January 6, 2015

Simple and Affordable Western Fare at Foodilicious Kitchen



Foodilicious Kitchen Spice Up Western Cuisine!


Talk about hidden good eats! We came across Foodilicious Kitchen located at Komplex Anjung 7 Sek in Shah Alam with some foodie buddies upon the invite from Lyssa and her family through Chris @PureGlutton. We were told that Foodilicious Kitchen’s signature 7 spices steaks and lamb chops were their specialties. Run by Lyssa and her brother Azlan Hamzah, who is the chef, Foodilicious Kitchen is a no-frill casual Western dining café housed in a shop lot food court in the complex.


The Hamzah siblings have been in the food industry for quite a while. They started the business as they really enjoy good and delicious food but couldn’t find a place that serves the flavours they enjoy in Western fare. And so Lyssa and her family came up with their own secret recipes to kick start their own place which they named Foodilicious Kitchen. Besides running the café, Lyssa also provides catering for private functions.


We met up with Lyssa one Sunday together with other foodies in tow. Lyssa was really bubbly and friendly and quickly settled us in while letting us know what their signatures are. I am not going to paint a pretty picture for the ambience as it is in an open air food court ambience but I will say that the food served are honest, humble, affordable and delicious, especially their signatures. Foodilicious Kitchen has also garnered quite a few good reviews in Tripadvisor and also received a Pilihan TV3 Jalan Jalan Cari Makan as the number 1 restaurant in Shah Alam.

Drinks are basic and if you order their Rose Sirap drink, its free and refillable. Soft drinks are also available. Almost everything is cooked by Azlan himself. Meats are marinade with their own secret recipes and sauces are cooked from scratch.


The menu is basically a three page easy to read one as it is filled with photos of the dishes. Snacks, Steaks, Lamb Chops, Chicken, Seafood, Pasta and Dessert sum up the menu. We started off with some snacks of Bolognese Nachos (RM7.90), Bolognese Fries (RM7.90) and Shitake Mushroom Soup (RM5.90).


I really enjoyed their Bolognese sauce cooked from scratch by Azlan. The sauce has a good depth of rich tomato cooked with beef mince. When smothered on nachos or French fries and drizzled with cheese sauce, it’s practically a dish that makes me want to keep munching on. The richness of the sauce has the right balance of tangy, savory and sweet note, pairing well with the creamy cheddar cheese sauce and salty nachos or fries.


Shitake Mushroom Soup was mediocre but the price is super affordable so no complaints on this as it even come with a nice piece of Garlic Bread.

It took Lyssa and Azlan a while to perfect their secret marinade but they did it after sessions running through their family with the guidance of their mother. Foodilicious Kitchen signatures using their 7 spices recipe proof to be a hit with many and so the meat dishes all uses this spice recipes before it its grilled or cooked.


We tried their 7 Spices Striploin Steak (RM20.90), 7 Spices Ribeye Steak (RM24.90) and 7 Spices Lamb Chop (RM25.90) since these were their signatures.


Both 7 Spices Striploin Steak and 7 Spices Ribeye Steak came with nicely chargrilled marks and are served with black pepper sauce,  homemade mashed potato with gravy and homemade coleslaw. They tasted really flavorful with a nice hint of spices. If you don’t let them know how you like your meat done, it would usually be well done so make sure you prompt them when you order if you like your meat medium pink like us. Based on the price for the dishes, I must say the steaks are very decent for its value. Our steaks had a good juicy and meaty note and were sufficiently tender. I enjoyed the steaks with the 7 spices and personally felt they didn’t need the black pepper sauce that came with it on the side.


The 7 Spices Lamb Chop is super scrumptious! Its Foodilicious Kitchen’s best seller and I can see why. For only RM25.90, one gets two lamb cutlets that are wonderfully grilled and seasoned. The secret spices gave the lamb a beautiful savory sweetness with notes of smokiness. The lamb is tender and does not have that gamey meaty smell like some lamb meat I have tasted. I also enjoyed the lamb cutlets as it is without the sauce because I think the spice marinade already created the right balance of flavours for the meat. The sides are standard and decent.


If you prefer pasta over the sides, then you might want to check out the Carbonara Combo Lamb Chop (RM25.80). Combining the luscious creamy carbonara pasta cooked with chicken and mushrooms and a piece of the 7 Spice Lamb Chop, the dish is quite rich. The chef added some chili heat to the carbonara which is nice as it added more flavours to counter the richness.


Chicken lovers will be please with their Sizzling Shitake Chicken (RM18.90), Spicy Cajun Grilled Chicken (RM13.90) and BBQ Grilled Chicken (RM13.90). Sizzling Shitake Chicken resembles our usual chicken chop with mushroom brown gravy but this one is set on a heated plate. It comes with mashed potato and coleslaw and loads of brown gravy and sautéed mushrooms.


Spicy Cajun Grilled Chicken looked too charred but when we tasted it, it was just the right. The spices on the chicken are aromatic and moreish. The chicken breast was also very juicy. I prefer this dish over the Sizzling Shitake Chicken as it is more flavourful with lots of Cajun spices to give it extra oomph. The BBQ Grilled Chicken also fared decent. Nicely cooked and juicy, the chicken fillet comes with BBQ sauce, French fries and coleslaw.


Fish is limited on the menu but there is the Grilled Salmon (RM19.90) featuring a whole cutlet of salmon grilled and flavoured with more herbs with the usual sidekicks. This one needed some gravy or sauce in my books as it was a tad dry.


I love a good rendition of Spicy Aglio Olio (RM10.90). The version here had a good note of the intense garlicky and spicy flavours with a robust breathe of wok. It makes a nice simple pasta dish with chicken and mushroom.


Lyssa makes her own dessert which is the Homemade Brownies with Ice Cream (RM7.90). The brownie is decadently rich and chocolatey with the pool of chocolate sauce. One can opt to have the brownie plain or with ice cream or even go for a double piece of brownie. I’d say go for the one with the ice cream.

Food here is one of those simple street café Western food and for the price charged, I really think its value-for-money. I like how Lyssa and her family try to put their own marinade and twist in their menu. If you are ever in the Shah Alam area and is looking for casual homemade Western food, you might want to check out Foodilicious Kitchen!



FOODILICIOUS KITCHEN
Komplex Anjung 7 Sek Shah Alam
Ground Floor Kompleks Anjung 7,
Jalan Zirkon 7/B,
Seksyen 7,
Shah Alam
Tel: 017-641-9945


Business Hours:
Opens daily Mon to Sun from 6pm-11pm
*Halal

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