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 :)

My return

Its like I fell off the face of Earth after I went to Vancouver. But, no, I was swamped with work once I returned from Vancouver! That was three months back!! Time flies when I am busy. Now, I am on a month break after all those hectic months.

What to do on one month of holiday?

1. I am still trying to meet my weight target which is not working as work was overwhelming till I was paying for gym but not going for the past months. Input of food was more than the ampunt of weight I was losing. Depressing but true!

2. Its good to know I am still on some ranking in the blogasphere. I have lost the urge and the want to take pictures of new food I have tried, no matter how amazing, because I knew I did not have time to blog about it. Now I can starr again, for a month at least!

3. Catching up with friends. No, I have not been in contact with old friends. Made new ones at work of course, but work was too much to bond!

4. Look for a house? Its a dream that will soon materialise :) I am proud I bought my own car. Now I need to feel house proud!

5. Lastly, tis the season to be jolly! New year resolutions are underway!

Greetings from Vancouver

I have been in Vancouver for two and a half weeks now. Weather is good- rarely cold. Too sunny sometimes. 

Food portion is too BIG! My plan of losing weight failed big time.

I havent been blogging for awhile because I thought this blogger app was not working anymore and also I have been busy with work. 

I found a job I loved so much that it feels amazing. Salary is good too ;)

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 :)

Magnum Gold- Be in a movie

All the hype about Magnum Gold. I visited their website and I ended up having my own trailer. Watch me here: http://gold.mymagnum.com/?gold=533089543d2f3

You can have your own trailer too! Kinda cool :)

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

Charity from the heart

Work has kept me busy. Suddenly, blogging time becomes minimal. I am doing things that are interesting and I am still exploring good food and places. It just takes more effort to post up something...

One new interesting project I have taken on is about Autism. Every parent hopes for a normal child. But, sometimes, a special child is born instead. A child who looks normal, but has a mind of his own. We read about autism, we have a general idea of what autism is. But, to give hands-on care for an autistic child is a whole different ball game. I call them special because they really are! Currently, I am learning and experiencing this project on weekends.

I care very much about children. Therefore helping children is what I have been doing since young and I will continue doing it for as long as I can. Many years ago, I did a small charity project for children infected with HIV. It was an eye opening experience.

My contribution is to children. What is yours?

New Year

Started getting too busy with work!

One things for sure, location matters.

Im working in a hospital in the city, making it easy to try a variety of food.

Say hello to Sushi Zanmai's yee sang. It is not your typical traditional yee sang. I wouldnt rave too much about Zanmai's yee sang. The authentic one is much better. But, just for a tiny celebration for fun with friends in a comfortable environment and cheap yummy sushi, Zanmai is worth it.

New Year resolution - Buy a car and house? :)

Flower power

A dozen roses for me.

Feels amazing to receive it and to wake up to it in the morning again. A simple gesture, a simple gift can brighten my day!

How I wish it will stay as beautiful forever :)

Je t'aime