Chicken Tortilla Soup – HOTEL BO STYLE!

THE TORTILLA SOUP

Guest Food Blogger Nettie Z spills the beans on some of our travel history truths and my new Mexican addiction … the Tortilla Soup – Hotel Bo style! Enjoy!

There was a time when Brent & I would be accused of

A. Just flopping by a pool for an entire vacation, planning a sun tanning wheel on how to perfect your tan. (deep I know!)

B. Not taking photos or visiting tourist attractions like monkey forests etc. With the exception of one very eventful “Village Visit” in Fiji, and one on which we dined out on for years (and would have people in tears of laughter) we didn’t really venture far from the confines of many luxury resorts (more on the village visit another time, it’s worth it!)

Well, things have certainly changed, Brent as you know is now a prolific photographer and after our visit to Palenque, I have clocked up at least ten Mayan ruins … see we do adventure now but with a luxury slant!

With a long drive ahead of us traversing The Sierra Madre Mountains from Palenque to San Cristobal de Las Casas, we settled half way at a remote hillside vista for lunch.  Although, my Spanish is limited I can decipher a menu and I know when in doubt order the Chicken Enchilada Verde, it’s one dish that’s hard to mess up. So we did and they didn’t … an outstanding example here in the middle of Mexico and with a spectacular view!

Then finally we arrived at our destination, Hotel Bo in San Cristobal de Casas. A gorgeous boutique hotel in a lovely town of Cathedrals, Churches and Chapels, with an incredibly beautiful landscaped garden mixed with red begonias and palms.  I was impressed to see their restaurant “LUM” had a Oaxacan mole fest on their menu … that would be a sauce festival from Oaxaca (wah-hak-a). A mole is made of different dried chiles and there are about eight moles ranging from red to black, no mean feat as it’s Mexico’s most famous dish and worthy of a whole other blog.  We were definitely trying one but what to have for entrée?  I had told Brent how I had a thing for Chicken Tortilla Soup since my first Mexican culinary experience at Las Mananitas in Cuernavaca many years ago!  “So, dos tortilla soup por favor!”

This is another dish that’s hard to get wrong … the way they presented the chicken, coriander, diced tomato, queso, avocado and shredded tortilla strips in a bowl then poured a pot of delicious chicken broth infused with dried chiles, creating a smoky flavour (that can be confused with pork) over the top ensured that they maintained the crunch of the raw ingredients …heaven!

I can safely say, it was as good as my first and now one of Brent’s favourite culinary experiences!