When: January 2013
Food: Mexican
Rating: 6/10
When it comes to world cuisines, there are huge gaps in my
paltry knowledge, and one of those black holes is Mexican food. It always seems
wonderful – spicy, meaty creations that are wrapped and eaten messily with lots
of cheese and sour cream – and so I was delighted to get the chance to visit
Fresca Mexican Kitchen and Bar and become better acquainted with this awesome
cuisine in a lovely place.
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| Flashy enough for The Gardens, cosy enough to feel at home |
Occupying a neat, ground floor lot in the swanky The Gardens
Mall, Fresca has a neat, stylish interior to match, yet still manages to bring
in the back-to-basics feel with the wooden partitions, walls, and tables, tiled
floors, and brilliant splashes of colour, not to mention the sombreros hanging
on the wall.
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| It wouldn't be right without sombreros! |
A long bar swims through the centre, and diners can choose a
table outside by the street or a cosy corner inside from which to make their dip
into the land of the enchilada. This is sure to be a popular place with
drinkers as the menu offers a seriously good selection of cocktails (RM27 each)
alongside plenty of wines and beers, but there is much to keep the eaters happy
too.
Choose between botanas
– platters that are perfect for sharing – or soups and salads to begin
proceedings, and then move on to the tortilla-based dishes, where meats
(chicken or beef) are stuffed inside various bready-based things (enchiladas,
fajitas, quesadillas, or burritos) and served with a range of sides, including
Mexican rice, refried beans, and the good old guacamole.
Smooth as a millpond, the Cauliflower Soup demanded serious mixing to prevent diners (like me) taking a huge spoonful of what appeared to be pickled jalapeno peppers that sat in the centre. Once mixed and swirled, the hot punch brought the earthy soup to life, while a triangle of crisped, oil and herb-coated bread was a lovely mopping up pal.
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| Lots of choice...I want to come back and try it all! |
The meal I was to join was a set, three-coursa, and we began
with a Cauliflower Soup (RM15). Never has a name of a dish been so useless at
capturing the experience of eating the food – this is so much more than a soup
made of that rather uninspiring vegetable!
 |
| Surpisingly spicy Cauliflower Soup |
Smooth as a millpond, the Cauliflower Soup demanded serious mixing to prevent diners (like me) taking a huge spoonful of what appeared to be pickled jalapeno peppers that sat in the centre. Once mixed and swirled, the hot punch brought the earthy soup to life, while a triangle of crisped, oil and herb-coated bread was a lovely mopping up pal.
Two options for the main course were offered, and I had
picked the Pescado a la Veracruzana (RM39)
– one of the more stew-like dishes on the main menu – that proved to be a piece
of pan-fried fish daubed in an excellent and filling tomato, onion, and
jalapeno chill sauce that was dotted with olives and capers for a dash of
sourness.
The staff, in fact, were excellent and very attentive, and
it was great to meet the young lady who manages this restaurant with the
elegance of a swan, despite having no experience in F&B. “My sister works
in F&B so she has helped me,” Lim Meng Jan, the owner and manager, explains,
“and we both love Mexican food and there aren’t that many restaurant around.
It’s been great!” she adds, breezily.
While the amount of diners in the restaurant that night is the reason for the sloppy beef plate, there was enough zing in the flavours, enough tempting choice on the menu, to make me return, especially to have a taste of the fajitas that went sizzling to a table nearby. I need to further educate my palate in the wonderful ways of Mexican eating!
Fresca Mexican
Kitchen and Bar
The Gardens Mall
Mid Valley City
59200 Kuala Lumpur
03.2201 2893
www.facebook.ocom/frescabar
Open: daily 11am-11pm (closes 12.30am on Friday and Saturday)
Pork-free
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| Pan-fried Fish was a generous portion with lovely sauce |
A heap of white rice and a deep-fried zucchini added some
textural difference and sauce-mopping assistance, and this plateful proved to
be hearty and satisfying.
The other choice had been the Carne Asada (Mexican Steak Platter RM54), which presented a decent
grilled tenderloin alongside some flavoursome red rice, a blob of refried
beans, a pile of fried onions, and two rather squashed enchiladas verdes topped with
cheese.
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| The Carne Asada was large but a little dry |
It looked, if I am honest, rather like it had been splatted
onto the plate and was served a little too cold, but the flavours were
satisfying enough. The meat was a little tough, but we could forgive that
considering the staff did a stellar job at serving 50 seated diners on a busy
evening.
The staff, in fact, were excellent and very attentive, and
it was great to meet the young lady who manages this restaurant with the
elegance of a swan, despite having no experience in F&B. “My sister works
in F&B so she has helped me,” Lim Meng Jan, the owner and manager, explains,
“and we both love Mexican food and there aren’t that many restaurant around.
It’s been great!” she adds, breezily.
For a local restaurant run and managed by locals, Fresca
manages to bring a real, authentic Mexican vibe, which extended into our final
course of Flan de la Casa (RM14), a
smooth mound of Mexican crème caramel that tasted like treacly-custard and had
a texture that seemed to ooze effortlessly down the throat.
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| Crème Caramel the Mexican way - custardy comfort! |
A neat basket (made
of tortillas I think) held fresh, sweet fruit daubed in cream for some lighter
accompaniment, and it was a delightful way to round off an evening.
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| Flan de la Casa - A lovely light dessert |
While the amount of diners in the restaurant that night is the reason for the sloppy beef plate, there was enough zing in the flavours, enough tempting choice on the menu, to make me return, especially to have a taste of the fajitas that went sizzling to a table nearby. I need to further educate my palate in the wonderful ways of Mexican eating!
The Gardens Mall
Mid Valley City
59200 Kuala Lumpur
03.2201 2893
www.facebook.ocom/frescabar
Open: daily 11am-11pm (closes 12.30am on Friday and Saturday)
Pork-free
ooh, a spiced-up cauliflower soup! that could tantalize me into ordering it. i usually shun cauliflower soup in favor of the pumpkin variety, but i guess this place proves that it's very possible to have a cauliflower soup that's pretty interesting :D
ReplyDeleteI would love to try out the cauliflower soup!!! I bet it'll taste wonderful! ;P
ReplyDeleteI've been there, i love the extension list of cocktail and mocktail that they have to offer..!;P