Had dinner with a group of local foodies a short while back. Trying out the fairly popular Baja Modern Mexican in Fortitude Valley which opened at the end of last year. Having made a reservation early, our table was ready when we arrived. The place was full, so booking a table is highly recommended.
Didn't have too much time to browse the menu, but we had a good amount of people so that we could try around half the menu options. Service was fast and friendly. First dish to arrive was the twice cooked octopus tentacles with citrus, chile oil and a squid ink burnt jalapeño soy sauce. Dark and inky, it wasn't a particularly photogenic dish. The octopus though was extremely tender and soft. I really liked how tangy the citrus and soy was, coupled with a light amount of spice as found in the sauce.
A lighter share plate we tried was the fried cauliflower with a brown butter and parmeasan crumb, fermented green chile yogurt and a cauliflower mole. This was crisp on the outside with a firm interior, the parmesan added a bit of flavour but there wasn't too much yoghurt as we would have liked to add moisture to the dish.
Another share plate was the boneless chicken wings, slow roasted wings with pomegranate molasses, red onion escabeche with a buttermilk and coriander dressing. Have never tried slow roasted wings before but these were quite chewy and rubbery, even though I liked not having to deal with the bones. The sauce was sweet and sticky, reminding me a bit of bbq wings.
Moving on to our main event of the night was their infamous tacos. They had four variations and we got some of each to share. Thiw was the Mushroom Taco, comprising of mushrooms two ways with mozzarella, mushroom mole and fried eschalots. We all agreed that these were the best tacos of the evening. With extremely well seasoned caramelised mushrooms, fragrant eshalots and stringy mozzarella, this was delicious and I could have eaten many more.
The beef taco was called Carne Asada, it contained grilled flank steak marinated in tomatillo, coriander and serrano chiles served with guacamole, white beans and salsa tatemada. The flank steak was a bit chewy and could have been better seasoned, although I did enjoy the creamy guacamole.
The fish taco was filled with beer battered king fish with a chipotle slaw. Although I am not sure of its authenticity, it was undeniable that the battered fish was wonderfully crispy whilst the slaw was creamy and crunchy. I really enjoyed it.
Last taco, the Carnitas was filled with slow cooked pork neck served with spicy green salsa, red onion escabeche and coriander. I normally enjoy cuts of pork jowl and pork neck for its crisp texture, but given that this was slow cooked it wasn't very crunchy but rather tender instead. Like the beef Taco, this could have had a bit more flavour and the green salsa wasn't particularly spicy.
By the time we were finished with our tacos, I was quite full, but a few of our group had some desserts to share including the Raspado Con Leche, a salted milk panna cotta with cucumber granita, melon, mint and a pineapple jam tajin salt and the Spiced Chocolate Mousse with house made passion fruit yogurt, passion fruit curd and burnt brownie pieces. Being stuffed, I could only look on with envy, but the chocolate was the allegedly the better dessert with a smooth and rich texture that was balanced with the fruity elements.
Taste: 7/10
Value: 8/10
Service: 8/10
Environment: 8/10
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