By SGN | 11 Aug 2025
In 2014, Maribel Colmenares came to Singapore with a suitcase and a straightforward itinerary: to attend a friend’s wedding and watch the Formula 1 Grand Prix.
But during a jetlagged night scrolling through JobStreet, she stumbled upon a Global Sales role at ICIS, a company providing information for the petrochemical sector. She applied on a whim and decided to stay a little longer when she got the job.
One thing led to another. Work became a career, new friendships blossomed and. over time, Singapore began to feel like home.
Eventually, Maribel married the same friend who had invited her to the wedding — a Singaporean she had also studied with while studying for her Master’s degree in Melbourne. Today, they’re raising two “Mexiporean” children together.
As Maribel settled into her new life far from home, she found herself reminiscing the flavours she’d grown up with. A Puebla native, she held onto precious memories of long hours spent making tamales with her late mother.
Preparing tamales was how she kept her mother’s memory alive. Inspired by that love, she decided to open Mami’s Tamales.
The power of Mexican comfort food
Tamales, a staple dish in Mexico, brought Maribel immense joy and comfort, serving as a balm to her homesickness. Longing for the days she used to cook alongside her mother, she started preparing tamales in her own kitchen, sometimes making them for friends at dinner parties she’d host at home.
Little did she know that her sentimental gesture would grow into something magical.
Her friends couldn’t get enough of her tamales, and soon enough, the word about her cooking spread. At first, most requests for the traditional Mesoamerican dish came from fellow Latin Americans and Americans living in Singapore, which she’d entertain via WhatsApp.
“All of a sudden, Singaporeans, Europeans, and people from other communities were messaging me on WhatsApp, asking things like, ‘Can I get six tamales? And by the way, what exactly is a tamal?’” Maribel recalls with a smile.
That was when she realised her little side project had actual business potential. And so, she moved from juggling WhatsApp orders to building a proper website, all while holding down a full-time corporate job.
Maribel began making tamales in 2019 while working at Dagiz (now Market for Good). She later held senior roles at FalconCrest, Lifelong Learning Academy Group, and upGrad, all while building Mami’s Tamales on the side.
By day, Maribel held a demanding role as Director of Marketing and Partnerships at upGrad, a global education platform. She managed everything from corporate events to brand strategy and client engagement.
By night, she shifted gears, replying to orders on her commute, and then spending the night preparing and packing tamales. “Some days, I was so tired, I felt like I’d flatten out into a tortilla myself!” she jokes.
Her big break came in 2023, when she was invited to run a pop-up at Purple Agave, a Mexican cocktail bar and restaurant in Singapore.
“This was my chance to introduce tamales to Singaporeans,” she recalls. “People would often ask if it was like an otak (Southeast Asian steamed fish custard wrapped in banana leaf)!”
The pop-up was a resounding success, and soon after, Maribel was offered the opportunity to use the pop-up space for a lunch service. Finally, it felt like everything was falling into place.
But just as things were gaining momentum on the business front, she received the dreaded call from Mexico. Her father had taken ill. As she had already lost her mother in 2020, she didn’t want to take any chances. “I knew I couldn’t wait until ‘later’ to spend time with him,” she says.
And so, Maribel did the unthinkable: she quit her corporate job, flew home, and focused on family. Being back amidst familiar surroundings and routines in Mexico reminded her of what truly mattered.
By the time she returned to Singapore, Maribel was clear about what she wanted to do: she was going to turn her small tamales sideline into a proper business, with a space of its own.
“People thought I was crazy,” she says. “They asked things like, ‘Who’s going to eat tamales in Singapore?’ But that was exactly the reason to do it. If I was going to open a restaurant just like all the others, what was the point?’
Launching Mami’s Tamales in Singapore
Maribel knew instinctively it was time to take the leap of faith. But first, she needed the right space and the right people.
Enter Mauricio Espinoza, the founder of Mexican restaurant, Papi’s Tacos, and one of her most loyal customers. Over a casual meal of tamales, Maribel mentioned she was looking for a kitchen.
Mauricio paused for a moment, then said, “Well, I’ve got a bar just down the street, and I’ve been thinking of starting something new.”
And just like that, Mami’s Tamales was born.
The name of the restaurant was a cheeky nod to their partnership. “Mauricio’s restaurant’s slogan is ‘Papi knows best,’ so when I told him that ‘Well, Mami knows better,’ we both cracked up.”
What appeared as a light-hearted joke on the surface, had a surprisingly tender depth to it. In Spanish, “Mami” means mother, and thus the name was a tribute to the two women who had instilled in Maribel a love for food: her mother and grandmother.
“It was from them that I learnt how to cook, care, and demonstrate my love via food, by bringing people together around the table,” she says.
In early 2024, Maribel opened her first physical outlet, Tamales Mexicanos, at 33 Keong Saik Road, inside the space that used to be known as Purple Agave, now rebranded as 3 Delinquents.
Navigating Singapore’s F&B scene as a Mexican entrepreneur
Just like in her early pop-up days, one of Maribel’s biggest hurdles was introducing tamales to a crowd that had never grown up with them.
“Tamales aren’t at the forefront of the Singaporean culinary psyche,” she says. “People know tacos, maybe burritos, but tamales? That was new.”
Marketing a dish that didn’t exist in the local food vocabulary meant Maribel had to get creative. She started by handing out samples to friends, in the hopes that they’d take a shine to it.
“The first bite of a tamal can be a bit like a blind date,” she explains. “Some people fall head over heels straight away. They will ask, ‘Where has this been all my life?’ Others need a second or even a third helping, before they truly warm up to it.”
Introducing a dish unfamiliar to foreign audiences led to a few unexpectedly funny moments. “Some souls actually tried to eat the corn husks that cover the dough,” Maribel laughs. “They thought it was part of the dish.”
After incidents like these, she started labelling each tamal with a friendly reminder: peel before eating, just like a banana! Eventually, she made the switch to banana leaves, because most Singaporeans were familiar with their texture
“You see banana leaves in local dishes like nasi lemak (fragrant coconut rice dish) or otak, so it felt more intuitive,” she explains.
Eventually, she realised the best way to explain tamales was by drawing on contexts. “I started saying that they’re kind of like bak zhang (traditional Chinese rice dumplings), just with corn dough instead of glutinous rice,” she says.
“Once I said that, people would go ‘ohh!’ straight away. That made all the difference.”
But Maribel didn’t stop there. In a bid to make tamales more accessible, she began experimenting with familiar local flavours.
She swapped traditional Mexican fillings for things like chicken satay (skewered, grilled chicken marinated in a fragrant mix of spices and served with peanut sauce), rendang (rich, slow-cooked Indonesian-style beef stew), and even ayam sambal hijau (spicy Malay green chilli chicken).
“It’s kind of my way of saying, ‘Here’s something you know, wrapped in something new,’” she explains. “Turn out, people really appreciated the familiarity, even if it’s in an unfamiliar form!”
Maribel’s day in a life in Singapore
Maribel’s weekday mornings start in the kitchen, where she honours the spirit of her mother and grandmother with every tamal she makes.
When the weekend comes around, she enjoys family time with bike rides to East Coast Park. “It’s one of my favourite places in Singapore,” she says. “There’s nothing quite like the wind in your hair, children laughing beside you, and sand between your toes.”
Though her work revolves around food, Maribel never tires of Singapore’s culinary scene. She especially loves Indian cuisine. “I’m a big fan of malai kofta (potato and cottage cream dumplings), palak paneer (spinach with cheese), and masala dosai (spicy crepes). Give me those any day, plus a cup of masala chai (spiced tea) to finish!”
She also enjoys local favourites like chicken rice and cendol (sweet iced dessert with coconut milk and palm sugar). And when it comes to durian, she’s a rare foreigner who adores it. “The smell doesn’t put me off. To me, it’s kind of like a wild fruit party in your mouth.”
Living in Singapore has also brought Maribel face to face with some cultural differences. “Punctuality is a big one,” she explains. “Back in Mexico, ‘I’m on my way’ could mean anything from five minutes to an hour. Here, if you’re not five minutes early, you’re late.”
She’s also noticed how Singaporeans value personal space and are more reserved. “At home, we hug, kiss, and even strike up conversations with strangers in the queue for tacos. In Singapore, people tend to keep to themselves more.”
Over time, Maribel built a close social circle in Singapore. Her first friend was a Frenchman she met through the social platform Meetup. “We were both new here, and now our families are really close,” she shares warmly.
She also took part in events organised by Meetup and Singapore Global Network, which helped her connect with other like-minded individuals navigating life in a new country.
Friendships in Singapore, however, often come with goodbyes, as people move away for work or new adventures. “It’s bittersweet,” she admits. “But the bright side is that no matter where I travel, I know there’s someone to visit or share a meal with.”
A bright future wrapped in tamales
Maribel has big dreams for Mami’s Tamales.
She envisions the brand spreading to Shanghai, Seoul, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, and Tokyo. “We’ve already proven that tamales have a place in Southeast Asia. So why stop there?” she says.
“Right now, my focus is on ensuring this first outlet thrives. Once that foundation is strong, the world is wide open.”
For anyone hoping to share their culture through food, Maribel offers simple advice. “Start small and don’t wait for perfect conditions. You don’t need a fancy kitchen or slick branding. You just need passion, a good recipe and a willingness to learn. Treat feedback like gold and adjust as you go. The perfect moment rarely arrives, so take the leap.”
“There are always challenges, whether that’s navigating customs, sourcing ingredients, or explaining what masa (Spanish dough) is for the hundredth time. But if you keep your culture close and your standards high, you will find a way.”
“Cook with love, serve with soul.”
Meet Maribel
Maribel Colmenares is a Mexican food entrepreneur based in Singapore. She is the founder of Mami’s Tamales and brings authentic home-cooked Mexican flavours to the city’s vibrant food scene.
Connect with her here.
