Taste Enclave, Avenue K: Sumptuous Flavors Under One Enclave!

Some say they are the Best in Malaysia & Singapore!

Isn’t it great when great food congregates all at one spot? Makes life easier to savor loads of deliciousness all at one place… at least my life that is! Taste Enclave made its headway into the city late last year with a big bang. Deemed a culinary landscape, Taste Enclave offers nostalgic hawker fare and niche mini restaurant dishes all set in lush foliage of modern contemporary ambience.

Seating up to a staggering 550 diners, this food atrium is the brilliant brainchild of Mr. Willie Tay. Born and bred in Singapore, Willie’s vast 18 years of experience in the F&B industry makes him the perfect candidate to bring dining in food court to another level in today’s gastronomic industry. Willie expressed his inspiration of his latest food atrium to be derived from elements of nature.  His detailed and thoughtful personality has enable diners to thoroughly experience a one-of-a-kind dining experience at Taste Enclave. The first of many to come, Taste Enclave is located at Avenue K at Jalan Ampang, facing the nation’s pride, KLCC.

Set in the concrete jungle of the city, as soon as one walks into Taste Enclave, one is immediately taken into a modern whimsical representation of nature. The food atrium is spacious. At sight, one is immediately attracted to the large creative and curvy greenscape set at the entrance. The enclosed shrub has booths for diners to enjoy their meals as well. Set with 16 famous nostalgic street hawkers and 4 small scale restaurants, Taste Enclave offers every one of all ages a nostalgic smorgasbord of flavors.

Each stall is designed in theme but set differently. They are designed around the overall frame structure of a green house where lots of greens and wood prevail. The stalls have rich panels of wood design highlight with lighting. The ceiling portrays a canopy of a garden of leaves, and wood branches. Furniture is kept to simple and clean lines to allow comfort.  There is even a background sound of waterscape to add more feel to nature.

A recent invite to check out some of the stalls at Taste Enclave was truly a beautiful dining experience for me. The food atrium shows off high end quality and lots of details and the best part of it was the affordable price of the dishes. I certainly didn’t know how I did it but I managed to sample 10 food stalls with one serving coffee all at one go, check it out…

Y-Thu Wendy Vietnam

As authentic as it can be, Y-Thu Wendy Vietnam offers robust flavors of Vietnam cuisine with loads of heartiness. While I enjoyed the fresh flavors in Prawn Spring Roll (RM6.90) with sweet chili sauce, it was the Vietnamese Pork-Beef Rice Noodle that rocks my boat. The piping hot bowl of thin rice noodle in fiery red broth is a masterpiece. The flavors are filled with umami notes and despite it looking that red, its not overly spicy for me. The pork and beef slices are utterly divine, so tender and luscious. The quality of the beef is excellent. Lots of fresh herbs accompanied the noodles, layering more flavors. The side of chili sauce is also really good and aromatic. I wanted to finish this whole bowl of noodles that evening simply because it was just so good!

Stall No 21 Beef Noodle

If you love Soong Kee Beef Noodle, you will love this stall that takes a spin off from Soong Kee. Our bowl of Beef Tripe Soup (RM8.50) was a consommé of delicate flavor notes. Pieces of succulent tender beef, soft chewy tripe, springy beef balls and soft tendons are much welcome. Dip this in their signature vinegary chili sauce and enjoy. I heard the signature here is their dry version of Beef Noodle where the minced beef sauce is what makes diners crave for.

Nasi Ayam Singapura

A Singapore name, we had their Set Menu Steamed Chicken Rice (RM12.80). One of my favorite street food, it taste great when it is cook right and uses quality ingredients. After all, there really is nothing much to hide in the dish. The rice is very flavorful and fluffy. The steamed chicken is delicious as the skin has a gelatinous texture and the meat is soft and succulent. As in Singapore, it comes with dark soy sauce, pungent ginger sauce and garlicky chili sauce.

Sentul Ah Yap Charcoal Hokkien Mee

The city’s highly fantasized street food, a lardy delight of Hokkien Mee (RM9.90). And not just any Hokkien mee but Sentul Ah Yap’s Charcoal Hokkien Mee. Thick yellow noodles braised in savory sweet dark soy sauce, studded with sliced pork, greens and the cardinal crispy cubes of lardon aka Chu Yau Cha. Using charcoal for that breath of wok, this one has all the makings of a scrumptious and salivating Hokkien Mee. This plate left our table clean…

While touring the place, I spied the Cantonese Wat Tan Hor… looking seriously inviting too from the aroma!

Grandeur Teppanyaki

By now, it’s no surprise to me that the ingredients used here are of good quality. Our Beef Steak (RM22.90) or Dory Fish (RM15.90) Set Menu is a full meal. Order the meat or seafood of your choice and the set comes with steamed rice, miso soup and sautéed vegetables. The beef was superb. Smothered in a rich brown garlicky sauce, I can still taste the beefy flavors with a good dose of fried garlic. I was the one that finished this place happily. The Dory fish with miso is pretty decent too. It has a nice nutty and sweet flavor and the fish was flaky and tender. If you are beef lover, you simply must try the beef here…

Up for a show? Seat right at Grandeur Teppanyaki and watch while the chef performs the acrobat flipping and cutting action right in front of your own eyes. They also serve up lavish seafood like oysters, king prawns, Alaska cod fish and more.

Tong’s Roast

I like how the set meals here give diners a good balance of sides. The Deluxe BBQ Meat with Rice Set (RM12.90) comes with rice, soup, blanched bean sprouts, braised tofu and egg and meat of your choice. We had the Roasted Duck and the crystal Char Siew. Like the duck but I love the char siew even more. Layers of lovely fat and meat, the caramelized sweetness is just right and the meat almost melts-in-the-mouth. I would love to order the char siew again. My only gripe here was the rice was a little dry but the other side dishes were decent.

Xi Qing Seafood

One of the mini restaurants in the food atrium, this one will satisfy your cravings for seafood dishes like Singapore Chili Crabs, Black Pepper Crabs and more. They also offer lots of regular Tai Chow dishes. We had the Deep Fried Salted Egg Chicken (RM15.00) that night. Pieces of fried chicken covered in a buttery rich sauce laced with salted egg yolk. If only I wasn’t so full already, I would gladly polish off more than a few pieces of this classic yummy chicken.

Huen Kee Claypot Chicken Rice

The crowning glory of the night had to be the Claypot Chicken Rice with Chinese Sausage & Salted Fish (RM10.00) from Huen Kee. They started in 1986 in the Pudu wet market area and today, the charcoal claypot rice has certainly made its mark. Using their unique charcoal two-way heat system, I was told that the claypot is heated from the bottom and the top together to give the rice an even heat system.

Mix up the rice with the salted fish and it’s a pot of heavenly pleasure. The rice has a beautiful savory soy sauce flavor and is fluffy and has the essential crusty rice bits at the bottom of the pot. The chicken is well marinated and tender. It’s a near perfect pot of rice. Highly recommended in my books!

Other signature dishes available are Claypot Waxed Duck Rice, Pig Stomanch Soup and Homemade Seafood Taufu.

Jalan Kayu Prata

If I am not mistaken, this one is from Singapore. Famous for their roti prata, it was only fair that we had to taste it to confirm it. Our verdict of the Roti Prata with Chicken Curry (RM3.20)? Deliciously buttery and flaky roti prata served thick creamy chicken curry and a side of thinner curry gravy. The size is quite big and even when cold, the roti is still lovely and buttery. It has a tasty and velvety texture too. I was very pleased with the roti and the thick spiced up curry chicken. You must try the roti to believe me. It’s so good, you can even eat this on its own.

Another specialty of Jalan Kayu Prata is their Dum Nasi Briyani Set Menu (RM14.90). The spiced up fluffy long grain rice is cooked together with chicken or mutton in a sealed pot. Served with boiled egg, pappadum, pickled vegetable and a thick dhal curry, it’s a rather heavy and full meal, perfect for a hungry appetite. Since were were full, I took this home and it taste pretty good the next day too.

Golden Hot Pot

Golden Hot Pot showcases China’s unique and classic dish of a medley of ingredients from your choice all sautéed with a signature dry chili sauce. Choose from the selection available in chillers and proceed to let the staff know how spicy you like it to be. Our Hot Pot Set for 2 (ranges from RM20 onwards) had a little of everything from pork belly to beancurd, lotus root, black fungus, mushrooms, broccoli and peanuts. We asked for a higher heat level and got our wish. This one is so addictive and the more we eat, the spiciness seems to tone down and an unctuous richness of flavors fill my senses.

Svea Café

Svea Café Stockholm was the only European mini restaurant at Taste Enclave. Serving up Swedish delights of Swedish Meat Balls with Linguine, Swedish Pork Chop and Pizza, we would have love try this if only we weren’t so full. We settled for their Brewed Coffee Roast and Café Latte. There are also desserts in the chillers for sweet-tooth fans.

Overall, this is one serious food atrium you don’t want to miss. With so many stalls serving up great food, decision is hard so one may have to return several times to try it all. Prices are well valued for the quality of the ingredients. With the additional advantage of a gorgeous ambience, Taste Enclave takes dining in food court to another level. Did I mention that Taste Enclave sells beer? The next Taste Enclave is set to open in Damansara and I just can’t wait!

I must try to go back for a taste of other stalls and to repeat some of my favorite from that evening too…

TASTE ENCLAVE

Lot L2-6B, L2-8, L2-9 & L2-10, Level 2

Avenue Shopping Centre,

No. 156, Jalan Ampang

50450 Kuala Lumpur

Website: www.tasteenclave.com

Business Hours:

Sundays to Thursday & Public Holidays        10am to 10pm

Fridays, Saturdays & eve of Public Holidays  10am to 11pm

*More photos available at my Facebook: Chasing Food Dreams