Showing posts with label tropical. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tropical. Show all posts

Sunday, February 25, 2024

CHICKITA DEBUTS IN MALAYSIA

Banking on the naturally smoky flavours of its Asian-inspired flame grilled chicken as the unique selling point, the maiden Chickita restaurant made its debut at Pavilion Damansara Heights just before Chinese New Year amidst some fanfare.
Conceived by former Park Hyatt Saigon executive chef and F&B entrepreneur Asif Mehrudeen (top pix above), Chickita first opened in Vietnam in 2019. The founder draws inspiration from his 20-year culinary journey through Southeast Asia to conceptualise Chickita, taking pride in nostalgic Asian flavours. Vibrant colours, eye-catching wall murals and trendy décor elements set a welcoming stage at Chickita, to pique the interest of diners.

According to director Charles Chan, Chickita brings to the table its flame-grilled chicken with recognisable Asian flavours appealing to local palates. “At Chickita, it’s a celebration of community and communal dining. We want to uphold the spirit of togetherness deeply ingrained in our Asian culture.”
Aside from chicken, Chickita also serves burgers, wraps, and wings – all flame-grilled to perfection. We took instant liking to the opener of Eda-Mole Dip (RM13.50), a hummus of edamame and avocado blend served with salsa and crispy tortilla.
Toasted pita triangles are the perfect companion to dunk into the mildly cheesy Signature Hot Crab Dip (RM14.50) whilst Chicken Nachos (RM14.50) with original and cheese sauces, salsa and toasted pita can be rather addictive so try to avoid overloading on them, to leave tummy room for mains.

I am all for Chickita’s concept of allowing diners to pick our preferred chicken parts. We found the different variants deliciously on-point, from the flame-grilled Quarter Chicken Leg with Rice & Salad and Quarter Chicken Breast with Yam Pop & Corn to Quarter Chicken Breast with Coleslaw & Crispy Fries and Quarter Chicken Breast with Wok Vegetable & Garlic Bread.

A quarter chicken leg or breast is RM17.50 whilst an additional two side dishes is priced at RM26.50. Chicken wings, chicken tenders, half and whole chicken are also available so peruse the menu to select your choice.

Catering to Asian tastebuds, Chickita incorporates familiar Asian ingredients for its range of signature sauces, to bring its flame-grilled chicken to piquantly flavoursome and culturally resonant level. Our first-hand experience had us settling on our own favourite sauces out of the six available.

On the mild scale, Chickita Original Sauce comprises a bright and tantalising lemongrass-infused blend whilst the Tropical sauce lends nice balance to the savoury chicken with its sweet, sour mango-citrus accents.

My palate found the moderately hot Sexy sauce with roasted red chillies on song with the grilled chicken but the Lucky 8 Asian BBQ variant also comes close as a winner, redolent with familiar spices such as star anise, cinnamon and garlic amidst the chilli taste profile.

Die-hard chilli fiends may prefer the Dynamite Spicy Hot Sauce – formulated with different chillies or Tamarita’s savoury-hot profile which is culled from a blend of tamarind, fish sauce, Asian spices and dried chillies.
Chickita also reimagines dessert by combining ice cream potong with innovative flavours like A Classic Twist (RM14), cendol popsicle with frozen coconut and pandan with green sticky rice; and Vanilla Dreams (RM14), shaved coconut and red bean popsicle with grass jelly.
For more information, call CHICKITA, tel: 03 2011 1243. Address: Lot 1.03.00, Level 1, Pavilion Damansara Heights, Kuala Lumpur.

Thursday, March 21, 2019

SWEET DESSERT DREAMS AT CRÈME DE LA CRÈME


Frolic with a cute and fluffy coconut meringue rabbit perched on a sunny yellow Bunny petit gâteau at Crème De La Crème (CLDC) — Kuala Lumpur’s and Malaysia’s coolest dessert haven right now — for a irresistible taste of ‘Easter in the tropics’.
Created using a tropical combination of coconut, mango, calamansi, pineapple, lemongrass and passionfruit on a deliciously crunchy chocolate hazelnut feuilletine base, the artistic ice cream cake masterpiece is one of the many intricately handcrafted dessert selection served at the newly opened Crème De La Crème in Damansara Uptown.
A brainchild of creative soul and passionate ice cream connoisseur Lio Lim (left), CDLC is a stylish haven exuding sleek, clean lines with hip, Instagrammable vibes: a unicorn wall-mounted lighting feature, minimalist furnishing, and expansive glass and chrome showcases.
Lio emphasised “only 100% all-natural, fresh and wholesome ingredients are used to create CDLC ice creams from scratch without the use of preservatives, artificial flavourings and colourings”.

Trained by renowned Australian dessert meister Christy Tania, CDLC aims to raise the bar in Malaysia for ice cream dessert creations. The team at CDLC headed by Pastry Chef Evelyn Chung is meticulously hands-on in every aspect of the creation process in their bid to entice dessert lovers with a plethora of the richest, smoothest, and most irresistible ice cream dessert treats.

Our palate-pleasing welcome drink, Unicorn Dream was concocted from blue pea flower-tinted lemonade with dragon fruit sorbet. To start the ice cream party rolling, we sampled Barley Lime Sorbet — a clever inspiration of local iced barley drink with freshly squeezed lime juice. Served on imported dainty lemon cones, the superfine sorbet won us over from the get-go with refreshingly well-balanced sweet-sour accents.

IMHO, that strong showing eclipsed the Dragon Fruit Strawberry Sorbet somewhat. Rich in fibre, anti-oxidants, potassium and vitamin C, the vibrant purple icy treat should hit the spot for berry fans thanks to its tart fruitiness.

Fresh kalamansi lime juice and salty assam boi made a compelling combo to create the Limau Assam Sorbet, a godsend solution for bringing the temperature down in countering the current hot spell. 

Proof of the pudding is truly in the tasting here as top grade Alfonso mangoes are used to churn out CDLC's Mango Passion Sorbet. We could tell from the intense fruity aroma and the sensuous sweetness alone. You have to savour it to believe it. Ditto for the umami-rich and complex Miso Caramel ice cream which put ordinary salted caramel flavour into the shade, making it so passé and ho-hum by comparison.

Looking for a low GI, sugar-free option? The Madagascar Ash made using maltitol, high quality Madagascar vanilla beans and premium bamboo charcoal powder will be just the sweet treat for you and health-conscious patrons including diabetics.
For  licks of nostalgia, the Pandan Kaya Toast ice cream comprised a seductive mixture of pandan, coconut & eggs. Fresh fragrant pandan leaves are first dehydrated, blended into powder form to create fresh, wholesome, aromatic and all-natural pandan kaya flavour ice cream. Then a house-baked crumble of almond flour and butter is swirled into the ice cream; to add a toasty and crunchy bite. Sedaplicious!
Bubble tea fans can now savour their milk tea with a chi chi touch at CDLC. Try the floral-accented French Earl Grey Boba blend served with al dente brown sugar pearls. We did and that milky tea creaminess coupled with perfect QQ chewiness left us no cause for complaint.
Millenials and the hipster set may prefer brekkie flavours such as Cerealicious (lower pix) and Cookies & Cream (upper pix). The former — strongly reminiscent of cereal soaked in fresh milk — flaunted a baby blue hue from butterfly pea flower extract whilst the latter is made by mixing vanilla ice cream with chocolate cookies baked from 63% French Weiss dark chocolate ganache and extra house-made chocolate cookie crumbs.

What takes the cake at CDLC is the Petit Gâteau — Instagrammable handcrafted masterpieces that are almost too pretty to eat! According to Lio, “We are highly passionate ice cream aficionados who strive to be the best ice cream artisans in Malaysia. We not only want to make ice cream that tastes good but also looks good.”

The belle of the ball here is the gorgeous Beauty & The Beast creation. A heavenly match of 63% Dark Chocolate and Vanilla ice cream, the spellbinding blossom is complemented by Morello Cherry Sorbet to achieve a perfect balance of bitter, tangy and sweet. At the base, dark chocolate crumble, chewy chocolate brownie and almond nibs gives the delectable and beautiful treat extra crunch.

Inspired by a lady’s pearl necklace, the elegant Lady Pearl is an exquisite sight to behold. A delightful mix of Strawberry and Madagascar Vanilla ice cream,  this lovely petit gâteau includes Dragon Fruit Strawberry sorbet to bring out the fine flavours it has to offer. Amidst textural contrasts of buttery crumble, red almond sponge and  passionfruit crémeux, there’s a perky taste of raspberry glaze too.
For more information, please call Crème De La Crème, tel: 03-7494 0735. Address: 35G, Ground Floor, Jalan SS21/60 Damansara Utama, Selangor.

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