LWIN LEE | La Mexicana @ The Terrace at Hock Choon

Hola!

After some consistent cruising in mainstream fares such as the Western, Japanese, Korean or even café chains as well as various culinary fusions, now dining has come with a little bit of funky twist whereby palate are now greeted with authentic Mexican flair, served at the quaintly adorned LaMexicana, that is located off Jalan Ampang Hilir, at Terrace of Hock Choon.

Environment indeed is being ornamented with olde worlde tinkers akin to Tex-Mex culture, as they are said to be sourced all the way from the origin country itself. One of them is the vibrant and catchy bric-a-bracs that are hanging lively against the vivacious pinky wall. Ceiling is also not neglected as colorful fabrics are seen to be accompanying, amid the casual vibes exudes in the restaurant. Staff are genial and guests are seen pretty much enjoying their food while reveling in their cajoling session too.

They are just so warmth-diffusing group of people that they voluntarily signaling me to “frame” them up, when am taking a stroll around the charming restaurants with my Lumix, lol. Such a joyful souls to have; care diem indeed!

Like many other pleasant gourmet experiences, the indulgence is further heightened up especially when you are able to add value to your money when frequenting the restaurants. How is this achievable? Well, as the saying goes, “Good things are meant to be shared around”, and hence, we are pampering our palate wondrously by using the convenient mobile apps of Buy 1 Free 1, by Entertainer Malaysia Mobile 2014.   And La Mexicana happens to be one of the partnered merchant in this money-savvy apps : ) But before I delve in further technically, let’s go through what are the exotic Mexican dishes that have enlightened us on that day.

As our Mexican folks have it, we started off with antojitos, which literally means little craving in Mexican.

Nachos La Mexicana Style

A plate of crispy triangles of handmade tortillas, topped with melted cheese and beans, served with Pico de Gallo sauce. The chips are crispy and perfectly matched the salsa fresco spread, where you get to enjoy the appetizing and zesty taste of the chopped tomato, white onion, and chilis. It surely makes a good hors d'oeuvre.

Loving it to the final bites! 

Up next is Queso Fundido Con Chorizo, a mouthwatering melted cheese, homemade “Chorizo” with flour tortillas and Salsa verde.

Am delighted by the sinful spread but not too cloying favourite of mine, where the otherwise bland melted cheese if alone, is being spiced up by the flavourful sprinkled of Chorizo, that helps to inject sapidities to it. It is supposed to go along with the soft tortillas alongside the green sauce of tomatillos and huauzontle dip, tangily served in a molcajete.

A total shout out to all the cheese lovers out there, and you guys shall be blown away by this simple yet fantastic dish!

Tacos Carmela

Ensue soon is the taco base that is stuffed with prawns and fish paste in a Chilli Chipotle special sauce and refried beans and cheese. At first sight, it really looks somewhat like our very own “otak-otak” snacks, minus of the mouth-searing sensation :) I like the fact that avocado slices make the same appearance with these nibbles, that indirectly tones down the smoked-dried jalapeno condiment.

Some sandlike textured is detected while enjoying the filling, perhaps due to the refried beans, which are pinto beans that are boiled and fried beforehand.

If you are a mild-tongue foodie, then Tacos Campechanos would be a good alternative.

A dish consists of 3 tacos with handmade corn tortillas, stuffed with delicious Carnitas of pork a la Mexicana, served with pork Chicharron (crackling) and Molcajete sauce.

This nosh appears to be a bit of mind-boggling as I never know pork scratching or rinds could be boldly paired that way!  No doubt it is crispy from the deep frying, but very lightly seasoned. Usually paired with salsa verde, the Carnitas are typically served with chopped coriander leaves (cilantro) and diced onion, salsa, tortillas, and refried beans (frijoles refritos).

Am just intrigued by these miniature earthenwares! It must have required much elaborated intricacy.

Subsequently, Sopes de Pollos joins our table cutely in which resembles mini pizzas or bruchettas, hehe. A trio of 3 sopes (corn dough base) topped with chicken, lettuce, acidified cream and crumbled homemade cheese with salsa roja.

The corn dough base (thick tortilla, if I may), appears rather exquisite in the sense that is much mushier than the usual fluffy bread base you may find, as it is usually made from circle of fried masa of ground maize soaked in lime, and thus less refined. The laces of chicken breast are palatably topped off with lightly sprinkled mayo together with julienned lettuce, alongside the tart greenish relish

The other cartes du jour which I think rather unparalleled is the Burritos de Chilorio (MYR 28).

It consists of 4 fried burritos made with flour tortillas stuffed with traditional Chilorio (shredded and seasoned pork, traditionally from the state of Sinaloa), served  on a bed of fresh greens drizzled with a citrus dressing. The pork is slowly simmered for hours until it falls apart and cooked in sauce usually flavored with onions, cumin and garlic. Does it reminds you of pulled pork sandwich? ^_^

The porky stuffing is undeniably juicy and saporous, nicely enwrapped within crispy burritos skin and nearly fooling you into thinking that you are savoring another local doppelganger; meaty spring roll! Haha……

Alright, that’s about it with the bite-sized nosh of Mexican street food. Let us now welcome the dessert affair. Oh, may be the tummy is now kinda full and yearning for some break, perhaps I could interlude a quick sharing on the latest deal that I enjoy using the apps.

Entertainer Malaysia Mobile 2014

This dining mobile apps is launched under Entertainer Malaysia, with the aim to create a more dynamic experience among the discerning epicurean nowadays. The offer covers over 800 merchants, ranging from Malaysia's hottest restaurants, nightspots, informal dining, spas to activities, attractions and more. If you are a foodie who frequents restaurants often, then this wallet-friendly deal would help you save more than MYR 370,000  a year!

Currently, they are also having an exclusive Entertainer Malaysia One Month Membership at a minimal fee of MYR 49 that gives you access to all 400+ buy one get one free offers in Malaysia's, for one month from the date of activation. And if you find yourself enjoying the convenience that the apps brings about (like me), you could simply choose to upgrade to the full product for a further MYR 186, allowing you to keep redeeming your offers until 30th December 2014. 

With 3 vouchers per merchant, you can visit its partners more than just once or include your family and friends in the 2 for 1 fun!  Imagine dining once or twice has already enabled you to recover the cost (break even) and more saving moving onwards. Meaning, you get to have one appetizer, main or dessert free with each mains, appetizer, or dessert you order! Let’s do the math! ^_^

To sweeten the deal further, the Entertainer will be doing a random lucky draw at the end of the month among the subsribers who have bought the one month version of the Entertainer Malaysia app. One winner will win the full version of the app absolutely FREE! 

To purchase the Entertainer Malaysia One Month Membership for just MYR 49 please visit - http://www.theentertainerasia.com/trymyfor49 - and be sure to enter this unique promo code @lwinwenli when you purchase.

So sign up now to entitle yourselves in the draw!



For more information, feel free to drop by /https://www.theentertainerme.com/ to have your share of experience.

Guess am already planning for the next venue then, conveniently of course! ^_^

Ok, finally the stomach has made way for some space for the sweet tooth gratification moment.

Pastel  3 Leches

A delicious moist and sweet traditional Tres Leches’ cake with walnuts and peach slices

This or torta de tres leches, which means "three milks cake" in Spanish, is a type of sponge cake that is soaked in three kinds of milk: evaporated milk, condensed milk, and heavy cream. It has some buttery taste as well as some light hint of eggy aroma. The outer layer is being coated with light cream cheese, which tastes as not as cloying as you might think. At the same time, it is quite dense like fudge but moist, as you eat towards the middle.

A total diet spoiler but once in a blue moon should not do any harm I suppose :D

Finally, we let’s usher the decadent Mexicann crepes; Crepas de Cajeta.

Crepes bath in Cajeta sauce (a deliciously sweet ,smooth “burnt” milk caramel  sauce), served with walnut topping and flambéed with Tequila.

  

This plate of crepes seemingly swimming gaily in the pool of caramel, is actually known as Cajeta sauce (indeed something new). Sharing the same characteristics as dulce de leche , the brownish syrup is a famous Mexican confection that is usually made of sweetened caramelized milk, so you may expect some higher lever of saccharinity than your usual dessert. Thus, recommended for sharing.

Nevertheless, the crepes are served warm and not too floury, infusing some egg fragrance to the viscous sauce. And that………………. concludes the wonderful discovery night of Mexican culinary tradition inspiringly, albeit some menu might appear to be an acquired taste to some.

Thanks very much for the lovely dessert and a brief sharing on the ingredients for Tres Leches’. Truly appreciate the hospitality as well as the welcoming mirthful ambience. Gracias…..

Ah, before bidding farewell to this lovely place, the ornamented pool with fountain is also such a cool site to lays your eyes on, or snapping some beautiful picture for memories. (The chromatic lighting actually reminds me of the fountains seen at TheRoyal Flush too)

Carpe Diem!

Location :

241-B Lorong Nibong, off Jalan Ampang, 50450 Kuala Lumpur

Contact: 03- 42535251