Throughout the entire month of February, I had constantly been craving some real Mexican food. Having just moved from Los Angeles, a place with a robust Mexican community and countless authentic Mexican restaurants, I am quite accustomed to high quality Mexican cuisine. So, I sought...to find a Mexican restaurant here in the Netherlands that paralleled some of my hometown favorites. KUA Mexican Kitchen, a Mexican restaurant located near the city center of the Hague, met this mark. With restaurants still closed for in person dining, my family and I ordered take out from Kua. The website was quite easy to navigate and offered a fairly normal sized number of dishes. While Kua does offer delivery services, these services are mostly confined to Hague city-dwellers since they deliver food only via bike. Since I live in Wassenaar, what would be a 40 minute bike ride for a delivery person, we had to drive down to the Hague to pick up our meal. When we arrived at the restaurant, the food was hot and ready to go. Now, one of my biggest concerns with ordering takeout, a concern I have expressed in previous articles, is the effect of transportation time on the warmth of the food. For this meal, I was particularly worried since it would be a 20 minute car ride from the restaurant to my home. However, when we started unboxing the food after arriving at my home, these concerns melted away. With each opened box came a torrent of warm steam, indicative of the dish’s temperature. Furthermore, the restaurant had included a little sheet of paper offering advice on how to heat up each specific dish, should the dish get cold. In total, I ordered three small appetizers and a main course. The first appetizer I ordered was chips and guacamole. This dish was excellent! The guacamole was not only seasoned to perfection, but it boasted a delicious citrusy tang. Both elements combined together effortlessly, creating a wonderful cohesion of flavors. In addition, the chips were both crispy and warm. The second appetizer I ordered was the sopes, a traditional Mexican dish that consists of a fried masa base with a variety of savory toppings. These sopes were topped with refried beans, lettuce, and avocados. I’m not sure if I have ever had sopes before, but these were quite tasty. I particularly enjoyed the soft texture of the refried beans in conjunction with the crunchier corn base and lettuce. The last appetizer of the night was elote, or street style corn on the cob. This dish consisted of corn on the cob with a creamy sauce made of mayonnaise, parmesan cheese, sweet chili powder, and lime. This proved to be yet another delicious dish. The natural sweetness of the corn juxtaposed with the citrusy tang of the line created yet another wonderful combination of flavors. The chili powder added another layer of spice and seasoning that really brought the whole dish together. Lastly, for my main course, I ordered a classic Mexican dish: chicken enchiladas. These enchiladas were soft and cheesy, and came with a spicy salsa verde. The salsa verde was a wise addition, giving the dish a bit of kick. Overall, I enjoyed this dish. This authentic Mexican meal achieved my goal of quenching a month-long hankering for real Mexican food. Each dish brought to the table a unique combination of rich and authentic flavors that made my dining experience quite enjoyable. If anyone is interested in real Mexican cuisine here in the Netherlands, Kua Mexican Kitchen is the place for you!More
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