Fresca Mexican Kitchen & Bar @ The Gardens, KL

Being a great fan of Mexican food, I literally dragged JS to The Gardens when I learned of the existence of a new Mexican restaurant. It definitely looks more upscale than Frontera so expect the price to be on the higher side too.

     

Rustic decor

   

Exterior

 
Fresca is located at the central part of the lobby, across Han Room, and I would think it is quite a secluded location because people hardly venture to that part of the mall.

     

Love the blue tiles!

      

Simple setting

   
I find the hexagonal glasses quite unique, don't you agree?

    

Menu

  

     

Chicken and Onion Quesadillas (RM 28)

 
To be honest, the Chicken and Onion Quesadillas was nothing to shout about. The filling was not as much as we expected and they were really just average-tasting. It came with tomato salsa, refried beans and guacamole. The refried beans was alright but I much prefer the texture of those by Frontera. I love the salsa but it's such a shame Fresca does not provide refills. The guacamole was tasteless but I'm not sure if it's supposed to taste like that?

    

Tacos Alambre (RM 18)

 
The Tacos Alambre with roast beef shreds and crispy bacon drizzled with sour cream was really good. The spicy poblano chiles added a good kick to the overall flavour.

     

Tacos Ensenada (RM 19)

 
The Tacos Ensenada is highly recommended. Warm but soft tortilla enveloping a fried beer-battered fish and topped with creamy coleslaw, the combination is just perfect. The warm crunchy fish and cold coleslaw complement each other really well. The black sticky piquant sauce next to it enhanced the overall flavour - unfortunately I could not make out what it is made from.
 
Both the Tacos Alambre and Tacos Ensenada come in sets of three but if you think that it can be a meal on its own, think again. The tacos are quite small in size - the teaspoon itself is smaller than usual. Guys with larger mouths can probably pop the entire taco in and most people can probably finish it in 3 bites.
 
Fresca is a nice place to chill after a long hard day's work but the portions are comparatively smaller for the price listed. I for one, doubt I will return unless some friend begs to try the fare here.

    

 
PawPoints: 3 Paws
Pawket: Tomato
    
Fresca Mexican Kitchen & Bar
Lot G-242A, Ground Floor
The Gardens
Tel: 03 2201 2893
Sun - Thu: 11am - 11pm
Fri - Sat: 11am - 12.30am

Wahaca @ Chandos Place, London

I don't know why but I just have a thing for Mexican food. I love all their wraps and the funky names of each dish...they just sound so trendy and hippie-ish. Imagine my delight when I found out about an average-priced joint in London!

     

Wahaca-kakakaka

   
Wahaca is a really popular restaurant so do be sure to make a reservation. It was lucky that we arrived there early as there was already a short queue. There's a waiting area where you get to chill and get some booze while you're waiting or you can fiddle around with the many knick-knacks on the counter.
   

Complimentary door gifts

   
There were tons of these mini-packets for patrons to take home with them...can you guess what they contain? Inside each packet are a few chilli seeds for you to grow in a small pot and harvest for your very own Mexican home-cooking. Such a cool idea huh? By the way, the restaurant is located underground which I find really unique.
 

Chile sauces

 
They've got two types of sauces to go with the food - one is a searingly hot chile de arbol sauce and the other a fiery habanero chile sauce. Whoa scary stuff! Well it might be for the locals but definitely not for us South East Asians haha. These searingly hot and fiery sauces were just a tiny bit spicy to say the least but they complemented the dishes very well =)
 

Hibiscus Water (GBP 1.75)

   
The Hibiscus Water is a very refreshing drink made from cranberry flavoured Mexican flower juice, whatever Mexican flower is =P It is a very good thirst quencher and tasted somewhat like a concentrated Ribena =)
   

Chicken Tinga Tacos (GBP 3.95)

 
GBP 3.95 for a plate of 3 tacos is not bad at all. This chicken tacos is coated in a smoky tomato sauce and a splash of extra hot chipotle adobo and crema and sprinkled with cilantro. The mini flour tortillas were seasoned just right and the extra hot sauce really does lend a bit of kick to the flavourful filling. One of the best I've tried.
 

Close-up of the taco

   

Chorizo and Potato Quesadillas (GBP 3.95)

   
The Chorizo and Potato Quesadillas is much cheesier than Fresca's and very yummy. I couldn't taste much chorizo though but I like the crisp texture of the quesadillas contrasting with the warm, comforting and mushy-in-a-good-way hash.
   

See the filling?

 
We wanted to order an additional Burrito considering the size of the dishes but they were so busy and we couldn't order for a certain duration to allow the cook to, I don't know, stock up and start cooking from scratch again (everything is freshly made apparently). By the time they were ready to take orders, we had to rush off for the next item in our itinerary or risk delaying the schedule (I run like clockwork =P). So, bad point there but the place was literally packed to the rafters.
 
Do give it a try if you're in London as I'm always of the opinion that Western food somehow tastes much better in Western countries (no-brainer huh?). Incidentally, if you're not willing to splurge on an air ticket, there is a cookbook called Wahaca that is written by the owner so you can replicate the dishes in your very own kitchen! I was tempted to get it when I saw the book in a bookstore there but it was priced at GBP 20+ and I thought it too expensive.

    

   

PawPoints: 4 Paws
 
http://www.wahaca.co.uk/flash/main.html
    
Wahaca

T: London Charing Cross
66 Chandos Place
Covent Garden
London

Tel: +44 0207 240 1883
Mon - Sat: 12pm - 11pm
Sun: 12pm - 10.30pm

Frontera Sol of Mexico @ Jaya One, PJ

My first introduction to Mexican food was the all-in-one taco kit commonly found in supermarkets. I thought they were a unique way to eat the common minced beef in tomato sauce. I also used to love KFC's Twister which was so yummy. I think there are not too many Mexican establishments in town but Frontera is a good place to start.

     

Sizzling Fajita Platter - Chicken and Beef Combo (RM 33.95)

     
The chicken and beef strips were brought to our table in a sizzling hot pan which smelled amazing (however, don't order this if you don't want to stink). Crisp onion slices, green and red peppers formed a bed to absorb the grilled meat juices.
     

Top: Jalapeno Coleslaw (RM 5.95), Bottom: Shredded cheese, Pico de Gallo, sour cream

      
The fajitas came with a bowl of shredded cheese, Pico de Gallo which is a type of salsa, and sour cream.
    
We also ordered Jalapeno Coleslaw to try which as the name suggests, is a little spicy. The portion felt kind of small since we were sharing but I think it's okay for one person =P

     

Flour Tortillas

     
The flour tortillas were served in a traditional clay tortilla container. There were four in total which weren't enough for us greedy people. The grilled filling were too much for the four tortillas and we forgot to ask if it is refillable.
    
The juicy grilled chicken and beef tasted awesome with the condiments and I really like how we get to assemble our own wrap =) I especially loaded on the Pico de Gallo which wasn't spicy at all as it's just made up of raw onions, tomatoes and cilantro and asked for refills quite a number of times =P

    

Baja-Style Fish Tacos (RM 6.95)

       
Since we were still feeling hungry, we ordered an additional taco with fish filling to balance out the meat. The Baja-style fish tacos is filled with marinated cabbage shreds, cheese, cilantro, tomatoes, a squeeze of lime and a big piece of deep-fried Dory. We opted for flour tortillas again as our throats were feeling kind of hoarse and scratchy...there is another option for crispy tortillas. Chipotle ranch dressing which tasted like Thousand Island sauce was provided as a dipping sauce. This was very yummy again as it tastes like a much, much better version of Fillet o' Fish =P You can order this in two servings which will be a little cheaper than a single serving.
      

Beef Fajita Ranchera Burrito (RM 23.98)

       
On a separate visit, my friends and I had the burrito which came with Refried Beans, Pico de Gallo and Mexican rice. The burrito is filled with beef pieces, onions, red and green peppers and spicy ranchera sauce and topped with sour cream, salsa and finely sliced spring onions. All the flavours blended in perfectly and even though we were not hungry, we finished everything =D

     

Chicken Enchiladas (RM 23.95)

      
The Chicken Enchiladas were served with the same sides (hmm I don't recall the waiter asking us what sides we would like to have otherwise I'm sure we would have ordered different sides to try >.>). For the enchiladas, two rolls of flour tortilla wraps were served instead of one for the burritos. This time, the rolls were covered in sour cream and cheese. The description on the menu says that it is baked in chilli sauce but I don't think I detected any chilli sauce. Anyway they were yummy as usual and Pariahcetamol and I both preferred the enchiladas. Maggot-chan however finished the burritos as she said there was a strong bean smell in the enchiladas that she could not stand. Perhaps it's best to avoid Mexican food if you are averse to beans.
       

Strawberry Cream Cake

   
Not sure of the name and price of the cake as it was chosen by my friends. It was unexpectedly nice though with lots of strawberry slices in between cream-filled layers of butter cake and topped with lots of almonds and a couple of chocolate-dipped dried apricots.
    

PawPoints: 4 Paws

Pawket: Tomato

    
Frontera Sol of Mexico

Lights at Palm Square
Jaya One
Tel: 03 7958 8515
Sun - Thur: 11am - 1am
Fri - Sat: 11am - 2am

Tuckeria Fresh Mexican @ Brisbane

One of the top recommended Mexican fast food in Brisbane, we headed to Tuckeria for lunch right after checking in at the backpackers (the one we booked is totally not recommended =.=). It was such a long walk to the shop from Fortitude Valley Station though =.= When we reached it, it was empty whereas Grill'd next door had a few patrons. I was a little hesitant to enter but luckily my doubts were put to rest by the food and the amount of people queuing up come lunch time.
 

Shop Front

Counter

Menu

We had a hard time deciding what to order with the extensive choices. As indicated in the menu, you firstly choose the type of wrap and filling. Then select the type of beans you prefer. Thirdly, choose the type of salsa and level of spiciness and finally, add condiments as you wish =)
 

Back of menu

 
The back of the laminated menu has a graffiti representation similar to those seen frequently on the walls of Brisbane.
 

Decorative Chicos

Pork / Chorizo Tacos (AUD 9)

 

• Grilled pork was really good! Charred tender meat with a little fat - very well seasoned. I had half grilled pork and half chorizo but I think they must have given me grilled pork for both instead as I didn't taste any difference >.>
• Came heaped with Pico de Gallo Salsa which wasn't spicy even though I requested for 'hot' (spiciness categories include mild, medium and hot).
• I added loads of raw onions and coriander which are free! Went very well with the grilled pork as the raw onions provided a zing and the coriander a burst of freshness.
• White corn tortillas were very bland and floury - no amount of grilled pork and salsa could mask the blandness =.= The only thing which helped was the hot sauce which I poured generously =D

 

Beef Burrito California Style (AUD 11)

 
Flour tortilla wrapped around beef, black and pinto beans, and Pico de Gallo Tomato Salsa and baked in aluminium foil. JS chose California style which came with fries instead of Mexican rice.
 

Overflowing burrito contents

• Beef was very tender and well marinated - fell apart at the touch of the fork.
• Flour tortilla absorbed the juices of the beef and did not taste bland at all. Probably the effect of baking it in foil paper.
• Surprisingly, mixture of salsa, beans and fries went very well with the beef and tortilla.

Hot Sauce

 
Tapatio Hot Sauce - the only thing which saved my bland flour tortilla =P Spicy but really good, just like Nando's Extra Hot Peri-Peri Sauce =)

PawPoints: 4 Paws

http://tuckeria.com.au/

Tuckeria Fresh Mexican
421 Brunswick Street
Fortitude Valley
Brisbane
Tel: 04 0637 7278
Sun - Thu: 11.30am - 9.30pm
Fri - Sat: 11.30am - 10.30pm