum, tacos and more, Calle Sol Oriente, Tulum, Quintana Roo
Cilantro, Súper Chedraui,  Calle 42, Valladolid
Cilantro, Súper Chedraui, Calle 42, Valladolid
Hot pepper, Súper Chedraui,  Calle 42, Valladolid
Hot pepper, Súper Chedraui, Calle 42, Valladolid
Nopal cactus, Súper Chedraui,  Calle 42, Valladolid
Nopal cactus, Súper Chedraui, Calle 42, Valladolid
Oaxaca cheese, Súper Chedraui,  Calle 42, Valladolid
Oaxaca cheese, Súper Chedraui, Calle 42, Valladolid
Fresh bolillo bread, Súper Chedraui,  Calle 42, Valladolid
Fresh bolillo bread, Súper Chedraui, Calle 42, Valladolid
Cooking dinner in Valladolid
Cooking dinner in Valladolid
Tortilla time, Selecto Chedraui Tulum, Neptuno, mza. 004 Tulum 2, Lomas de Padierna
Tortilla time, Selecto Chedraui Tulum, Neptuno, mza. 004 Tulum 2, Lomas de Padierna
Polvorónes, Pan Tulum, Avenida Tulum
Polvorónes, Pan Tulum, Avenida Tulum
Bread, Pan Tulum, Avenida Tulum
Bread, Pan Tulum, Avenida Tulum
Conchas, Pan Tulum, Avenida Tulum
Conchas, Pan Tulum, Avenida Tulum
Orejas, Pan Tulum, Avenida Tulum
Orejas, Pan Tulum, Avenida Tulum
Beer in a convenience store in Cancún
Beer in a convenience store in Cancún
Massive lineup at the supermarket on January 6 for Roscas de reyes (King Cake), Playa del Carmen
Massive lineup at the supermarket on January 6 for Roscas de reyes (King Cake), Playa del Carmen
Massive lineup at the supermarket on January 6 for Roscas de reyes (King Cake), Playa del Carmen
Massive lineup at the supermarket on January 6 for Roscas de reyes (King Cake), Playa del Carmen

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2 Comments

  1. Lexie January 10, 2023 at 6:26 am

    Est ce qu’il y a des choses que vous amenez dans vos bagages ? Genre un ustensile parficulier, une épice, etc ?

    Reply
    1. Zhu January 14, 2023 at 1:07 am

      Late reply, but no, not really. I bring a knife/fork/spoon, salt… and I carry dish detergent, gloves and an insulated lunch bag, this is where I store misc. items I can easily take from one place to the next (emergency chocolate, for instance :-D). I brought a few things like packs of oatmeal during COVID, in case of a sudden lockdown, but otherwise I go with the flow.

      Reply

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