General | by rebeccasaw
Frontera, Jaya One
The chocolate chilli brownie here was much hailed upon by my reliable foodie friend Kevin & me being me, didn’t need much prodding to round up a group as soon as he said he is up for it again.
We had all together 3 appetizers and 3 mains. ( This place is great if you are going in a group; we wouldn’t have been able to taste so many varieties at one time if otherwise)
Lastly was the long -anticipated choc chilli brownie of course.
When you go Tex- Mex, chilli is a must, so our first order was this.
Chilli Con Corne RM16.95
Beef chilli garnished with homemade tortilla strips, topped with shredded cheese and chopped onions.
I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was not as spicy as I have expected chilli to be, which is great since I find the burning, tongue numbing versions unkind on the stomach. Also, I am of opinion that one can really taste the flavour of the food better if it is not too overly spicy.
Two thumbs up for this, it was really good.
Taquitos de Pollo RM19.95
I have read so much about this dish (almost on every blog post that has been written about Frontera) that not ordering it would be taboo!
Basically shredded chicken, mixed with chilli, onions, with sprinkling of black pepper (I kid you not, I opened the roll and poked at the filling to check what’s inside), the tender meat paired with the crispy tortilla roll plus the green salsa verde and sour cream certainly whetted our appetite for the night.
Of course, other than chilli con carne, nachos are a must.
So the Frontera Nachos was duly ordered. RM28.95
It came pizza -like, with the base of crisp tortilla chips, covered with refried beans, cheese and sliced jalapeno.
The jalapeno is sweetish and vinegar-ish, a nice spice- it- up to the otherwise common pizza-like flavour.
Choices available are chicken or beef, and the waitress seeing our dilemma in deciding, gave us a combo. 
The sour cream here is really nice and the pico de gallo (which is salsa to me) but to quote wikipedia;
pico de gallo = Spanish for “rooster’s beak”) is a fresh condiment made from chopped tomato, onion, and chilies (typically jalapenos) .
The version they served here was confirmed to have the above ingredients by the waitress.
Half stuffed, we shared the mains as well.
The Beef Enchiladas RM28.95 came highly recommended by Gissel ( I think she is the restaurant manager?) as well as the Chicken Tex Mex Burrito RM19.95.
Both came with sides of Mexican rice; which was nicely flavourful and the refried beans was delicious as well; all soft and mushy.
The burritto came in one big roll & I did find the skin a wee thick, though it complements the thick layer of monterey cheese melted on top. The minced chicken filling was a bit sparse though.
The Beef enchiladas, on the hand, with its really thin skin was a better choice.
Generous filling of slow roasted shredded beef, moist and plump makes this a winner.
Note: I was a bit worried about the “refried beans” phrase hence I did a little check on wikipedia.
It would be interesting to share with you guys on this little bit of info:
The name is based on a mistranslation. In Mexican Spanish, the prefix re- is an informal form of emphasis meaning “very” or “well,” not to be confused with the English re- and formal use of the Spanish prefix re-, which indicates repetition. Thus, frijoles refritos, the Spanish name of this dish, would translate to English as “well-fried beans,” not “twice-fried beans.”
Being a chinese, re-fried immediately gave an impression of leftovers being re-cooked ;p
Well, its good to know that wasn’t the case!
Frontera’s famous BBQ Beef Ribs RM49.95
Slow roasted mesquite, smoked beef ribs, basted with Frontera’s homemade Habanero BBQ sauce, served with mash potato and sauteed vegetable of onions and corn.
Don’t let the BLACK glob that you see in the picture put you off. The sauce that covers the rib was sweet smokey-goodness! Meat that gave way to the knife with no resistance what-soever..with melt in the mouth fat.
And of course the mash was good as well, earthy, spud-dy, creamy, buttery. Good to lick off with your spoon.
And for dessert, what else but the Choc Chili Brownie. RM12.95.
The brownie texture was alright, it wasn’t too dense neither too rich. There are outlets with better versions of course.
But what makes this a must -try was the experience of dull burn or the swirling effect of subtle chilli heat that only comes to surface after the rich smooth chocolate taste has melted away in your mouth.
Imagine, sweet, lightly spicy..then the cooling sensation of creamy vanila ice-cream. Undeniably something unique.
note: While it was good on that particular night, it was disappointing during my next visit a week after with a different group of friends. We found it a bit dry with a very miserable portion of vanilla ice-cream.
One dessert is never enough for me, and my friend bought Pavlova from Alexis.
Very nice & not overly sweet. Sure beats the ones served at The Apartment, KLCC.
)Another suggested dish is the mexican mole, which is a complex chocolate-y sauce to be eaten with meat.
An acquired taste, I was warned, but I think I’m up for it
Advance notice are required for both dishes so if anyone wants something out of the ordinary, do call up Larry or Gissel (03-7958 8515) TO CHECK WHETHER they would be able to prepare it as sometimes they might not have the necessary ingredients on hand.
Frontera Bar & Grill
18-8-2, Block L, Palm Square, Jaya One
72A, Jalan Universiti, PJ.
rebeccasaw Reply:
March 9th, 2011 at 5:49 pm
Wow! When was this? U tried it recently? Heheh.. gonna drag some friends ovr to try!
[Reply]