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Some months back my desk was moved back to the main office at KLCC, which translate to more opportunity in checking out the recently revamped Avenue K that is placing more emphasis to the food seeking crowd.

One of the restaurants that always seem to have a long queue during lunch time is Fresca on the ground floor, so we decided to check it out.

Fresca Mexican Cuisine at Avenue K

The premise that houses Fresca Mexican Cuisine also has another section occupied by Dolly dimsum, I thought that’s a bit of a strange arrangement, but it seems to be working well for the restaurant.

Ambiance is great with tall and wide windows, and the segment of glass roof also add in to provide great lighting condition for the restaurant. I really like it.

tortilla chips & tapas, love the jalapenos

For five of us, we started out with some tortilla chips with guagomole (RM 20), those fattening avacado sauce and freshly fried tortilla proved to be a good appetizer, though beer would really be great in this instance.

What’s Mexican cuisine without some tapas? We had Jalapeno Poppers (RM 17), Hongos Rellenos (RM 20, portobello mushroom with eggplant),  and Camarones (RM23, sauteed prawn tacos).

While they aren’t exactly “economical” in pricing, these were very good side dishes, I particularly love the jalapeno poppers with the aroma of the Mexican green pepper and the juiciness of minced beef with those crispy shell. It was great.

beef fajitas & cordero a la tamarindo (rack of lamb)

Like most Mexican restaurants, there are a few usual suspects when it comes to main dishes. There’s enchaladas, burritos, fajitas, quesadillas, and a few other typical items in the menu. Many of these dishes come with options of chicken or beef as well.

We tried Beef Fenderloin Fajitas (RM 47) that came in sizzling hot plate, the meat was tender and juicy, with condiments that did not disappoint. However, do order some extra pita bread if you’re sharing this dish though.

Cordero a la Tamarindo, or rack of lamb (RM 63) is the highest priced item on their menu, but also one that satisfied our collective palates. The lamb was succulent and the marinade spot on.

camaraones – sauteed prawn tacos, pollo a la parrilla (grilled chicken)

For those seeking something slightly closer to our Asian tastes, Pollo a la Parilla (RM 34, grilled chicken) would not be a bad choice. There’s plenty of rice and the rather tasty poultry that’s marinated with their house special marinate.

Kelly, Sheng, Latha, Joyce, KY

Food at Fresca did not disappoint at all, though pricing is a little on the high side, but considering the ambiance, location, and quality of food you get, it is not a bad place to visit at all.

By the way, don’t waste your time with their churros (RM 15), it was a disappointment.

Address:
Fresca
Ground Floor,
Avenue K, 156, Jln Ampang,
50450 KL
GPS: 3.159210, 101.713538
Tel: 03-2201 2893

It’s funny how sometimes the restaurants closest to us is the one that manage to miss from the radar screen while we seek out for others located miles away that offers similar food.

Such is the case for Hoe Fong chicken rice at Seapark that offers a version of chicken rice very similar to the stall under the tree at Segambut and Jiang He at Imbi.

Hoe Fong chicken rice at Seapark

Hoe Fong is located at Seapark opposite the morning market and offers a version of chicken rice that is unlike the usual. Instead of steamed and roast chicken, they have the chicken deep fried in boiling hot cooking oil and then serve with a few slices of cucumber.

A plate of chicken rice is RM 6.50 and comes with rice and soup as well as chili paste and minced ginger as condiments. A popular thing to do is adding dark soya sauce on the aromatic rice.

deep fried chicken is delicious, and don’t forget to order the Penang loh bak

Hoe Fong also happen to serve Penang loh bak that turned out to be one of the better versions I tried in Klang Valley. If you’re a fan of loh bak, you should really give this a try.

Address:
Restoran Hoe Fong Chicken Rice
Jalan 21/17
Sea Park
46300 Petaling Jaya, Selangor
GPS: 3.109911, 101.622097
Tel: 016-276 1472
Hours: lunch

One day while trying to find something new to eat, we chanced upon Chu Cha Dan Fan (粗茶淡饭) at Seksyen 14, a restaurant that I’ve noticed for quite a while but somehow never manage to try. Looking at the menu posted at the stairway leading up to the restaurant, my buddy Horng immediately agreed to give it a try.

Chu Cha Dan Fan is one of the very few restaurants in Klang Valley that offers Hunan dishes, and since Horng spent a few years working in China, he was keen to relive the taste of some of those dishes.

Chu Cha Dan Fan at PJ Seksyen 14, or in English, humble food

粗茶淡饭 literally translate to “rough tea and bland rice”, or humble food.

So prior to looking at the menu, I initially thought that this is perhaps a place offering comfort food like porridge or tongsui. As it turned out, they have quite an extensive Hunan dishes instead. I think they can really use a line of description on their signboard outside.

The look of the restaurant though, really exudes that “humble food” name, there isn’t any decoration to speak of, but it was pretty clean and air conditioned.

all three dishes turned out to be spicy, in a good way

Since there were only 3 of us, we ordered 3 classic Hunan dishes for dinner – Mala chicken (辣子雞 RM 16), Hunan skewered prawns (串烧虾 RM 28), and dry fried green beans (乾煸四季豆 RM 10).

All three dishes turned out to be more than decent. While Horng commented that the mala chicken was not as aromatic as he’d like them to be, I found them to be delicious with the right amount of mild spicy numbing feel.

Our favorite was the shrimp on skewer, spicy, crunchy, and full of flavor, you can actually eat the whole thing with shells and all. The green beans weren’t bad either.

love the prawn, even though Yuki was trying to avoid spicy food that night

Overall it was a pretty pleasant dinner, we should go back there again with a few more people so that we can order more. I’ve heard that they also offer simple set lunches for the office crowd as well, so do give it a try.

Address:
Chu Cha Dan Fan
No. 6A-2, Jalan 14/20
Seksyen 14, 46100 Petaling Jaya
Selangor
GPS: 3.109763, 101.635860
Hours: Open for lunch and dinner

A couple weekends ago Haze and I spent a better part of our afternoon reorganising the kitchen, throwing out expired stuff, rearranging condiments, sauces, and figuring out where is the optimum places to put pots and pans.

After all the hard work, I had to test run the new and improved cooking environment, so I thought I’d try my hands on a homemade roast chicken.

This recipe is inspired by the version of roast chicken at Graze KL Hilton I tried last year.

the ingredients – chicken, root vegetables, thyme & rosemary

The three basic ingredients are chicken, root vegetables, and herbs. You also need an oven, and I strongly recommend having a thermometer to check if the chicken’s cooked too.

Ingredients (for 2 pax):

• half chicken, leave the skin on
• potato, carrot, leek, mushroom (you can mix and match, chop to bite size)
• garlic (cut off the top or bottom)
• fresh thyme and rosemary
• salt and pepper for seasoning
• half a cup of olive oil
• 2 cups of stock or broth (water is a viable option too, I used leftover soup)

cut vege, arrange chicken, simple

preparation:

• pre-heat oven to 175 Celcius
• apply generous amount of salt and pepper on both sides of chicken
• pour some olive oil baking pan (or in my case, an oven safe pan)
• put herbs on both sides of chicken
• arrange vegetable and garlic bulb around the chicken
• pour the remaining olive oil on chicken and vegetable
• pour 1 cup of stock/broth in the mix

internal temperature must be over 75 Celsius

baking/roasting instructions:

• place the chicken in oven for a total of 50 minutes (70-80 minutes for whole chicken)
• after 20 minutes, baste the chicken and vegetable with remaining broth at every 10 minute interval
• chicken is done after 50 minutes, internal temperature of meat should exceed 75 Celsius
• Carve the chicken and serve!

the result is a success, might try crispy skin style next time

The result is a pretty delicious roast chicken that’s rather tender, there are also enough side dishes to make a complete meal as well. If you include leek in the mix, consider putting it under the chicken to prevent them being burnt.

Oh, the garlic turned out great, if you love garlic, consider putting more than one bulb.

Try it yourself at home, bon appétit! Click for more simple recipes from yours truly.

It’s been a while since I last made a recipe entry to this blog. I’ve recently started cooking again, trying to make it at least once a week, reminding myself there’s a reason why the kitchen was renovated a couple years back.

This very simple soya sauce chicken recipe was taught to me by Haze’s aunt, who cooked for us a couple weeks back. If you get it right, and it’s easy to get it right, the resulting chicken is tender, juicy, and absolutely delightful to go with steamed rice. I recommend having sambal balacan as the accompanying condiment.

chicken, Chinese cooking wine, cooking oil, soya sauce

In this example, I only used two quarter chicken (thighs) because it was only for Haze and myself. The original recipe calls for a whole chicken. Increase the portion of ingredients appropriately.

Ingredients:

• 2 x chicken thigh with leg piece
• 1/3 cup Chinese wine (1 cup for whole chicken)
• 1/3 cup cooking oil
• 1/3 cup soya sauce
• 1 teaspoon starch (windmill brand)

soya sauce chicken, easy to prepare and delicious to eat

Cooking instructions:

• put chicken in a pot or wok with lit
• add Chinese wine, soya sauce, and oil
• simmer in low fire with lit closed, turn over the chicken every 10 minutes for 40 minutes, add some water if liquid gets too low
• cut the chicken and placed on a plate
• add starch into the remaining sauce and stir for a minute
• pour sauce on chicken
• success!

More recipes can be found under KY Cooks category. Enjoy and happy cooking!