Culinary Mayhem: A Mexico City Market trip With eat Mexico

Mexico City is possibly one of the world’s many underrated foodie destinations. From street side stalls churning out tacos and tamales, to world-class restaurants serving up thousand year-old dishes with a modern twist, this chaotic capital is a food-lover’s paradise.

Mexico is a nation deeply rooted in gastronomy. The cuisine consists mainly of a fusion of indigenous Mesoamerican cooking techniques and European (particularly Spanish) influence that has permeated the food culture here because their conquest of the Aztec empire during the 16th century.

Coming to the capital city of one of the world’s culinary giants, we knew that we wanted to experience a food trip that would instruct us a little bit much more about this amazing cuisine, and when we found eat Mexico’s La Merced Market Tour, we knew that it was the ideal expedition to satisfy the intrepid travellers inside of us.

Dariece Enjoys Ice cream With Anais and Lydia
We met Anais, our guide, and Lydia, eat Mexico’s manager, outside of the spectacular Palicio De Bellas Artes (Palace of fine Arts), which was just a short walk from the Amigo Suites Hostel where we were staying. They gave us a quick rundown of what to expect on the trip and before we knew it we were off, descending down into the frenzied subterranean bloodline of Mexico City… the subway.

From the moment we entered the underground metro system, it felt as though we were being pumped through the veins with the frenetic pulse of this huge mega city. We got off the train and ascended the stairs to enter one of the city’s largest markets, La Merced. This is the primary wholesale market and its busy aisles were alive with local grocers and consumers hunting for the best bargains on bulk food.

The bustling Merced Market
Lydia cautioned us that we ought to stick together because things can get a little busy in the center of the market. Dariece and I tried to keep close, but we were continuously distracted by the sights, sounds and smells that surrounded us.

Mexican skillets, comals and cazo pans sizzled and popped as we walked by, each one wafting the familiar aroma of chilie, lime and grilled meat towards us. In the most congested corners of the market, we were take on to take on with the Mexican people, who were rushing to purchase, pack, sell or stock their goods.

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Women squeezed by us wearing traditional dress, carrying loads of groceries on their heads, while short, stocky men hollered at us to relocation out of the way as they wheeled by with heavy dollies full of produce. In the thick of the action, the air was hot and sticky with the body heat of numerous people, and the steam from chaotic kitchens which were churning out meals for their hungry customers like well-oiled machines.

A busy Food Stall
We followed Lydia and Anais like obedient sheep, completely lost in the chaos. We frequently stopped in the midst of the madness to taste some of the amazing food on offer. We ate everything from grasshoppers to gorditas, and each dish was delicious (well, the grasshoppers were a bit harder to get used to).

We stopped at a pre-hispanic food stand where a typically clad woman proudly described each of her exotic ingredients to us in Spanish. Anais translated and we were surprised by what we heard. The woman’s colorful table included delicacies like pond flies, frogs, crickets, crayfish and agave worms. Not items that you’d usually find in your mother’s cupboard, but each ingredient packed a distinct punch and all had a place in numerous traditional Mesoamerican dishes.

The Pre-Hispanic ingredients Stand
We also walked through what Anais called “The Hallway of Terror” where every animal carcass you can imagine was strung up, hooked and dissected for everyone to see. The smell of raw flesh and blood was palpable and we were reminded that seeing goat stomach and cow testicles is not something we’ve gotten used to, even though we’ve went to dozens of markets like this one.

We were able to sample anything we wanted while we navigated our way through the maze of fruit venders, taco stands, butcheries and candy stores. If something caughtour eye, Anais would purchase it up before we could decide if it was something we even wanted to taste. There was literally no limit to the samplings on offer. We were pleased that she had her main stands to take us to, but also loved that we were able to pick out our own snacks wherever we went.

The trip took our palate on a rollercoaster ride of sweet, salty, savoury and sour. nothing tasted bland and everything offered a different experience for our tastebuds. many of the dishes we tried were things that we had never seen in 4 months of travelling around Mexico. The candy section was, of course, one of our favourites and the coconut stuffed candied lime is our new go-to Mexican desert. The typically tart skin of the green fruit was made sweet by the liquid sugar-coating and the sticky shaved coconut stuffing.

Everything we tasted on this food trip was delicious. There were some much more common snacks like tacos and huaraches, mixed in with some stranger Mexican cuisine like grasshoppers and fermented pineapple juice. Anais explained each ingredient in detail, breaking down the ancient recipes and teaching us about the unique cooking techniques. After four hours of walking around La Merced and the surrounding neighbourhood, our senses were numbed, but we were finally able to unwind in a beautiful restored mansion where we delighted in a cold beer and yet another conventional snack of salty cream cheese topped with… you guessed it… grasshoppers.

Grasshoppers & cream Cheese… An Appetizer You may Not find At Home.
The Market trip was wonderful and we left with a new appreciation and knowledge of Mexican cuisine. Eat Mexico has numerous different culinary expeditions to choose from and while the Merced Market may be overwhelming for some, there are easier, much more gringo friendly trips on offer, including Anais’s favourite, the Late night Tacos & Mezcal Tour.

As always, we’ll try to give some pros and cons for the Merced Market trip to help you better decide if it is best for you. Our experience was excellent and we will certainly be recommending this trip to any food-lovers planning to check out Mexico City.

Pros:

Limitless tastings and samplings

Anais was a terrific guide

Lots of information, but not too much that it was overwhelming

Leckeres Essen

The trip was just long enough, without being too long

Anias explained when it was / wasn’t suitable to take photos

The beer was the ideal finish to an exciting day!

The market was hectic, but we felt safe and protected the entire time

There was the ideal mix of savoury and sweet

While the market was chaotic, Anais brought method to the madness with a planned route and a well thought out progression of meals

Cons:

The cost is a little high compared to other food trips we’ve done in Mexico ($85 / person)

The trip could be overwhelming for some (but less busy experiences are on offer)

We weren’t taken back to our area of the city at the end of the tour, but Lydia & Anais did give us good directions to get home.

For much more about each individual dish that we tried on this tour, don’t miss the video below!

A special thanks To: eat Mexico for hosting us on this fantastic market tour. As always, all thoughts and opinions remain our own, despite any complimentary services offered. check out their site for much more about their outstanding food tours.

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