The non-halal food court @ Avenue K – Taste Enclave

The recent 1-2 years saw non-halal food courts popping up furiously in shopping malls.

Eating pork dishes is no longer confined to grubby coffee shops and decrepit food courts. Gone were the days when proprietors worry that serving the swine will reduce potential profits and market share.
No, now it is all about chewing on glorious crackly siew yok and melt-in-the-mouth char siew in the air-conditioned comforts of a food court located in swanky malls.

The Avenue K Mall was given another leash of life with its revamp about a year ago.
H & M was one of its biggest tenant, bringing (hopefully) light and an air of hipsterism to the once dreary mall.

I love the food and fabulous cakes at Urbean and for hawker grub, the Taste Enclave did a good job of grouping some of the best & trusted hawkers names in Klang Valley in one venue so patrons get to enjoy these legendary dishes without having to travel to the original outlet.
Along with the famous hawker names, the rest of the food proprietors kept up with pretty consistent taste and quality standards.
As such, none of my meals here had bordered on horrific yet.

My favourite here would be the char siew wantan noodles. I wish I have the glorious shots to show you the charred sides and melting layers of fats with tender meat of my char siew but unfortunately the pictures are lost for now.
It was major finger-licking good and the noodles were wonderfully supple. I’ve heard positive feedback of their roast meats as well.
If you are in Taste Enclave, look out for the queue (it is consistently the longest during peak hours) or the sign that says ” Tong’s Roast“, stall no. 5.

If it isn’t the wantan noodles, a bowl of the claypot chicken rice from the Heun Kee Claypot (which was in operation since 1986 in a shop near the Pudu wet market) would be next on my preferred list.

I always love mine with a side of bean sprouts for fibres and a hot soup.

But then again, there’s more than just chicken from Heun Kee so a few visits might be in order to enjoy more of their delicious claypot dishes; all cooked using a unique 2-way charcoal cooking system which ensures uniformed cooking and absolute tender meat.

For those who can’t live without their rice, there is nasi kandar stall and everyone’s favourite roti pratha; done perfectly crispy without a hint of grease.

Oodles of delicious noodles comes in the form of hokkien fried noodles (Sentul Ah Yap), curry noodle and many more of our local noodles preparations.

More pork love comes from Mr Porky. I have a soft spot for yam rice, pork balls, spare parts and rich pork soup, all of which was served with aplomb here.

This is my default order. I love the sides of braised beancurd and egg – more protein for me!
I can’t recall the exact price, but it was definitely less than RM15.

Below: Flavourful broth with a tang from the sour vegetables, guaranteed to stimulate the appetite.

Singapore is famous for their chicken rice and I have somewhat always enjoyed the ones from Boon Tong Kee as well as a few random stalls I’ve discovered over my many trips to the little red dot.
The chicken rice stall here at Taste Enclave (Nasi Ayam Singapura) serves chicken rice in a style originating from Singapore.
I haven’t tried it yet, since the porky options took precedent choice each time I was here but I’m coming around to it soon.
It’s tough to resist these fat, juicy yellow skinned beauties for long.

Taste Enclave also houses mini restaurants within its 17,00 square feet space. The Grandeur Teppanyaki offers its namesake teppanyaki in a setting where patrons sit around the hot grill and watch as the chefs cook their orders right in front of their eyes.

I can’t remember where my colleague ordered this from; but she pronounced it satisfactory.

Foreign flavours such as this Golden Hot Pot was supposedly to have originated from China.
Pick your vegetables and meat, level of spiciness and the chef will cook it using a unique blend of 47 herbs and chilies.
The flavor is a fiery affair, and great for those who has high tolerance for heat.

All in all its distinctive unique flavour is a good enough reason to give it a shot.
So if the local flavours here gets boring after a while, you can count on the sichuan peppers to give your tastebuds a jolt!

This unique take on the local food court concept also features beers on tap including Tiger, Heineken, Guinness Draught and Kilkenny Draught with price ranging from RM13.50 – to RM 15.00 for a glass.

Beer for breakfast or lunch? Very possible.

Located on the 2nd level in Avenue K, Taste Enclave occupies 17,200 square feet and can seat up to 500 patrons.
The interior is different at parts so depending on where you choose to enjoy your meal, it could be near the windows with bright sunlight streaming through or in dim, relaxed ambiance.
I’ll take the sunny one anytime.

So have you been here?
What’s your favourite dish at Taste Enclave then? 🙂

Taste Enclave
Level 2, Avenue K Shopping Centre
156 Jalan Ampang
50450 Kuala Lumpur
+6 03 2181 8888
http://www.tasteenclave.com/atrium-taste.html

**Love my photos? I use the Sony A6000, aperture mode. Adjustments are merely Brightness and AWB.