Sweet, sour, a little bit of spice, a good mangonada upends the palates of noobies in a delightfully “confusing” way. (Mango Kings / Courtesy photo)
Walter Hernandez hails from Guatemala City, Guatemala. His wife, Elaine Oquendo, is from Humacao, Puerto Rico. They’ve been Orlandoans for a little more than a decade. And royalty for a couple of years.
Together, this couple owns Mango Kings, and when one of them hands you a mangonada (or some other bit of frosty perfection from their fruity menu) amid record-breaking temperatures, you’ll probably feel right about genuflecting.
[ Ask Amy Drew: What is chamoy? ]
“Mango is not just delicious by its flavor,” says Hernandez, “but it is rich in many nutrients — vitamins and minerals. It’s a delicious fruit to have year-round, but during the summer, eating it cools you down and refreshes you immediately.”
And with Orlando now squarely past the solstice and into the heat season, few treats hit the spot like the beautiful, multifaceted mangonada.
It’s a colorful creation, first created in Mexico, where tangy, sour chamoy — a condiment made with pickled fruit (its origins are Chinese) — is often paired with sweet, refreshing fruits and vegetables like watermelon, cucumber and yes, mango.
Hernandez and Oquendo began their journey toward mango monarchy with the idea of a wholesale business, but fate had something else in store.
Mango Kings’ mango flower is as delicious as it is photogenic — and a nice alternative to the mangonada, too. (Mango Kings / Courtesy photo)
“We visited the local farmers market and decided that instead, we could sell it direct to the consumer,” Hernandez explains. It began with the idea of their enticing mango flowers — precision-cut fruit that’s topped with different contrasting flavors like lime, salt, Tajin (a chili-lime powder) and chamoy.
Mango Kings — which you’ll find set up at the Winter Garden Farmers Market on Saturdays (8 a.m.-1 p.m.) and the Orlando Farmers Market on Sundays (10 a.m.-3 p.m.) — uses two types of mangoes: the ataulfo and the Kent, based on seasonality.
“The ataulfo is a yellow-golden mango with a pear shape,” says Hernandez. “It is the sweetest mango and has a smooth texture with buttery flesh — not a string or mango hair in sight. The Kent is more typical looking, red and green, with a texture that is very similar to the ataulfo — juicy and sweet and stringless.”
The enticing mango flowers came first.
You’ll find Gustito’s Helados y Raspados on Goldenrod Road, just off East Colonial Drive. (Amy Drew Thompson / Orlando Sentinel)
“Then we added a Puerto Rican touch to the business with piña coladas, then a mango colada variation.” Eventually, they put the mangonada on the menu and it’s one of their best-sellers.
“It’s the perfect addition because it’s the drink version of the mango flower — a mango smoothie with a touch of chamoy, Tajin and a splash of lime juice. It mixes the flavors of sweet, salty and a hint of spicy. It’s the perfect drink for a hot summer.”
Mango Kings is hardly the only game in town to sample the palate-upending flavor profile of the mangonada. Here are a few other options around the metro:
Mangonada. Chamoyada. Chamango. Whatever you call this sweet, salty, spicy concoction, it’s a potent cooler come the heat season. (Antojitos Locos / Courtesy photo)
Antojitos Locos: A staple in Winter Garden for some of the most eminently postable Mexican food in town, visit this joint when you want lunch and a heat-eradicating, hella sexy mangonada. (12890 W. Colonial Drive in Winter Garden, 321-396-1993; antojitoslocos.getsauce.com)
FrutaMix: Pulpy-perfect mangonadas and frosty Mexican bites including paletas, fresas con crema, raspados — not to mention tacos, tortas and more. (253 Ocoee Apopka Road in Ocoee, 407-614-0379; frutamix.com)
Limonyada and mangonada are two of the bestsellers at Gustito’s, especially when the weather gets super hot. (Amy Drew Thompson / Orlando Sentinel)
Gustitos Helados y Raspados: Oh, the joys of Gustitos, where the snacks can be savory (chicharron, anyone?) but the raspados come in flavors from pineapple to passion fruit to deliciously tart tamarind. And yes, there are chamoyadas! (1718 N. Goldenrod Road in Orlando, 321-247-5332; facebook.com/GustitosMangonadas)
La Michoacana: Cute little ice cream shop where you might find yourself conquered by the creamier temptations — or any number of other goodies — but the mangonada will never steer you from refreshment that’s somehow replenishing at the same time. (1745 Oak Ridge Road in Orlando, 407-420-7260)
Mango Kings: 407-307-5898; facebook.com/MangoKingsFL; instagram.com/mangokingsfl
Want to reach out? Find me on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram @amydroo or on the OSFoodie Instagram account @orlando.foodie. Email: amthompson@orlandosentinel.com. For more fun, join the Let’s Eat, Orlando Facebook group or follow @fun.things.orlando on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
Copyright © 2022, Orlando Sentinel
Copyright © 2022, Orlando Sentinel