Monday, May 14, 2012

Fresca Mexican Kitchen, The Gardens Mall, KL

Last week, I met up with some of my secondary school friends in The Gardens Mall. We originally planned to go to Kita No Zen for Japanese food but when we got to the restaurant, there was a huge queue just to get in. It was definitely not a good idea to be hunting for a restaurant at 8pm on a Friday night... must remember to make a reservation next time!! So we tried Din Tai Fung next, long queue as well! The same thing at Fong Lye and every other restaurant in The Gardens, it seems. :(

Then I remembered that Fresca Mexican Kitchen has recently opened its doors and we prayed hard that not many people have heard of it yet hence there would be a table for us!! Luckily for us, we managed to secure a table for 10 people. 

Fresca is situated opposite The Han Room on the ground floor. While The Han Room is brightly lit, Fresca is the complete opposite, very dimly lit with some tealights at the table. Great for a romantic dinner, but not so great for food photography. The decor is pretty nice, I especially like the hanging wine glasses near the bar (sorry forgot to take photo cos too busy chatting LOL). 

When we visited, it was just the 5th day of operation but food quality was good. Service was also friendly and food was served in an efficient manner. Prices are reasonable for a restaurant located in shopping mall, starting from RM14 for quesadilla up to RM60 for the most expensive item (cordero a la tamarindo - rack of lamb). Please check out my Facebook page here for the menu. 

Mexican creme caramel


Fresca means "cool" or "fresh" in Spanish, the official language of Mexico. The food served here is classic Mexican, specialising in botanas i.e. small plates which are great for sharing. At the moment, they are having a Buy 1 Free 1 promo on their Electric Blue Margarita (RM39 for grande).

Aguas Fresca ("fresh water") are non-alcoholic flavoured coolers which are great in hot weather. We tried the Tamarindo (RM8.50), made from tamarind fruit, sweet and sour in taste and rich in Vitamin B and calcium as well as Hibiscus (RM8.50), a cranberry flavoured drink made from dried hibiscus flower, and rich in Vitamin C and minerals. Out of the two, I prefer the Tamarindo. There are also other flavours such as Horchata, Limon and Mango. Cocktails are available for RM26 each.

Hibiscus aguas fresca


Tamarindo aquas fresca

I shall not elaborate much on the food since I didnt try them all (only took small bites), but overall they were tasty and nicely flavoured. I will definitely return another day to try more of their stuff with Hubby.

Tacos, which are described as equivalent to our local chapatis. We tried the Tacos Ensenada (RM19) , flour tortillas filled with beer battered fish and homemade coleslaw, originating from Ensenada, Baja California.



Fajita, found in traditional and Tex-Mex cuisine - served with tortilla, guacamole, pico de gallo and a special chipotle cream sauce. Chicken (RM34), beef tenderloin (RM45) or mixed (RM39).

Chicken fajita


Ensalada Cesar (RM21) - never knew this but caesar salad originated from Tijuana Mexico, created by an Italian restaurateur, Caesar Cardini who lived there. Made up of crisp romaine lettuce, classic Caesar dressing with Parmesan shaving, grilled chicken and warm garlic bread.


Enchiladas Verdes (RM15) - corn tortillas stuffed with shredded chicken covered in salsa verde and gratin-cheese finish.


Pescado a la Veracruzana (RM37) - fillet of fish sauteed with onions, olives and Jalapeno chili. A specialty of Veracruz, a coastal town in Mexico. Served with Mexican white rice and mixed salad.


Flan de la casa (RM14) - traditional Mexican creme caramel, with a firmer cake-like texture. I was told to eat the creme caramel first then drink the liquid in the shot glass.


Full set of photos, including food and drinks menu can be viewed here. 

Opening times: 10am to 10pm daily. 

Pork-free.

Location: Fresca Mexican Kitchen, Ground Floor, The Gardens Mall, Mid Valley City, Lingkaran Syed Putra, 59200 Kuala Lumpur. (opposite The Han Room)

Tel: 03-2201-2893

*All photos taken with iPhone4S.

24 comments:

  1. so, was it killer good.. or just so-so? :)

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    1. I didn't really eat much la (heavy lunch!!) but what I tried was flavourful and tasty. Will go back again with Hubby during the day (when I can take better photos also!)

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  2. Pass by this place last weekend. It was packed with people!
    I love mexican food, hope this place is good. =)

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    1. It got the approval of my friends, they all enjoyed it. Not sure how authentic but definitely tasty.

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  3. Hmmmm...Fresca in Gardens or Locos in Changkat BB...which one to go first? :)

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    1. I havent tried Locos wor... but location wise, this one better for me ;P

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  4. Only Mexican I had before was at Chillis...and Taco Bill. Nice!!! Something different for a change...

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    1. Haha I think Chilli's was where I had my first Mexican / Tex-Mex experience!

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  5. Wow you're not kidding about the lighting being dim! Time to whip out the flash I suppose! But anything Mexican is worth getting excited about! :-D

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    1. I wasn't really expecting to take photos, so only brought my iPhone out. And never thought of using the flash on the phone LOL!

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  6. I wanna try this place when i get back. now, i don't need to stick to only kim gary, pappa rich, sage and han room when i'm in gardens

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    1. This would be a good option, hopefully they keep up the good standards :)

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  7. How many makan there? sfood looks good enough la though with the dim lighting.

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    1. There was 10 of us, we ordered much more food than this but I was too lazy to snap them all.

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  8. Sigh Gardens is just down the road from my house but you've already been before me! Looks like an acceptable place to eat after looking at sean's post and yours. =))

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    1. LOL it was the only option available to us that Friday night and we weren't in the mood for queueing!

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  9. creme caramel with a shot of liquor on the side! heheh, that will silence all of us who complain that there's too little booze infused in our desserts :D

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    1. The creme caramel was alright, but I didn't like the liquor.. it didnt taste of anything.

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  10. No margarita? That's a must order for me. :P

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  11. I posted this on another blog this week, it is appropriate here too:

    Read your blog post last week and thought we would try Fresca. I am sorry, I completely disagree with your assessment. We ate there on Saturday and the food was utterly terrible. The menu stated "Tradicional" dishes, but there was absolutely nothing traditional about it.

    How is Italian rice, mushrooms and Italian cheese traditional Mexican Chili Relleno? The soup was unbelievably bland, the fajitas were so salty we couldn't even eat them, and the tacos were not tacos at all, they are taquitos.

    The most frustrating thing (besides being charged for something so awful we couldn't eat it) is that anyone can go online to YouTube or a host of other websites and watch videos of actual Mexican Chefs preparing the "tradicional" dishes on Fresca's menu... so why can't they manage it?

    To say we were disappointed is a huge understatement. I do not know who their "consultant" was, but someone should verify her credentials.

    Generally I like reading your blog, keep up the good work.

    Jimmy

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    1. Jimmy, as I mentioned before, I am no judge on authenticity of the cuisine as I've never been to Mexico but from what I tried, it was tasty and flavourful enough.

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  12. Hi there

    I completely agree with Jimmy. I enjoy reading your blog and went to try Fresca with my family a few hours ago.

    The appetizers such as nachos (grande) and caesar salad were not bad actually and the main meals we chose being 'El pollo Mole', a chicken dish with the an appalling 'mole' (no offense) it was a blend of chocolate, nuts and some other stuff but tasted absolutely horrible!

    We ended up not eating the chicken and the fajitas we ordered were highly unsatisfactory.

    Sad to say the only thing we enjoyed was the drinks! I recommend the orange juice but as for the food; its not a place I would take my family again to spend RM 200!

    Just putting an opinion out there based on my experience :)

    Fareeha

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  13. Just been there yesterday to celebrate friend birthday. It is so good and delicious to me

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