Sunrise from a stationary place. I realised that when I am walking the malecon with a group, something was missing in my moring. So I went back to my former habit of solitude while watching the sunrise and couting the many blessings in my life. It made for a sweeter day.
Do you see how the morning sun hits my chair perfectly?
I spent the morning writing and had a leftover lunch.
I disassembled the bacon wrapped jalepenos from the night before, making half a sandwich with crispy bacon and the gooey cheese from inside the pepper.
For dessert I halved a market mango and scooped it out into luscious bites.
I spent some time with Kelly and Lorraine under the palms at the beach. It was a hot one so Lorraine and I took a dip in the sea.
This was my only glimpse of sunset
That evening we cabbed it to the colonias for a fabulous dinner at a local family place.
These were just the condiments!The owners of Taqueria Mafer are on the right
To check out all of the wonderful food that we ate that evening, please follow this link. https://foodmusings.ca/isla-mujeres/isla-mujeres-2025-restaurant-features-taqueria-mafer/
It was like going back in time for all the reasons that I feel in love with the island in the first place.
Kath’s quote: “I know I am in love with you because my reality is finally better than my dreams.” — Dr Seuss
I think I can honestly say that I have never been as excited to try a new restaurant in Isla Mujeres as I was to try Yaakun. I am what you might call a food groupie. Having received formal culinary training myself, I truly appreciate the art of cooking. It takes a lot of discipline to hone your skills over years of learning and practicing. I went to college a very long time ago. I learned the basic skills I needed to cook in the restaurant industry. But I have learned so much more about food through my travels, research, and following the careers of other chefs. I take a special interest in the food of the Yucatan region, as it has a huge influence on the culinary scene in Quinta Roo, the state in which you find Isla Mujeres. A few years ago I was in Merida in the state on Yucatan where I tried lots of dishes for the first time. So imagine my surprise to learn that the menu of Yaakun, recently opened right here on the island, was created by award winning Merida Chef Obed Reyes. I’ve seen him on the Netflix show Taco Chronicles (season 2 episode 2 if you’re interested). He was talking about cochinta pibil, a dish I’ve enjoyed for years and often make at home. Looking at the menu he developed for Yaakun, it is clearly Yucatan. While it is down to earth, it is also immensely beautifully presented. Chef Reyes still lives and works in Merida, his restaurant there is called Holoch if you ever get a chance to visit, he has trained the team here to execute his vision to a tee. He was in town for the grand opening and I missed meeting him by one day. Maybe another time. Anyway, enough gushing. Let me tell you about Yaakun.
Situated on Juarez, across the street and just north of La Lomita. The building has a new facade but the footprint is the original family house of the grandmother of Nacio, one half of the restaurant’s creative team. He is married to Valerie, whose family home is just a short way down the block. Valerie pointed out some of the original features of Nacio’s family home that still remain, from the tile floor to some of the windows. She is quick to point out that all the design choices including the look of the logo, the menu, the serving vessels, are all Nacio.
She oversees the service end of the business and has brought on board a very experienced team, many of whom you will recognize as long time professional waiters.
As you enter the restaurant you’ll be in the bar area. A place for a nice drink and melow music. Looking at the liquor selection, you’ll likely see a wide variety of bottles you’ve not seen before. These artisanal libations were my first indication that this was going to be a special experience. But more about that later.
We started out in the dining room for lunch. A lovely space of dark wood furniture, sage green walls, and photography of Mayan subject matter. It was perfect for good conversation with my friend as we tried as many dishes as we could manage, knowing there would be incredible leftovers to enjoy the following day.
We selected three appetizers. First was the Longaniza de Valladolid. A smoked pork sausage made from scratch in-house and flavored with achiote and fire grilled. It is dry sausage which is to be enjoyed with chiltomate tomato sauce, bean sauce, and a grilled sour orange to squeeze over top.
Next was the Pibiuas, these crunchy little white bean and pumpkin seed cakes are halved and stuffed. We had two with cochonita pibil topped with pickled red onion and one with lomitos, a tomato and white bean pork stew with boiled egg. It is quickly becoming a house gem.
Our third appetizer was my favourite. Kibis is a fried beef and wheat meatball stuffed with Edam cheese. I loved the crispy edges of these flavour bombs.
I have to admit I accidentally ordered three appetizers because I misunderstood and thought they were out of the main I wanted to try, relleno negro. Not an easy item to find on menus on the island except perhaps a few Mom and Pop places. So I was delighted when it was brought to our table. For me this was the absolute highlight of our meal. I first had it in Merida where the meat was served on a salbute with slices of egg. Here, this turkey stew is served with fresh tortillas. Spices are blackened and ground to make the sauce. In the Yaakun version a pork meatball surrounds the boiled egg. Though it looks odd, it’s absolutely incredible.
It was a perfect afternoon. But we had yet to try one of the specialty cocktails that used those artisanal spirits I saw at the bar in the way in. Turns out there’s a bit of a secret cantina hidden in the back of the building. One of those “if you know, you know” things. We happened to be in time for an afternoon set with island musicians we have know for years.
So we enjoyed our cocktails as we were served small “botanas”, little bowls of simple Mexican tapas to complement your cocktail.
My friend ordered a Palo Monte. A pineapple, passion fruit drink with charanda tequila and gifiard banana liqueur, kalani coconut rum liqueur, and cinnamon. Like dessert in a glass.
I selected the namesake Yaakun. A show stopper of a drink in both presentation and taste. Pineapple and mango with Sokol, a liquor which is similar to tequila and mescal, it comes from Chihuahua and has a smooth smoky flavour. It was unique and refreshing. It is presented in a ceramic glass featuring the Mayan Jaguar mask. I will absolutely be back for a cocktail in the cantina. Rumour has it you can catch a salsa band later in the evening in the cantina space.
You may be wondering what Yaakun means. Well fittingly, it’s the Mayan word for love. And you can feel the love that went into the creation of every aspect of this place. The deep respect for the history of the home itself, honouring the cuisine of the region, carrying on the tradition of a back room cantina, and the love of Valerie and Nacio’s big island family.
Kath’s quote: “Family is not an important thing. It’s everything.” –Michael J. Fox
I enjoyed the rising sun while walking the malecon. A new friend of an old friend intercepted me on my morning walk.
She stays in a wonderful place that has private bedrooms and washrooms but communal living spaces. I was enthralled.
Birds on a wire…One of these is not like the other one…..Laundry day in the hoodI was still eating breakfast out of a coffee cup.The street where I live
Isn’t it freaky how close to the shore the boats go by on Centro Beach?
After lunch I joined Kelly and Lorriane for some beach time.
By this time it had clouded over but it is my favourite place to visit them. I walked to Hortencia’s to get a dress made from fabric that I was gifted at home. I had a lovely catch up with her daughters Sarah and Marie-Cruz.
I almost missed the sunset as I walked to a Hidalgo restaurant to meet Sue.
Isn’t my sister beautiful?
We had a delicious supper at Adelitas on Hidalgo. For all the details, check out: https://foodmusings.ca/uncategorized/isla-mujeres-2025-restaurant-features-la-adelita-by-sister-sue/
I love people watching and see so many faces that I recognize from my 20 years of visits.
One of my favourite Margaritas at Adelita’s is called Mango Aquacate. It has avocado in it.
The island has changed but the hearts of the persons who I love here, have not.
Kath’s quote: “Have a heart that never hardens, and a temper that never tires, and a touch that never hurts”. Charles Dickens
That day, I vowed to make a new start of island life and I was successful with only one blip (that I am not going to go into detail on). I walked the Malecon with the gang. I find that the morning colours of the sky are always different.
I also love the little glimpses of life from the Malecon.
I begin my walk by walking past these 3 buildings to the ocean
Also notice how non-busy the streets are early in the morning. I attended Isla Church with Pastor Ken which I always love.
I then whiled away the afternoon under the palms at Centro beach sharing a lasagna lunch. Here’s a blog link for all of the delicious details. https://foodmusings.ca/uncategorized/isla-mujeres-2025-restaurant-features-il-pompodorino-by-sister-sue/
Sue and I took a cab to the middle of the island to join in on an a fabulous cooking class. Check out the authentic wooden tortilla press. Please follow this blog link to read all about it. I will admit, I was the lousiest tortilla maker. https://foodmusings.ca/isla-mujeres/isla-mujeres-2025-restaurant-features-hala-ken-authentic-mexican-food/
Sun, food, family and new friends. The day could only be more perfect if D were here with me.
Kath’s quote: “Food, to a large extent, is what holds a society together, and eating is closely linked to deep spiritual experiences.” – Peter Farb
The alarm woke me up at 630 which I had planned (believe it or not). I had joined a group of Malecon walkers so that I could kick off my day and enjoy the sunrise while in motion. It also made my first cup of coffee taste that much better. It was tempting to plop back into the hammock but the sun was peaking onto the edge of our balcony so I set up my chair in the sun
and Donna and Sue kept me company. Our landlord was coming to collect the rent and when we couldn’t agree on an exchange rate, she insisted on pesos. So I headed to the money exchange to collect some. Unfortunately, I didn’t think to take my passport, so I had to repeat the trip. I owe my husband Doug an apology about not obtaining pesos in the first place.
Anyhow, with all this back and forth, I was hungry. So I fixed myself my favourite Isla sandwich of cucumber, cilantro and lime mayo. Once I was re-energized, it was to “work” -writing an Isla Restaurant Feature from the evening before. I had no end of technical hassles.
In the midst of this I bought a cookie to have with tea and a delicious piece of carrot cake for dessert. I guess you can tell that I am a stress eater. Both were scrumptious but didn’t fix the source of my stress. I walked to Hidalgo and paid a visit to Kelly and Lorraine to pick up a frozen pizza that they had purchased for my supper, as our prearranged restaurant visits for the day hadn’t panned out.
This was how stressed I was…
I was kinda frustrated with all of this, so I made myself take a “timeout” in the hammock.
The start of sunset from my balcony.
After supper I felt much better so Donna and I walked to the beach to take in a cloudy sunset. Kelly and Lorraine joined us for our evening walk up and down Hidalgo. I have to remember…walking helps me cope, eating doesn’t.
Kath’s quote: “You can’t stop the waves, but you can learn to surf.” —Jon Kabat-Zinn
