i think the ownership of loro café has changed - it is now located away from the plaza, has a male owner and the menu is different. i really wish we could have eaten at the cafe under the ownership of marilyn because the food described in the other reviews sounds amazing!!! the pictures look great too. unfortunately, that is not what we encountered. this place is extremely hit or miss. we tried it twice and each time left feeling confused and disappointed.
the guero japchae with shrimp and the sweet and sour pork (brunch item, i got it on tortillas instead of a sandwich bun) was pretty good. the fusion of mexican and asian flavors really worked. the only issue was that both were swimming in their own sauces.
the problem was that the mexican/asian fusion quality was not consistent. my boyfriend got the hominy pozole ramen with bulgogi. he got it without the kimchi because he's allergic to fish, however, i don't think kimchi could have saved this dish. it was not good.
the broth tasted simultaneously nothing like any pozole i have ever had (to be fair i have primarily had the new mexican kind since i used to live in santa fe) nor like any ramen (this i feel is a fair criticism since i've eaten lots of ramen, vegan, vegetarian and meat based in the usa and japan). the flavors just didnt work. the broth was pale and flavorless. it tasted kind of like licorice and was sour. the noodles were soggy, limp and overcooked.
the bulgogi was flavorless. it did not taste like bulgogi. it honestly just looked like a plain piece of sautéed beef. i don't think it was marinated correctly or for enough time. it was not tender either. bulgogi is not a typical meat you put in ramen. even in korean soups i rarely see bulgogi as the meat. instead thinly sliced, sautéed beef or pork is used. the flavorful spicy broth is what also flavors the meat. if the chefs do not want to commit to the time intensive process of making chashu perhaps they can marinate their bulgogi longer or make their broths more flavorful and add in the thinly sliced meet while the soup is being heated.
the korean fried chicken sandwich we got the next day was soggy. there was no crunch, the chicken's breading was wet. i don't know how they did this. it was clearly not double fried. this is what ensures an amazing crispy crunch. this honestly tasted like a frozen chicken nugget that was reheated on a pan and sauce thrown on at the last minute. the sauce itself was solidly mediocre and forgettable.
the non alcoholic drinks were ok. the craft sodas were alright, the pink ginger soda is better than the mango lemonade. the smoothies taste artificially sweet, like there's no calorie sweetener in them. the taro latte is actually bad, don't get it.
to top it off, there was a long hair in my dish which is not great considering that this food is much more expensive than other restaurants in sayulita. the service is also really slow.
my biggest issue with this restaurant is that all of these food issues are easily fixable. there are so many free recipes, tutorial videos and resources online on how to make proper asian food. i know that these ingredients can be hard to find in mexico but i think local substitutes combined with some trips to the asian market in puerto vallarta and a few imported key ingredients could produce a good result. i don't understand why some of the dishes are so bad. i mean bulgogi can be made with diet coke, soy sauce, sugar, honey, green onion (or an equivalent allium- you can even leave this out), sesame oil and garlic. it doesn't have to be complicated and all of these ingredients can easily be found in mexico!!!
it honestly feels a disrespectful to asian cuisine because the chefs clearly could not be bothered to learn how to make the dishes correctly. don't call the beef bulgogi if it is not made or seasoned like bulgogi. at that point, you're just appropriating the name because asian foods are trendy now. if you cannot pay homage to the cultural origins of the dish and respectfully fuse them with mexican cuisine please don't bother.
some tutorials on how to make the dishes previously mentioned:
https://www.koreanbapsang.com/beef-doenjang-jjigae/
https://kimchimari.com/bulgogi-korean-beef-bbq/
https://www.justonecookbook.com/vegetarian-ramen/
https://futuredish.com/best-dakgangjeong-fried-chicken-recipe/ read more
