Mexican Food with a Fine Dining Twist - Gabbi's Mexican Kitchen

Stumbled upon this Mexican restaurant close to the roundabout area in old town Orange. 

Never really ventured into Orange during dinner hours, it's actually quite happening here at night, with some live music playing in the background and pretty lighting throughout the area.

Please spare the grainy pictures since they were taken during evening hours with my iPhone.

It's not the typical Mexican joint where you can find tacos and burritos served by one of the family members. In fact, it's kind of a romantic place with professional servers and a fully equipped bar in the back. 

Not mentioning its trendy wall decor resembling the art work by Dale Chihuly on the ceiling of Bellagio Las Vegas -

There are also some large paintings on the wall -

We were situated in the corner right next to the bar. Small table but at a cozy area in the middle of the restaurant, a good place for people watching -

Very cool bar, makes me want to order a drink no matter what -

Colorful chips and salsa -

Menu (click for enlarged view) -

Valentine's Day special menu -

Entrée - 

Drinks menu -

Wine menu -

House margarita $8 -

White peach mojito $11 -

They also have other fun flavors such as guava and pomegranate.

From my memory that they don't serve regular water, otherwise I rarely order bottled water. Here's glass bottled Sole water for $6. I know. -

Ceviche Yucatan -

"Shrimp, mahi mahi, cara cara oranges, jalapeño, Persian cucumber, avocado, and chicharron."

Nice combination of seafood and cara cara oranges. The dressing is not too spicy with slight hint of fruity acidity.

Panuchos de yucatan $12 -

"Puffed tortillas, black beans, achiote pork, avocado, onion escabeche, and habanero salsa."

Refreshing flavors with crunches from the veggies and the tortillas. Fairly large portion for an appetizer. The habanero salsa on the side is deadly but addicting. 

Esencia de citricos $24 -

"Farmed striped bass, roasted asparagus, zucchini, cherry tomatoes, smoky chile arbol, and grilled Meyer lemon."

Nicely cooked fish. The natural sweetness from the vegetables shined through even more after grilling. 

Puerco poc-chuc $19 -

"Kurobuta pork loin, adobo achiote marinade, grilled onions, habanero salsa, platanos, and frijoles negros."

Always love eating cooked plantain with rice. Its sweetness works well with pork and black beans.

This dish also comes with tortillas.

Dessert, rosas y xocolatl $10 -

"Layered chocolate-raspberry cake, rose water custard, champagne sabayon, and sugar dusted flowers."

The description sounds way better than the actual taste. All the ingredients mentioned above didn't quite shine through, it is basically a chocolate cake with a few fancy touches.

Gabbi's is definitely a nice place to go if you're looking for a romantic meal, or simply searching for a chill place to have a drink or two. Food-wise, it has some hits and misses. It can't compare with authentic Mexican food packed with strong seasonings. Flavors are slightly toned down especially on the spicy ingredients used. However, Chef Gabbi Patrick (thus the restaurant name "Gabbi's Mexican Kitchen") put a few twists and created somewhat different kind of Mexican food. 

It all depends on what you are looking for from a meal, Gabbi's can be a charming place to start the night. I would love to come back again, sitting by the colonial style bar with a few munchies on the side.


Cindy's Rating: 6


Gabbi's Mexican Kitchen
141 South Glassell Street 
Orange, CA 92866
(714) 633-3038
http://www.gabbipatrick.com/

With Such High Quality Matsuzaka Pork, All You Need to Do is Sear Sear Sear!

You can always find frozen Matsuzaka/Matsusaka pork 松阪豬 in my household. This part of the meat is obtained from the sides of pig's neck, and one pig only yields two little pieces. The beautiful marbled fat on the meat tells it all. The texture is very tender and when cooked right, you can even tear the pork apart without chewing. 

My parents like to order large quantity of pre-sliced Matsuzaka pork directly from the vendor and stock up in the freezer. Usually we get thinly sliced Matsuzaka pork and mostly cooked in shabu shabu or quick stir fry styles. This time, they specifically asked for thick cut Matsuzaka pork and man...it was double the awesomeness. The meat is still very tender but also carries a nearly crunchy/chewy texture after searing. The fat is clean, crisp, and not greasy at all. With such high quality pork, all you need to do is sear, sear, and sear!

Seared Matsuzaka pork served with pepper salt mix -

Ingredients?

• 0.5 lb of thick cut Matsuzaka pork
• 1 lemon or 2 kumquat
• Some pepper salt mix (can be substitute with yuzukosho)

How?

Cut the Matsuzaka pork into 1 inch wide strips. Don't worry about the difficulties trying to bite into the pork after cooking. For such high fat content part of the pork, the meat can be easily separated with just a little force from the teeth. 

Use a grill pan and turn to medium high heat. There is no need to brush the pan with oil. Simply add in the pork slices and sear each side till slightly golden browned. Watch out for the heat during the process. If the fire is too low, the pork won't be able to cook through. If the fire is too high, you'll get the grill marks too soon while the center remains under-cooked.

Once ready, serve the seared pork with Taiwanese pepper salt mix 胡椒鹽 or Japanese yuzukosho 柚子胡椒. Also serve with few wedges of lemon or a better alternative - halved kumquat. *Kumquat matches well with Taiwanese pepper salt mix.

Perhaps with additional one or two bottles of beer?  

The grill marks helps bringing out the clean and meaty aroma from the pork. It also adds a slightly crunchy texture when biting into the tender meat. The acidity from the lemon wedges or kumquat also gives a refreshing citrusy finish to this simple dish. Not a bad side dish or appetizer choice in this hot and sweaty summer time.