We have a new Royal Resorts dining option for you this summer, get ready to tuck into traditional dishes from all over Mexico! It’s Mexican Night in La Veranda at The Royal Sands in Cancun.
Listen to mellow marimba music performed by a group from Chiapas as you sip a margarita, tequila or mezcal or a glass of Mexican beer or wine and choose what you are going to eat.
Start with a generous helping of guacamole, chips and salsa or fresh seafood ceviche. There’s a full salad bar featuring Mexican specialties such as tasty salpicon, which is shredded beef with radishes, tomato, lettuce, cilantro and red onion or help yourself to chicken, lettuce, jicama and other vegetables. Try a classic market snack: esquites or cooked corn kernels topped with cream, cheese, chili powder and lime juice.
Assemble your plate of antojitos mexicanos or Mexican snacks for starters. These may include tacos al pastor, quesadillas, crispy deep-fried tacos dorados and sopes, which are corn dough patties with assorted toppings. Yucatecan snacks to try are salbutes and panuchos, corn tortillas topped with shredded chicken or turkey, lettuce, sliced avocado and pickled red onion.
Main courses on the buffet range from chicken in mole sauce, that smooth chocolate-chili spice mix that is a traditional specialty in Puebla and Oaxaca, to Veracruz-style fish or the catch of the day cooked in garlic butter or al mojo de ajo. There are beef and chicken brochettes, chicken tamales and carnitas or marinated roast pork. Try the beef barbacoa which is cooked for so long it literally melts in your mouth or cochinita pibil, pork marinated in achiote and Seville orange juice spice mix, wrapped in banana leaves and slow roasted. Served with warm homemade corn tortillas, pickled red onion and a dash of chili sauce, it is a showstopper dish from the Yucatecan kitchen.
Make your own tacos with corn or flour tortillas, diced beef or chicken, rajas con crema or poblano chili slices in a cream sauce, refried beans, Mexican rice and grilled spring onions. Vegetarian dishes include potatoes with chard, zucchini in tomato sauce and nopales, tender cooked cactus leaves.
Be sure to help yourself to some freshly made salsa. There are a variety of sauces to choose from, including pico de gallo, tasty cooked tomato salsa and avocado, green tomatillo, serrano chili and coriander-based sauces. For an extra kick, seasoned chili eaters can try xnipek, made with the fiery habanero chili from the Yucatan.
For a sweet ending to your Mexican meal, help yourself to some traditional desserts. They include candied papaya, fritters with cinnamon and piloncillo sugar sauce, caballeros pobres or Mexican-style French toast, crème caramel and tres leches or Mexican cream cake. Order Mexican-style coffee or hot chocolate with fragrant cinnamon and a glass of Xtabentun, the honey-anise liqueur made in the Yucatan.
The Monday night Mexican buffet at La Veranda in The Royal Sands is served from 5:30 to 10 p.m. and the marimba band plays from 6 to 9 p.m. The cost is $465 pesos per person, children half price. It is included in the REFINE All-Inclusive package.
A week of theme nights at La Veranda
There’s something for everyone at La Veranda during the week with an array of theme night buffets, an a la carte menu and chef’s specialties. Satisfy your craving for fajitas on Saturday night and enjoy island recipes on Sunday during Caribbean night. Monday night is Mexican night and on Tuesday you’ll savor fresh pasta, seafood and other Italian dishes. Wednesday night brings you the flavors of the Orient and Prime rib night on Thursday is a favorite with meat lovers. Finally, on Friday, don’t miss the poolside BBQ.
Don’t miss these Royal Resorts dining choices either
Not staying at The Royal Sands? Fear not, there are a variety of tempting theme nights to try during your Royal Resorts vacation in Cancun and at The Royal Haciendas in Playa del Carmen. Here are more Royal Resorts dining recommendations for you.
• Monday
Lobster Night, La Palapa, The Royal Cancun
Mediterranean Night, Tradewinds, The Royal Caribbean
Teppanyaki Night, Sol Grill, The Royal Haciendas (reservations required)
• Tuesday
Prime Rib Night, El Conquistador, The Royal Islander (reservations required)
Oriental Night, La Palapa del Sol, The Royal Haciendas
• Wednesday
Italian Night, Tradewinds, The Royal Caribbean
Prime Rib Night, Captain’s Cove (reservations required)
Teppanyaki Night, Sol Grill, The Royal Haciendas (reservations required)
Thursday
Caribbean Beach Night, La Palapa, The Royal Cancun
Friday
Caribbean Night, La Palapa del Sol, The Royal Haciendas
Teppanyaki Night, Sol Grill, The Royal Haciendas (reservations required)
Saturday
Lobster Festival, Tradewinds, The Royal Caribbean and Cayo Largo, The Royal Islander
Prime Rib Night, Captain’s Cove (reservations required)
Mexican Night, La Palapa del Sol, The Royal Haciendas
Sunday
BBQ Night, Tradewinds, The Royal Caribbean
Brazilian Night, La Palapa del Sol, The Royal Haciendas
This is just a sampling, ask the Concierge for more Royal Resorts dining recommendations.
