Mexican cuisine with new taste sensations

There are people who claim that everything tastes like chicken. I remember an interview with actor Nicolas Cage who ate a living cockroach for a movie and said it tasted like chicken. I don’t believe it. Fish does not taste like chicken, nor does grasshopper, but it does go to cardboard. But what does taste like chicken, on juicy chicken confit to be precise, is the main course of Jackfruit at Mexican restaurant Kej Caban in Breda.

The small restaurant of chef Lisa de Bruijn and her beloved Hector Carranza opened earlier this year and breathes Tulum-Vibes: soft colors, terracotta service and an open kitchen with a large skylight, making it look like cooking in the outdoors. Only the soft sand on the feet is missing.

I have only been to the south of Mexico once, visit the country again and immerse myself in the rich culinary culture is high on my wish list. But I have tasted Mexican cuisine in different places in the world. It is rooted in age -old traditions, the flavors are pronounced, the dishes temperamental and sexy. Consider the combination of lime, coriander and pepper; He never bores and fuels the appetite. That trinity forms a common thread in the dishes of Kej Caban, which serves a small, fixed menu from three (50 euros) to five courses (70 euros).

Chef De Bruijn works with the recipes of Carranza’s mother and grandmother. That also immediately explains the domestic dishes and special flavors that we taste.

There is a nice warm fried corn bread with Pico de Gallo (a fresh mix of tomato, onion, pepper and lime), avocado and coriander. It is a nice combination of warm (the corn bread) and cold (the Pico de Gallo) where every ingredient comes into its own.

A ceviche of sea bass and pieces of shrimp with avocado and crispy corn kernels is sturdy in the acids. The lime burns in the back of the throat and tingles a little in the mouth. A wonderfully fresh and invigorating dish that has a cooling effect in warm weather.

Very different is an earthy, velvety soft soup of black beans with a dot unabashedly spicy salsa roja (a sauce made of tomatoes, onion, pepper and lime), olive oil, coriander cress and home -made requestson (kind of ricotta). The Salsa Roja gives the refined bean soup an extra kick, the Requéson creamy salty, and then there are still crispy bean pieces for some crispy. I can imagine that this is a modified version of a soup that is eaten in Mexican households. Uncomplicated tasty and full of taste.

New culinary gate

We enter unknown terrain with a salad of grilled cactus with cucumber, radish, feta and coriander. The salad has a smoky aftertaste due to the grilled cactus. All those years I have only eaten cactus fruit, but the cactus itself is of a different order; I cannot catch the separate taste, I have not tasted anything before that looks like this. It is almost as if you are going through a new culinary gate, with new accents that you did not know yet. The salad as a whole is fresh, spicy and a pleasant intermediate dish.

For the main course we have to wait so long that the small dishes are sinking and the hunger is increasing – the portions are more generous. First the toppings are put on the table: red onion, coriander, lime and bang -hot habanero sauce. A drop of the habanero sauce sets my tongue on fire – and I really like hot. I appreciate that if chefs are not afraid of excessive flavors or if they really go spicy.

That main course therefore consists of the aforementioned jackfruit that we receive as an alternative to the pork on the menu. We fill hot tortillas with the soft -stewed jacket in a mix of Achiote (a seasoning made of herbs), orange and spices, and we garnish with the aforementioned toppings. Also a bowl of white rice with Jalapeño and Koriander, although we don’t really taste it. This may also be because the rice is drowned out by the rich, fragrant aromas of the jackfruit.

This quality and originality is maintained up to and including the simple but tasteful dessert that consists of a mangoSorbet with dried childpin peppers (also known as Bird Chile), Lime and salt with a crispy Tostada dipped in chocolate and coconut.

Throughout the evening the water is neatly refilled and Hector Carranze takes care of the drinks, cocktails and mocktails at the bar.

De Bruijn and Carranza, thanks to his mother and grandmother, have put down something beautiful. Kej Caban is a special experience that appeals to a new culinary register for the Netherlands, with a style that at the same time homely, I would almost want to call it almost humble, and is refined.

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