Fresca Mexican Restaurant @ Avenue K

Fresca Mexican and Grill recently opened in Avenue K and it is located conveniently at the side entrance of the mall. It is connected to Dolly Dim Sum, which is a halal dim sum restaurant and I have been patronising it a couple of times because finally, there is a place to have dim sum for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I will write about Dolly Dim Sum on the next post.

My family and I decided to try Fresca as our Christmas lunch. Given that Dolly Dim Sum's quality was good, we had hope for Fresca too :)

Mum and I were famish upon arrival that we just grabbed the menu and started ordering. 

What we had:

Nachos Grande- 

It was so delicious because they were generous with the amount of melted cheese and warm nachos! It was much more satisfying eating it here than in Chillis and TGIF.

Mixed chicken and beef Fajitas -

It came with three pieces of fajitas wrap which I think was not enough. They should have given 5 pieces instead. Nevertheless, the chicken and beef was tender, juicy and tasty.

Alambre - Grilled beef tacos -

Tacos is always a must when eating at a Mexican restaurant. I had my first taco from Taco bell when I was in USA and I had another taco dish recently at Sunrise Tacos in Bangkok. Sunrise Tacos was amazing with their crispy corn tacos. The tacos in Fresca were soft and not the crispy kind. I prefer the crispy ones. Beef, I would stick to beef fajitas :)

We finished those three dishes before my brother and girlfriend arrived as we were so hungry. Second round of orders were necessary:

Beef Fajitas - My parents and I loved Fresca's beef fajitas so we recommended my brother to get that. True enough, he loved it but again, the dish could come with about five pieces of the fajitas wrap instead of just three pieces. I know there is an option to order more pieces but five pieces on the first order would have made the meal 100% satisfying.

Chicken Quesadilla - 

Another favourite dish to order in a Mexican restaurant. This was pretty good because there was enough cheese and the entire meal fit together really well. 

Churros with chocolate -

 We are still on the lookout for amazing churros we had in Disneyland USA! Unfortunately, the churros in Fresca did not make the cut. It was the oily kind like 'you tiao'. But dipping with the chocolate sauce helps give the sweetness. 

All in all, the food is good. I would go back for the Nachos Grande and Beef Fajitas. I would also try the burritos next time :)

La Risata @ Ampang

A nice, cosy restaurant I went to called La Risata, located near the Ampang Lake. Its an Italian restaurant. The ambience was very nice for a night out with friends and family. I liked that the restaurant was brightly littled and the ceiling was high so it didnt feel too stuffy or crowded. 

Opening hours for dinner was 6.30pm. I was there at 6.30pm and most of the tables were reserved already. Reservations were necessary. By the time it was 7.30pm, the crowd came and all the restaurant was full before I knew it. This was how popular La Risata was and It has been around for quite awhile.

Pizzas were one of their specialty. I was torned between their Christmas specials, pizza or pasta. In the end, I caved in on their lobster spaghetti, which was a bit too salty to my liking and the speaghetti was a tad soggy. I personally preferred the spaghetti at The Loaf, Pavillion.

For starters, we had garlic bruschetta. It lacked the strong garlic flavour.

Tiramisu to end the night. Not too bad.

I wouldn't go back there to try the same dishes. But I would return to try their pizza and meat dishes.

Sushi Tei @Setia Alam Mall

I never get bored of sushi and of late, I have been frequenting Sushi Tei more than Sushi Zanmai. I used to be crazy over Sushi Zanmai. In my opinion, Sushi Tei's menu has a different variety and taste better than Sushi Zanmai. With that being said, choosing the correct sushi branch is also important. I remember I once patronised Sushi Tei in Pavillion and I was not impressed by their salmon mentai sushi. But, Sushi Tei in Setia Alam Mall does it so well that it was always my first order when I sit down!

Below is a picture of my usual order of Salmon mentai and unagi sushi in Sushi Zanmai.

 

Once, I had Salmon Mentai sushi in Sushi King but I was not impressed at all.

Then theres the shrimp tempura in Sushi Tei which is much better than Zanmai in terms of tempura batter and crispiness.

Today was the first time I tried the cod fish mentaiyaki in Sushi Tei. It was very delicious.

Then, I also had the steak teriyaki. It was thinly sliced and tasty enough. But, I was really thirsty after eating it. 

Its worth making it a weekly affair :)

Samba Brazillian Buffet @ Avenue K

My cravings for good beef, lamb and seafood was satisfied with a trip to Samba in Avenue K. Samba is a new Brazillian buffet restaurant recently open at the 3rd Floor in Avenue K.

The 3rd floor is like a hidden treasure for food because you cannot see this floor from the Ground level. *thats why level 3 toilets are the best to use because its so clean!*

My usual haunts in Avenue K are the gym, Sushi Zanmai, MBG and the food court, Taste Enclave. Would you believe I have been having Sushi Zanmai on a weekly basis since it opened few months back.

Samba - quite expensive. Dinner cost rm100 and it does not include drinks. A glass of water cost rm15! For that buffet pricetag, it would be a once a tear occasion or once in a blue moon. 

The service was very good. The concept of the buffet- there were plenty of choices  on the buffet table ranging from cold seafood luke crabs, prawns, oysters and mussles, a variety of salad, fruits, desserts, soup, pasta, paella etc.

As for the meat like chicken, beef and lamb, a waiter comes around to your table to personally carve slices of meat of your choice for you. One slice may seem little and measly, but a combination of slices of meat was really filling. 

Ideally, this buffet is best to be eaten during dinner because too much meat makes us sleepy and you can spend plenty of time slowly enjoying the food. They also have an option for lunch buffet which consist of just meat, no sushi. Thats fine with me too coz the sushi did not really look good.

Overall, it was an enjoyable affair :)

Fresco, Jaya Grocer @ Intermark/ Double tree KL

I found out that I could go to Jaya Grocer in Intermark to buy fresh salmon or lamb or beef and have it cooked at Fresco. Fresco is a small restaurant located just outside the main entrance of Jaya Grocer. To get fresh salmon cooked on the spot With NO extra charges is a great deal!

Example: I buy a salmon from Jaya Grocer which cost rm21 and I get that exact portion cooked with no extra charge. We all know how measly portions in restaurants can be when it comes to serving salmon and lamb.

I also ordered something off the menu in Fresco - Aglio Oglio. It had beef bacon in it which was too salty to my liking but the spaghetti was reallllllly good.

This is my 2014 highly recommended place to have salmon and lamb and pasta :)

Bubba Gump Shrimp @ The Curve

Onion tower had too thick batter.

Bucket of fries, lobster, shrimp amd fish. Alll fried.

First time at Bubba Grump Shrimp and I regret choosing those two dishes because it was all fried stuff. But it did taste good if u r a fried food lover.

Mentaiko Spider Roll @ Sushi Zanmai

Sushi Zanmai is still my favourite restaurant for Japanese food! A must have - mentaiko spider roll

Expresso Lab Cafe @ Avenue K

Next to Urbean Cafe is Expresso Lab. It was my first time patronising that cafe. I actually left Urbean after my smoked salmon sandwich and as I passed expresson Lab, their tiramisu caught my eye. There was only one slice left and it looked like the Tiramisu from Alexis.

I gave it a go. RM12 per slice.

The verdict: Its still not up to Alexis standard. I do like that they put chocolate chips in between layers. 

The tiramisu from F by Buffalo Kitchens in  Telawi 3, Bangsar is better than Expresson Lab's.

Urbean Cafe @ Avenue K

The last time I was raving about the smoked salmon sandwich at Urbean Cafe in Avenue K. I just had some yesterday for the third time and it was still my favourite kind of meal. Their gourmet bread which is walnut bread topped with chives cream cheese makes it even more delicious.

My sister ordered Smoked Salmon linguini which was just as good. The pasta was cooked to perfection.

Another star for Urbean.

 Try their coffee too.

Urbean @ Avenue K

If you have not checked out Avenue K, you should. They have completely revamped the place and there are plenty more interesting shops than before. Previously, their concept was for the rich. Currently, the shops are more affordable such as Sushi Zanmai, Daiso, Nichii, H&M, FOS, Cotton On and others. Even their supermarket called Presto is not that expensive. 

There are a few restaurants located at the  Concourse level like Noodle Shack, Miso Korean BBQ, Expresso Lab, Old Chang Kee, The Loaf and Urbean.

I have tried Noodle Shack and Miso, but They were not to my liking.

Urbean's concept reminds me of Plan B. The menu is short and simple. I liked that they have smoked salmon in their menu at an affordable price.

Urbean's menu:

I had smoked salmon sandwich with their gourmet bread. Their gourmet bread was walnut bread. It was sooooo good omg that I gobbled up everything in a jiffy and I wanted more!! The layer of chives with cream cheese was amazing :)

I have been shopping at H n M more of late because of their buy 1 free 1 shirts which are good for gym.

F concept by Buffalo Kitchens, Bangsar

'F' is actually the name of the restaurant situated at the corner of Jalan Telawi 3 in Bangsar. It was located above Chawan. Its concept is by Buffalo Kitchens. When I walked into the restaurant, there was a shelf with pots and pans. I was told that Buffalo Kitchens was actually a brand for those pots and pans.

The restaurant has a smoking and non- smoking section. It is not a big restaurant. They have this open concept where at one glance you will see their open kitchen, bar and dining room.

We were seated at the corner closest to the kitchen which was not really an ideal place to be dining. This was because the hear from the kitchen affected us and there was no aircond at our section. Because the kitchen was an open concept, we could smell the frying, and we were sweating while eating. That was the not so enjoyable part of the night as we were stuffy and sweaty which thus made us feel tired after our meal. 

Nevertheless, their food was amazing! 12 people, 12 main dishes!! Their menu was unusual and their drink list was interesting too. A few drinks from the list made us laugh like 'Jade Dong Ding', 'Pussy foot', 'Naked Scot' and 'Long Black'. Their drinks menu:

F's food menu:

We started of with appetisers. I wanted to try their 'Duo of crabs' which was soft sell crab and fish cakes. But, because we intend to share the appetiser, the friendly waitress said it will not be enough. She suggested we get the tapas platter which came with a variety of meat such as smoked salmon, smoked duck, beef tataki, hummus, tiger prawns with romesco sauce, freshly baked sour dough, extra virgin olive oil, olives, almonds, grilled bell peppers and sea salt. We went ahead with the waitress suggestion and it was a good choice. Two orders of F's tapas set was good enough to share between all of us.

The funny thing was we were famished therefore we almost finished the meat before the bread came. The waitress was like, "You should stop eating because there was bread to go with the meat."

F TAPAS SET:

For our mains, each of us ordered different dishes. For pasta, we had a choice of angelhair, linguine, squidd ink

1. SOFT SHELL CRAB AND  SEAFOOD MISO CARBONARA

2. SMOKED DUCK BREAST ARBONARA

3. PAN SEARED BARRAMUNDI AND RICH SEAFOOD RISOTTO

4. BEFF TENDERLOIN WITH DUCK FAT POTATOES AND SNOW PEAS

5. OVEN ROASTED CHICKEN CHESTNUT ROULADE

6. FUSION CHICKEN ESCALOPE WITH SPICY WEDGES AND ARUGULA

Drinks:

For dessert:

APPLE CRUMBLE

HOMEMADE TIRAMISU - good stuff

CHOCOLATE BROWNIE ICE CREAM - freshly baked brownies. We were told to wait 20 minutes for it to be ready.

Despite the ambience being a let down, the food was perfectly cooked. Go back for the food, but choose your seats wisely ;)