At in Sydney, you'll find red-white-and-green skewers: they're a tribute to the flags of Lebanon and Mexico. Both countries inspire the menu at this pop-up at The Rocks.
"Our motto is: bringing the best of both worlds," says chef Fransisca Setiawan, who runs the outdoor canteen with manager Shirin Topaloglu.
The back story of Libano Mexicano is quite multicultural: Setiawan grew up in Bandung, Indonesia, with a mother who ran a restaurant specialising in local . A cornerstone of the cuisine is fiery, fishy – which resembles Malaysian she says.
"A lot of the time we fight with Malaysians, claiming that it's ours and it's not theirs," the chef says, and laughs. She cites friendly battles between Indonesians and Malaysians over and as similar examples.
It's something that happens with many cuisines, where dishes and ingredients overlap, and Libano Mexicano's menu reflects this, too.
Topaloglu has Turkish roots and her partner is Lebanese, so she cooks a lot of Lebanese food for his family.
"A lot of Turkish and Lebanese cuisine syncs. They're quite similar, although they don't like to be called the same," says Setiawan.
At Libano Mexicano, you'll see this play out with the spinach and feta quesadillas.
"When people see spinach and feta, they straight away think of ," the chef says, referring to the popular Turkish staple, sold in kebab shops, food markets and festivals. At Libano Mexico, she takes that gözleme template and wraps it in tortillas. Queso fresco, mozzarella and tasty cheeses ooze through the grilled filling.
Our motto is: bringing the best of both worlds.
The Lebanese influence, meanwhile, is evident in the pop-up's version of guacamole: it's seasoned with za'atar and sumac and actually made out of hummus. Instead of corn chips, this dip is served with deep-fried pita bread.
If you're wondering how Setiawan and Topaloglu decided to open this multicultural taqueria, it's thanks to their time launching , and restaurants last year for the hospitality group. Each venue focused on a particular Mexican region – with Casa Merida exploring the Yucatán, for instance, while Londres 126 is named after artist Frida Kahlo's address in Mexico City. Afterwards, the women would get together with Topaloglu's partner and cook dinners influenced by his Lebanese heritage and the Mexican food they'd become so familiar with – and they realised there was something revelatory happening.
So cut to Libano Mexicano, which opened this month. Mexican staples are remixed with Middle Eastern flavours here: tacos are shaped from pita bread instead of traditional tortillas, and tostadas are flavoured with lamb in place of ceviche. "The idea is still Mexican," the chef says about the fried-to-order tostadas. You'll taste it in the bracing combination of chopped jalapeños and lime juice, which balances out the lamb and .
While the pop-up's menu mixes multicultural influences in novel ways, there is one Mexican dish with longstanding Middle Eastern roots that dates back to the early 1900s. comes from Lebanese migrants who brought their tradition of spit-roasting meats to Puebla. It began as a lamb shawarma taco, but was to become a pork filling that's flavoured with pineapple.
"We wanted to have al pastor on the menu, but [we don't] out of respect for the next-door taco place, which is called . They opened before us and we wanted to respect and appreciate that," Setiawan says. So Libano Mexicano pays tribute to tacos al pastor by riffing on the pineapple element. It does this by topping the chicken taco with pineapple-jalapeño salsa.
The lamb taco, meanwhile, has a tabbouleh salsa, and the spiced mushroom taco is hit with hot sauce and corn salsa.
This mixing of cuisines on the menu feels very Sydney: the marinated lamb and lemon garlic yoghurt chicken skewers gets its DNA from the Mexican tradition of , as well as the – the chef was influenced by her smoky visits to the month-long event, where she savoured the charred and grilled street foods on offer.
Libano Mexicano has attracted a diverse mix of diners so far. On the one hand, there are taco-aware guests who might need a quick lesson on zhug or other Middle Eastern staples. "A lot of people would come into the shop and say, 'what is?'" says Setiawan. "Tabbouleh is a big thing in Lebanese cuisine. So by that, I know that they don't know what Lebanese cuisine is like."
The idea is still Mexican.
Then there are people from the Lebanese community who visit on weekends, excited to try street food they're familiar with, while strolling through the historic area of The Rocks.
The chef has recently expanded the breakfast menu to include items like and egg rolls instead of the typical bacon and egg staple. "Our pop-up is halal," Setiawan says. It's one of many ways Libano Mexicano aims to be inclusive – from offering vegetarian options to presenting dish names that reflect the origins of the food. "We want to cater for everyone," she adds.
