Hidden away in a lovely villa along a tree-lined street is this Mexican delight, Shi Yingying reports.

Tucked along the phoenix tree-lined Yongjia Road in the former French Concession, Mi Tierra Mexican Restaurant & Taco Bar offers a taste of authentic Mexico inside a rambling and ornate whitewash villa built in 1927.

The moment you enter the villa, you'll feel as if you've arrived in Mexico, with traditional music, wild cactus plants, a beautiful garden terrace and the alluring smell of Mexican spices.

"Mi Tierra means 'my country' or 'my land' in Spanish and I wanted to create the feel of Mexico in Shanghai," said Oscar Bedolla, executive director of the restaurant.

The restaurant, which is owned and run by Mexicans, including a female Mexican chef, even takes care of the catering at the Expo's Mexico Pavilion.

Mi Tierra offers a staggering 60 different kinds of tequila, and its margaritas are a way to showcase what a little tequila and special flavors can do. Don't miss the frozen tamarind Margarita, with tiny hot red peppers on top. It's one of the restaurant's signature drinks.

Many of Mi Tierra's tastes are familiar to diners with a basic knowledge of Mexican cuisine. As they will tell you, a Mexican meal should always start off with a little guacamole. And at Mi Tierra, the dish has been improvised and perfected.

The guacamole, made of ripe avocados, chopped tomatoes, cilantro, onions and fresh jalapenos, could not have been simpler, or tastier. Combine it with a little red or green salsa and homemade corn chips and it's a delicious start to the meal.

Other appetizers, such as melted cheese on tortilla chips with chorizo sauce and handmade empanadas stuffed with chicken, are fresh and well executed, offering a quick walk through regional Mexican cuisines.

Moving on to main courses, the restaurant's taco bar offers an array of choices and concoctions. The warmed wheat tortillas and meat fillings make this section wildly popular, especially with mole sauce, an accompaniment to the tacos.

"Mole is a complex Mexican sauce that needs to be cooked for many hours," said chef Gabriela. "Even with the help of my assistant, it takes me a whole day to make the sauce."

The slowly simmered dark sauce contains dried chili peppers, sesame seeds, bread, chicken stock, chocolate and various spies. The result is a thick sauce that is rich, sweet, bitter and spicy.

The molcajete will sure to satisfy even the biggest appetite. Named after the container it is served in, the molcajete is a concoction of grilled beef and chicken fajitas, baby pork ribs, sausage, shrimps and vegetable brocheta, all served in a molcajete, the traditional Mexican version of the mortar and pestle tool.

"We use a traditional bowl made from the Mexican volcanic stone," said chef Gabriela. "The special thing about this dish is its sauce. And it's big enough to share with two to four people. It brings people at the table together."

For dessert, try the churros. These warm, long spirals of fried dough are delivered in blue pottery. The churros come with Mexican coffee, which it is sweetened with burned cinnamon and Kahlua, a Mexican coffee-flavored liqueur.

The romance of your Mexican getaway doesn't stop with the good food. The bill arrives with a red rose. Executive director Bedolla said it best: "Let's leave the bill for the man and rose for the woman."

Mi Tierra Mexican Restaurant & Taco Bar

17 Yongjia Road, near Maoming Road

021-5465-5837

Price range: Around 200 yuan per person

Opening hours:

Monday to Friday from 5 pm-10:30 pm

Saturday and Sunday open for brunch from 11 am. It closes at 10:30 pm