First Glance: Mex Max, Wudaoying Hutong

Mexican food goes wrong easily in China. My experience living and traveling through China tells me. This is why, every time a new Mexican restaurant opens, alarm bells start ringing. And rightly so, as the latest Wudaoying venture indicates.
 

Only a handful of doors east from Sand Pebbles, recently rebranded as Pebbles Lounge, the interior design of Mex Max definitely stands out. The mural is intriguing, and falls under the love/hate category, with names of Chinese spices and herbs painted among flower-and-cloud-breathing women. The space, however, is warm and friendly, with an inner courtyard and a glass floor beyond which there is a bed of cotton wool, small plastic pomegranates, and fake grain. We didn't ask.
 

The menu is pretty standard: quesadillas, nachos, tortilla chips with dips, soups, fajitas, tacos, and some deserts. We went for a wide spread, starting off with some nachos (RMB 58), a Mexican vegetable salad (RMB 48), and potato wedges (RMB 35). The presentation of all three was a little disappointing, but the taste of the nachos and potato wedges was passable. Unfortunately, toppings were only present on the, well, top layer, leaving the bottom of both the nachos and potato wedges sad and cheeseless. The salad doesn't even really warrant any words, just don't order it. It was a pile of leaves soaked in orange dressing.
 

 

The main courses were better though, fortunately. The fish tacos (RMB 42), although presented with packaged cheese that hadn't even been melted so as to hide the fact that it had come from a package, tasted fine, and the chicken quesadilla (RMB 48) was also passable. The filling's taste did remind us of packaged quesadilla mix though, and there was no extra salsa or sour cream to dip the quesadillas in.
 

Our final main, the beef fajitas, were also mediocre, being delivered on just a plate rather than the usual sizzling plate, and lacked seasoning. There also was barely enough filling to fill the three wraps, with most of the ingredients consisting of onions and peppers rather than hearty meat. 

All in all, my flatmate put our experience into words particularly well: "If I woke up to this in our living room, I'd be extremely happy." Not sure if that's a compliment to the restaurant, or a diss to my cooking skills.
 

However, credit where credit is due, the bloody mary (off menu, RMB 40) was awesome. I mean, just the fact that it was possible to get one without it being on the menu, which usually seems impossible in China, and that it was most definitely made using fresh tomatoes, makes us curious about the bar section of the restaurant. Serious points to the bartender, who also came to check and ask whether they were to our taste. For that alone, we'll be back to explore their drinks further.

Mex Max
Daily 12pm-12am. 60 Wudaoying Hutong, Chaoyang District (131 4602 8499)
东城区五道营胡同60号

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Photos: Margaux Schreurs