Halal Mexican food on KL street

Muhammad Hafiy (left) and Ilham at the food truck in Jalan Ampang.

MEXICAN food has always been a rarity in Malaysia compared with other cuisines.

But if you are in Kuala Lumpur city centre, you can get a taste of it at Babarittos food truck.

Babarittos – a halal Mexican fast food chain that operates from food trucks located in Kuala Lumpur, Melaka, Johor Baru, various places in Kelantan and Serdang in Selangor – has 21 “branches” in total.

Its main truck, managed by chef Ilham Hazim, has been operating for two months now.

You can find the truck at Sembang Matic – a space for food trucks – at the Malaysian Tourism Centre in Jalan Ampang, Kuala Lumpur.

They get about 100 to 200 customers every day, comprising tourists, families and the younger generation.

Crowd favourites include burrito and quesadilla which are warm tortilla filled with or wrapped around their choice of meat (beef, chicken or lamb) served with lettuce and a sauce (mayonnaise, chilli or cheese).

Crowd favourites include (clockwise from top) nachos, burrito and quesadilla.

Mouth-watering options include grilled chicken, butter chicken, green chilli chicken, spicy lamb stew, grilled lamb, blackpepper beef, pulled black beef and sirloin cheese steak.

Nachos is another popular item. The crunchy tortilla chips served with shredded lettuce and drizzled in a thick cheesy sauce make a very satisfying snack.

“Baba John” (Babarittos’ speciality sandwich), cheese burgers and fries are some of the other menu items available.

A la carte dishes are priced from RM10 to RM16 while party boxes, which are sets combining various menu items, are priced from RM50 to RM68.

Each dish usually takes less than five minutes to prepare so customers don’t have to wait long.

Babarittos owner Muhammad Hafiy Mughnie Amran, who learned how to cook Mexican food from his father, said: “Babarittos is unique because it is hard to find Mexican street food in Malaysia.

“That’s why we decided to sell Mexican food, which also caters to Malaysian taste buds.”

In 2013, Babarittos opened its headquarters in Setapak, Jalan Genting Klang, Kuala Lumpur. It receives orders only via online and delivers the food to customers’ doorsteps.

Babarittos’ opening hours are from 6pm to midnight on weekdays and 6pm to 1am on weekends.

For details, visit its Instagram account, @babarittosmy.