Cha Cha Cha: Singapore’s oldest authentic Mexican restaurant that’s easy on the wallet and the stomach
Cha Cha Cha, located in Holland Village, has been at its current location for over 32 years, first opening its doors in 1990.
Despite being a frequenter of Holland Village, I’ve never actually tried Cha Cha Cha before, usually opting for cafe spaces instead. My companion, who is a Mexican food enthusiast, had been to Cha Cha Cha before and raved about the food there. Therefore, I decided to give it a try.
The restaurant itself is pretty unsuspecting, with the neon signage indicating where the restaurant was at.
The faded tentage has the restaurant’s name on it, and the restaurant itself looks extremely cosy and warm from the outside.
What I tried at Cha Cha Cha
Admittedly, I’m not the most well-versed when it comes to Mexican food, so my friend took the reins and ordered some dishes that I’d never thought I would try ever.
For starters, we got Sopa de Mariscos (S$8), which was actually a seafood soup with a tomato base. Within it were ingredients such as prawns, fish, and onions. I’d never thought to order soup at a Mexican restaurant, but this changed my view on soup. The tomato-ey base was not overly sweet and actually had a kick of spice which I enjoyed. The seafood within the soup was fresh, while the onions were cooked till translucent and were delicious to slurp up.
All in all, I will be ordering soup again the next time I come back to Cha Cha Cha.
Tequila Honey Wings (S$15) were coated with a layer of honey, which added a sweet touch. The tequila taste was not too strong, and was light on the tongue. Despite being lathered in honey sauce, the wings remained crispy and the chicken meat within was moist and full of flavour, which I appreciated.
For mains, we ordered Chimichangas with Pulled Pork (S$16). It was my first time eating this dish––– a deep fried tortilla wrap filled with cheese and pulled pork, topped with sour cream, guacamole and pico de gallo, also known as salsa.
To me, this was like an elevated burrito. The outer shell was crispy, and it was really delicious when accompanied by the tender pulled pork meat within the wrap and the cheese pulls. The sour cream and guacamole helped to cut through the greasiness and meatiness of the pork, and this dish was very quickly polished off.
We had to get the typical dish— tacos, so we opted for Flour Tortilla Tacos with Fish (S$16). I have to be honest, I’m a hard corn tortilla girl, but the staff recommended the flour tortilla so I decided to give the wrap a try. At first look, it may not look very appetising, but the flavours were out of this world.
In my head, I was picturing a slice of fried fish. Instead, the fish was soft and silky, and was complemented by the sourness of the lime and the tanginess of the onions and the salsa. It was like a flavour bomb in my mouth and it was simply delicious.
Do note that time is of the essence when it comes to this dish as there was a lot of juice, which completely doused the flour tortilla wraps, so be quick to avoid the tacos from getting overly soggy!
After a filling two appetisers and two main courses, we ordered Churros (S$8) to end the meal on a sweet note. I’ve eaten churros plenty of times before at theme parks, but the churros here were divine.
It came pretty hot, fresh out of the fryer. The outside was crispy, but within it were airy pockets of dough that were slightly salty. It was accompanied by a dark chocolate sauce that helped to marry the savoury dough strip with the velvety chocolate.
Final thoughts
As a broke student, I’d usually grab Stuff’d to-go especially when I need a quick fix, but trying the food here at Cha Cha Cha has made me realise that it is sometimes okay to sit down at slightly finer establishments and treat yourself to a delicious meal. A must-order at Cha Cha Cha would be the Chimichanga, as it was extremely filling and flavourful. For just S$16++, one will be able to get a fulfilling meal and enjoy the lovely ambience at the restaurant.
Expected damage: S$16 – S$20 per pax
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