Mexican spices

[LVKris]

Does anyone know if there is a variety of Mexican spices and taco and fajita seasonings in the markets? Are there canned green chilis? I will bring it over if I have too. Has anyone found a good Mexican food restaurant in NZ yet?

[Dell]

I've seen the El Paso brand of Mexican food in New World grocery store. Not sure about the spices but fresh cilantro (coriander) is easy to find. Tortillas are expensive - but one of my first purchases will be a bread machine. I make my own bread - might as well make tortillas too.

My daughter-in-law uses a lot of dried pinto beans that she buys in bulk (they live in the U.S). I've been trying to find a source in NZ but so far, the only pinto beans I've found are canned. I'm making the move back to NZ on December 4th. My daughter-in-law and granddaughter are (hopefully) coming to NZ in March for two weeks. By then, I hope to have found a NZ source for Mexican products. Will let you know!

[kiwieagle]

There is a woman from Mexico who does a taco cart in Nelson, http://www.lasbrisas.co.nz/. Her food is truly excellent. Other than that, I've yet to have really good Mexican food. It doesn't help that I can't really bring myself to pay $25 for a burrito.
Supermarkets carry the Old El Paso brand, which I dislike very much. They have a variety of flour tortillas, which are thick and sticky. I have not seen corn tortillas here except the boxed premade shells. I hate those but they work as tortilla chips because tortilla chips here all have flavoring on them. I have occasionally seen Garden of Eatin' chips but they are very expensive. One New World I shop at has Maize flour from South Africa, I don't know if it's the same for making your own. This company is out of Auckland and has lots of things including masa, mole and tamale husks http://www.mexicanspecialities.co.nz/
I haven't seen canned chiles in the store or jalapenos, serranos or other fresh chiles. You can get dried chiles and chipotle chiles from http://www.kaitaiafire.com/index.pasp. You can get chile seeds (search for chillis) from http://www.kingsseeds.co.nz/.
Also, if you like salsa verde, bring it. There is a salsa brand here, http://www.riodolores.co.nz/, that makes it and it's pretty good but not quite the same. Their salsa are all pretty good in a pinch.
Refried beans are ridiculously expensive. I have always made my own and I get my pinto beans from http://www.bininn.co.nz/. They also have a good variety of spices so that you don't have to use packets.
I'm not sure where you are moving to but my guess is the closer you are to Auckland the better your chances are to find a good Mexican food place.

[Ana&Steve]

So far, we haven't found one place to get everything...New World has Herdez salsa and canned chiles, but they are $$$. If you are in the Wellington area, Moore Wilsons is a great place for spices (cheap), a variety of flour tortillas (expensive), and masa casera (moderate). I have not yet been to the Bin Inn in Lower Hutt, but they sell bulk and I hope to find spices and a dry bean similar to pinto. At least two Pac n Saves here have corn tortillas but again, not cheap and they are more delicate than we are used to.

Mexican restaurants in Wellington:
Pan de Muerto is closed for construction on a new location...we ate at the old place once and weren't impressed by flavors or prices. We will try the new one when it opens to see if it's better.
Flying Burrito Brothers has very fresh and well prepared food; having said that, it isn't authentic like we're used to. They borrow Southwest, Baja, and Oaxacan styles and also add a distinctively Kiwi fusion element.
Hot Like a Mexican is owned by a Mexican guy...his corn tortillas and chips are good, and the restaurant has the right feel, but he fails somewhere. If you order the carne asada dish for instance, you will get an underdone scotch fillet on top of a pile of french fries. The owner is often to be found at Farmers markets selling nachos and tacos; he gets huffy when you just want to buy tortillas or chips, but his employees are nice. He also has a taco stand on Queen's Wharf open for lunch on weekdays.
La Boca Loca actually has refried beans! The atmosphere is right and the food and spices more authentic, though salt and pepper has been neglected and lemon a bit abused. The Margaritas are good and the appetizers are yummy and creative.
Viva Mexico If you can find it open, then you will get a good, if a bit bland, interpretation of Mexican food. Their salsa is excellent.
The "Mexican" restaurant at the food court in the Bank arcade Don't. Just don't.
There are at least two more places we still need to try, but making your own is going to be important!

Here are some online NZ Mexican grocers:

http://www.tiopablo.co.nz/
http://www.mexicanspecialities.co.nz/
http://www.mexifoods.co.nz/1.htm

[LVKris]

Thanks for all of the info. I had Mexican food in Auckland once. It was the one that was owned by some Americans and it was a Tex Mex place. The one by the negative 5 bar. It was very average. When is a Chipotle going to open up in NZ? haha Ok so I will definitely be bringing canned chilis and refried beans.

[Ana&Steve]

You can get chile seeds (search for chillis) from http://www.kingsseeds.co.nz/.

I got jalapeno, serrano, and tomatillo seeds from them; looking forward to salsa in a few months!

[Dell]

Ana & Steve, aren't you from Escondido? My son was born there! I will take your info on NZ Mexican food as gospel as we're probably used to the same type of Mexican food. Thanks.

Kiwieagle, thanks for the info on Bin Inn. I went to the link and there's one in Whangarei, just a mile or two from where I'll probably be settling. They also sell bulk spices! I didn't pack any spices so its good to know
I can refill all my spice jars there. Thanks.

[kiwieagle]

Ana & Steve, aren't you from Escondido? My son was born there! I will take your info on NZ Mexican food as gospel as we're probably used to the same type of Mexican food. Thanks.

Kiwieagle, thanks for the info on Bin Inn. I went to the link and there's one in Whangarei, just a mile or two from where I'll probably be settling. They also sell bulk spices! I didn't pack any spices so its good to know
I can refill all my spice jars there. Thanks.

Bin Inn is really good. I get flour and baking goods there as well. If you have a couple in your area, try them all out as some are better stocked than others.

I'm from Bonsall/Vista/Oceanside. It's a small world.

[kiwieagle]

Ana, would you recommend Hot Like A Mexican or La Boca Loca? My relatives live in Welly and we get up there a fair bit. Also, are there any American style diners there that you might recommend? A trip up north to the big city means I get to have a little treat. I've already got Wholly Bagels on my list, unless you know of a better bagel shop or deli, and Martha's Backyard.

[girlwithanewf]

I don't know much about Mexican food at all but for the average person with no experience I would definitely recommend La Boca Loca. (in Miramar). Lovely atmosphere, friendly staff, good food and drinks. Gets very busy particularly earlier on before films start at the nearby cinema - the Roxy - definitely to be recommended as a cinema too (the Roxy also has a bar and restaurant, so you can go there for a drink before the film).