A Mexican Fiesta at Serena Brasserie, InterContinental KL

Mexican cuisine is famous for its distinctive ingredients, rich heritage and incredible diversity. In 2010, Mexican cuisine was presented the accolade of "Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity" by the UNESCO committee.

InterContinental Kuala Lumpur in collaboration with KLM and Embassy of Mexico brings Mexico's world famous traditional cuisine to KL from 1-15 April 2013. Two extraordinary Mexican chefs, Tania Gonzalez and Salvador Vasquez specially flown in from Presidente InterContinental Mexico will cook up an authentic Mexican feast for diners to enjoy.  The Mexican Fiesta is priced at RM82++ for lunch and RM98++ for dinner.

We do enjoy Mexican cuisine from time to time, so this opportunity to try authentic Mexican food was hard to pass by. Appetizers on menu include cactus salad, guacamole with tortilla chips, and zucchini and bean salad with cilantro. For main dishes, expect to see shrimps in guava chilli sauce, Barbecued lamb served in Hidalgo style and tortillas with different fillings. And finally for desserts, you can find churros, arroz con leche (rice pudding) or creme caramel (flan). 

Welcoming diners to "Mexico"

Sangria

I have plenty of cactuses growing in my garden but never have I eaten one in my life! Surprisingly, this cactus salad (ensalada de nopales) was very good and one of my favorite dishes of the evening. Cactus has a similar texture to aloe vera (but less slimy), with some similarity with green beans and very appetizing, since red wine vinegar is added to it. The chefs kindly shared a recipe for this salad as well, which I will post soon.

Another favorite of mine, the guacamole served with crisp tortilla chips.. couldn't stop munching on them!

Guacamole

Mini bites - Mexican mashed potato and pulled chicken

Potato with fried chile from the tree

For mains, I enjoyed the Shrimps in Passila Guava Sauce, as the prawns were fresh, plump and juicy. The Fish Veracruz style was also surprisingly good as it was nice and moist (I don't usually like fish dishes from a buffet cos they tend to be dry or overcooked). And the main I liked most is lamb wrapped in banana leaves - tender and flavorful!

 Shrimps in Passila Guava Sauce

Fish Veracruz style

Chicken in Poblano, Chocolate Chile Ancho Sauce

Grilled Flank Steak

 Lamb wrapped in banana leaves 

Mexican Rice

And when Chef Salvador starts making the quesadillas, a long queue forms.. comes in two fillings, corn fungus and beef. Corn fungus? I had to google it when I got back home. Corn fungus, also known as corn smut / huitlacoche / black gold is considered a delicacy and farmers would actually hope that this "disease" has infected their crops. Strange but true! The gray, stone-shaped fungus turns into a gunky, tar-like mush when cooked. Quite a few of found ourselves really liking it. There, I've eaten fungus!

Quesadillas y Tortillas Calientes

Corn fungus quesadillas

The light, crispy churros was delicious dipped in chocolate. Smooth creamy flan al caramelo (creme caramel), and a tart with sweet potato filling was a great way to end our Mexican dinner.

Churros

Mexican sweets - looks similar to some of our Malaysian candies right?

Corn tarts

Sweet potato tart

A little bit like doughnut balls coated with sugar with custard filling

Cakes

Flan with edible gold paper

Diners can also enjoy the rest of the international buffet spread, including fresh seafood (oyster, prawns, scallops), roast beef (this one's very good) as well as local cuisine such as satay, oxtail soup and noodles.

Seafood spread

Scallops and prawns

At the lobby

Sparkly

Opening times: Lunch 12.00 noon to 2.30pm (Mondays to Fridays), Dinner 7.00pm to 10.30pm (Daily)

Pork-free.

Location: Serena Brasserie, Lobby Level, InterContinental Hotel Kuala Lumpur, 165 Jalan Ampang, 50450 Kuala Lumpur.

Tel: 03-2782 6228

Website: http://www.intercontinental-kl.com.my/dining/serena_brasserie.asp

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