That Little Mexican Place

Victoria Park has two developing cafe strips. On one end (approaching east to Cannington) is the more attractive developed entity – the asexual organism colouring the town with its sexy looking, modern-style jaunts; think The Imp, The Prophet, Crumpet, and Antz In Ya Pantz.  The other end is its degenerate hobgoblin brother, lacking pizazz and in need of some magic puff – kebab shops, Gloria Jeans, Madison Avenue… OK, I might be a little bit harsh, but the west side is getting better. You’ve got a new Dome cafe opening up on the corner, new unit developments planned, a late night Woolies, and Tlmp (just to name a few). Tlmp. What the heck is a Tlmp?

T = That, l = little, m = mexican, p = place. We (as in the blonde one, the ranga, the brownie, and the blackhead) delivered a head first assault on the Victoria Park sister of its older North Perth brother. “Head first” was the appropriate term for our predicament when attempting to enter the restaurant. We couldn’t open the door. With a shake, rattle, and roar, the patrons inside all looked at us thinking “what the blardy ‘ell are they doing?” The waitress came to open the door for us and quietly mentioned that “it [was] a slider“. Of course the group blamed me – “Good one Dev…….” We sat down and with menu, monkey claw grip, and reading glasses on, we pondered over the dinner items.

Our dinner comprised of entrees, mains, and desserts. For entrees we chose the Chorizo En Vino ($14.00), Albondigas ($16.00), and Guacamole A La Mesa ($16.00). Mains included the Quesadilla De Carne Asada ($30.00), Asado De Borrego ($36.00), Tamal De Frijol Negro ($25.00), and Pozole ($26.00). We would order desserts later.

Entrees

Our meal began with the sharing of several entrees. The Chorizo En Vivo was a chorizo sausage thinly sliced and simmered with olives in red wine. The bright acidity of the wine helped to cut through the richness of the spicy chorizo. A small dish, with the contents disappearing from the table within seconds. A bit too small for $14.00.

Chorizo En Vino – chorizo sausage simmered with olives in red wine

The Albondigas was an earthy, spicy dish comprising soft meatballs in a grilled tomato and chipotle salsa. This was a favourite.

Albondigas – Mexican meatballs, served simmering in grilled tomato and chipotle salsa

The last entree was a Guacamole A La Mesa – house made blue corn tortilla chips, and guacamole mixed at the table in front of our very eyes. Salt was provided to sprinkle in the guacamole and on the warm, crispy, glazed tortilla chips. At this stage it was a good start to the night.

Guacamole mixed at the table

Guacamole A La Mesa

Salt anyone?

House made tortilla chips

Mains

Ranga’s Quesadilla De Carne Asada was a spice rubbed steak, grilled then toasted with two cheeses in a folded flour tortilla. The tortillas were beautifully soft, and the steak mild and chewy but not tough. The complement of beans and greens made the dish an overall package… enough to fill the belly.

Quesadilla De Carne Asada – spice rubbed steak, grilled then toasted with two cheeses in a folded flour tortilla

Blondie’s Asado De Borrego was a smoked lamb shank braised in a chipotle broth. A squeeze of lime on top added an acidity that cut through the richness of this earthy, sweet messy delight. It was by far the best main. Blondie was so generous to offer us hombres some shank love.

Asado De Borrego – smoked lamb shank braised with chipotle

Lamb shank

Brownie, the token vegan for the night, dug into a Tamal De Frijol Nego, which was a steamed bread made from corn masa, stuffed with black beans and topped with salsa veracruzana (salsa of tomatoes, green olives, capers, thyme, and jalapeno). The bread, steamed in banana leaves, had a texture similar to cous cous or rice pudding. Likewise the beans were of a creamy consistency. The dish looked like a dog’s breakfast, however, the taste was there – it was nothing Brownie ever tried before.

Tamal De Frijol Negro – steamed bread made from corn masa, stuffed with black beans and topped with salsa veracruzana

My Pozole was a thick, hearty soup with shredded pork and hominy (boiled ground corn cereal). This was served with lettuce, coriander, radish, lime, and pico de gallo (salsa of tomato, onion, chilli, lime, and coriander). I was told to throw the salad into the hot soup so as to experience the “hot and cold” at the same time. The soup was actually very good – a mild, meaty stew, with a cool salad garnish that was very refreshing.

Pozole – thick, hearty main course soup with shredded pork and hominy. Served with lettuce, coriander, radish, lime, and pico de gallo

Lettuce, coriander, radish, lime, and pico de gallo

Pozole with salad mixed in

Desserts

Up to this point, we all felt satisfied – not too hungry, not too full. Everything built up to this point. Dessert! We ordered the Flan De Coco ($9.00), Sopapillas ($9.00), and two Churros ($12.00 each).

Ranga regrettably ordered the tropical flavoured coconut and caramel dessert called the Flan De Coco, wishing he had stuck with his first decision – the Churros. Ranga welcomed my spooning of his dessert. It was sweet, rich, creamy textured which I liked.

Flan De Coco – traditional Mexican dessert with coconut and caramel

Blondie’s Sopapillas were the bomb. These were essentially churros in chip form – puffed fried sweet dough – dusted with sugar, and drizzled with honey and pomegranate syrup. The last element was a dollop of vanilla ice cream on top. Calories galorie, oh yes! Ranga was very happy to dig into his partner, Blondie’s sopapillas – he wanted redemption!

Sopapillas – dessert style nachos with honey and pomegranate syrup

And last but not least, the Churros. They were cooked differently from the ones at San Churro Chocolateria, and I had feared they were slightly undercooked. However, I was wrong. The exteriors were slightly hard and crunchy, while the insides were as soft as a baby’s bum in whipped cream, requiring no monotonous chew to get through. I coddled my dessert unto the very end – those light feathery churros were dipped in warm chocolate sauce laying at the very bottom of the glass, and then stabbed into the cold, melting ice cream. A bit of an ice cream smear in the corner of my lip, and soft chew, and a delicious gulp to push the fried bready delight down. Good stuff.

Churros – house specialty. fried sweet dough, vanilla ice cream, chocolate dipping sauce

Afters

And if dessert wasn’t enough, Brownie and I ordered a Cafe De Olla ($4.00) each to cap off a wonderful meal. My Mexican spiced coffee was spilt on the way to the table, which was unfortunate. The coffee (Antz In Ya Pantz) was spiced with cinnamon, and given a stir of brown sugar. Brownie commented that it tasted like hot cross buns. We liked it, but it would not have been made the traditional way with real cinnamon sticks, orange zest, and brown sugar.

Cafe De Olla – Mexican spiced coffee

Our group thoroughly enjoyed our meals at That Little Mexican Place. It was an expensive dinner, but that was the price we paid for authenticity. The dishes were truly Mexican with heavy influences from Oxaca and Baja California and it was so welcoming to have something different for once! It just shows that Perth’s food industry has diversified over the last few years.

With that said, reviews across the Interwebs have been inconsistent – some like Tlmp, some don’t. Questions have arisen about the consistency of their cooking (i.e. overcooked, undercooked), bad setting, average service, etc. A week after my experience at Tlmp, a friend and his partner found their first dinner at the place to be unappealing. They chose the Chimichanga De Nopales (sauted cactus, mushroom, and chayote squash, rolled into a flour tortilla with mexican rice and beans, then baked), and the Chile En Nogada (Poblano chile stuffed with pork, tomato, apple, peach and pear, served with a walnut and sour cream sauce). They simply could not enjoy the “sweet and savoury”. On our very occasion, we were very lucky as we experienced fantastic service, and enjoyed some incredibly tasty food. We chose the dishes that appealed to us, and they were winners.

That Little Mexican Place
Address: 279 Albany Highway, Victoria Park
Tel: +61 8 9472 0767
Web: www.tlmp.com.au

Opening Hours:
Tuesday – Sunday (7:30am – 9:30pm)

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