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.

Expected AICPIN for Nov 2014 – Will the AICPIN rise?

Expected AICPIN for Nov 2014 – Will the AICPIN rise?

It looks as if there is scarcely any curiosity among Central Government employees to know about the next DA hike percentage. With just about everybody trying to predict the percentage hike, the topic has lost its novelty. Moreover, with DA increase not amounting to anything much, the curiosity to know has also nosedived.

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One Rank One Pension – Decision Expected in 1-2 Months

One Rank One Pension – Decision Expected in 1-2 Months

Much to the relief of nearly 25 lakh ex-servicemen, including 12 lakh soldiers who are protecting this sovereign nation, the final decision on the One Rank One Pension demand will be announced in a month or two.

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Will the National Council JCM get revived again?

Will the National Council JCM get revived again?

The Joint Consultative Machinery has always been a bridge between the Centre and its employees. The National Council JCM Secretary has written a letter to the Centre to conduct the NC-JCM meeting, which hasn’t been held in the past four years. Some of the important points mentioned in the letter are given below:

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No Decrease or Increase in Retirement Age – Centre clarifies

No Decrease or Increase in Retirement Age – Centre clarifies

No Plans to Reduce Retirement Age – Centre clarifies

The Centre has clarified in the Parliament that there are no plans to reduce the retirement age for Central Government employees. The Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh had said this via a written reply to a query in Rajya Sabha yesterday.

The Minister has already clarified that there are no plans to increase the retirement age to 62 in Rajya Sabha on 11th December 2014.

This puts to rest speculations that had been making the rounds for a number of weeks now.

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NC Staff Side JCM writes to Cabinet Secretary to convene a meeting of National Council JCM

NC Staff Side JCM writes to Cabinet Secretary to convene a meeting of National Council JCM

The procrastinated discussions in the National Anomaly Committee did not proceed to settle any tangible anomaly item. Even after reaching agreement, the government has refused to issue orders on some issues. This apart, the demands raised by the Staff Side for grant of Interim Relief and Merger of DA with Pay have been refused by the government. 

National Council Staff Side Secretary JCM writes to Cabinet Secretary to organize a JCM meeting. Reproduction of the letter is given below for your information…

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