Spanish-Filipino-Mexican Fare at Fiesta Alamexo (Shangri-La Plaza)

Fiesta Alamexo

Fiesta Alamexo offers Spanish/Mexican/Filipino cuisine.

It’s located in the East Wing of Shangri-La Plaza. The ambiance feels homey and festive at the same time. It’ll instantly lift up your mood. During our visit, there was even a group of local singers serenading the customers in the restaurant.

Fiesta Alamexo in Shangrila Plaza: Mexican restaurant in Manila

Food

Fiesta Alamexo’s menu is quite extensive. You can choose among traditional Mexican tacos and burritos, Filipino rice meals or boodle fights, steaks and other grilled meats, among others.

Here are some of the items that we tried. I’ll start of with traditional Mexican items.

The Mexican Cheese Quesadilla (P378) is one of my top picks here in Fiesta Alamexo. It was so good that I was tempted to take more than one piece, even though I promised myself I’d leave more space for later. It comes with 4 different dips. I like the guacamole dip in particular because you can really taste the avocado.

Fiesta Alamexo - cheese quesadilla — Cheese quesadilla.

Next is the Ranchero Corned Beef Pizza (P338). This is pizza made with tortilla so it’s very thin. It’s tasty, but for the price I’d rather have a regular-crust pizza.

Fiesta Alamexo - ranchero corned beef pizza — Ranchero corned beef pizza.

Fiesta Alamexo also has a Fiesta Nachos (P378). It’s served in a stacking mold, and the waiter removes it in front of you to reveal the nachos tower. It’s topped with cheese, tomatoes, jalapanenos, and (if I’m not mistaken) ground lentils which taste just like meat. It was okay, but not spectacular.

We ordered other items in the menu.

The Steak Ala Familia (P998) is a must-try. You can’t visit Fiesta Alamexo without tasting this! It’s grilled rump steak served with gravy. The steak is cooked medium rare, with a rich smokey taste. I like the gravy too — not too bland or too sharp. One plate is good for sharing. It’s also cheap at less than P1000 per plate. In other restaurants, you’d have to pay P500-700 for a steak that may or may not be worth your money.

If you want a solo order, you can also get Steak Frites (P248) or Sirloin Steak (P388). Both are served with rice.

For group meals, Fiesta Alamexo also offers different types of boodle fights. We had Kuboodle Y Chabelita (P1888), which includes seafood such as crabs, shrimps, scallops, and cream dory fish fillet plus a huge bowl of sinampalukang manok (chicken tamarind soup). I love everything in here — the flavored rice, putok-batok seafood, and the sour soup.

Fiesta Alamexo - boodle fight — Kuboodle Y Chabelita.

Other food you can try include skewered meats such as Cayenne Pork Intestine (P358) and Chipotle Cajun Chicken (P998). The pork intestine has a rich barbecue flavor, and if you’re a fan of streetfood but don’t want to risk buying on streetside stalls, this one is for you. It was a hit in our table.

Fiesta Alamexo - pork intestine — Cayenne pork intestine.

For dessert, the Fiesta Mango Sticky Rice (P248) is a decent choice.

For my personal recommendations, I suggest Homestyle Cheesecake (P188), which is made of coconut and cream cheese. Or a plate of good ole’ Banana Fritters Macapuno (P218) served with vanilla ice cream.

Fiesta Alamexo - sticky rice — Sticky rice.

Fiesta Alamexo - cheesecake — Homestyle cheesecake.

For the drinks, you can get different types of juices and alcoholic drinks.

I like the Jelly Tapioca Cooler (P98). It has more pearls and jelly than liquid, so it’s more of a dessert. The Buko Salad Cooler (P158) is also good.

I also discovered — and fell in love with — a cocktail sherbert called curacha. It has tequila mixed with fruits. You might mistake it for a dessert, but take care that you don’t get tipsy. The flavors are Strawberry Curacha or Guacamole Pamela Fiesta Curacha (bottomless – P278).

My recommendations

To help you decide which items to order, here are my personal favorites from the menu:

For the food:

Cheese quesadilla
Kuboodle Y Chabelita – boodle fight with putok-batok seafood and sinampalukang manok (chicken tamarind soup)
Steak ala Familia – smokey-flavored steaks, done medium-rare

For the drinks:

Jelly cooler tapioca – aka sago’t gulaman
Curacha – cocktail sherbets in avocado or strawberry flavor

Overall, I find Fiesta Alamexo a great find which I can find to my list of Mexican restaurants to frequent. It was a pleasure joining the soft opening of this restaurant in Shangri-La Plaza.