A tinge of Mexican at Las Carretas

I was having a big headache deciding where to go for Saucer's birthday dinner. I came up with a few suggestions (Shogun, Italiannies, etc) but ultimately, Saucer wasn't too impressed with them. And hence the search continued high and low by googling and reading blogs. He told me he wanted something special that he had never tried before. I even went to the extent of Morrocan, Middle-Eastern and Northern Indian cuisines! Finally, he settled for Mexican, maybe it had something to do with the fact that we just watched Sex and the City movie recently. :P Anyway, I was fine with wherever he wanted to go. Now the search had to narrow down to reputable Mexican restaurants in KL, and I can tell you, there weren't many to choose from. One restaurant name that always came up in the search engines was Las Carretas. Seeing that we didn't have much to choose from, I made a reservation right away. Las Carretas is a Mexican restaurant in KL, with three branches at Ampang, Damansara and Subang. Since it was a weekend, we decided to go to the Subang Jaya branch to avoid traffic jams.

Las Carretas in Subang Jaya

The restaurant had 2 storeys, and when we reached at 7.30pm, the ground floor was already full. After we placed our orders, we were given this plate of corn chips with salsa sauce, for free! Saucer LOVES them! Look at the salsa sauce! It was already half gone before I had the time to take out my camera to snap this picture. :P

Corn chips

Since it was a celebratory event, I asked Saucer to try the famous Mexican margarita. It was his first time drinking margarita and he cringed with the first sip! *LOL* It was really funny. The combination of salt at the brim of the glass with the sour lime taste and the bitter alcohol was enough to perk up anyone's senses. I only ordered the plain hot chocolate, because a girl always loves chocolate. :)

Margarita & hot chocolate drinks

For starters, we ordered the Mexican chili chicken soup, which was a trademark for Mexican cuisines. You'd be surprised to know that the Mexican's definition of Chili and our definition of Chili are not the same at all. In fact, this bowl of soup was not even spicy. But it was definitely good! What's more, the garlic bread was hot and crispy. Eating this with the soup was simply heavenly.

Mexican Chili Chicken Soup and garlic bread

Moving on to the main course. Saucer ordered this dish called Bistek Solomo. From the menu:
"230 Grams Freshly Flown-in Australian Grass Fed Sirloin Steak Served with Your Choice of Chimmi Churri Dip, Mushroom Sauce or Black Peppercorn Sauce & Accompanied With Our Freshly Prepared Salad & Baked Potato"

The steak was done exquisitely, not overly cooked, not undercooked, and best of all, very tender and juicy. I had a few bites of these and I regretted not choosing this dish already. Needless to say, this dish was wiped off by Saucer, potato and salad included. :)

Bistek Solomo (Steak)

I don't remember them asking us for choice of sauce for the steak, but they served us two different sauces: Mushroom and black pepper. Oh well, no one's complaining! ;)

Mushroom and black pepper sauces

As for me, I wanted to try something new. Burrito! I've never had a burrito before so I carefully chose one that would not go wrong. Seafood! This dish was called Burrito del Mar. The description was:
"A Rolled Warm Flour Tortilla Filled with Seafood & Topped with Loads of Enchilada Sauce, Cheese, Shredded Iceberg Lettuce, Bell Pepper Relish, & Served with Guacamole, Mexican Rice & Beans"

I'm sure you swallowed your saliva by just reading the description eh? :P Well I did! Even right now! *LOL* The picture might not look very tempting but inside that tortilla wrap was a treasure of seafood! Every bite I took was a delight. It was either calamari rings, succulent prawns or mussels. I swear I lost count on the mussels there were inside that wrap. I would definitely go for this dish again. Lovely.

Burrito del Mar @ Seafood burrito

After finisihing our meals, I took some time to admire the surroundings of the restaurant. I found something rather amusing, which was this piece of wall filled with many different number plates. Looking closely to the number plates, I realized they're from all over the United States of America. There was a plate from California, from Texas, from Georgia, etc. The owner must have stayed in the US for quite some time before this. Also, not forgetting the famous Mexican hat a.k.a sombrero, poncho and a guitar to complete the look!

Number plates from the US

At the end of the night, both Saucer and I left the restaurant feeling satiated, happy and possibly a little drunk. :P Overall, we had a wonderful dining experience at Las Carretas... Good food, nice environment and reasonable prices. We'd definitely visit this place again. :)

Us at Las Carretas

Las Carretas Subang Jaya
No 29 USJ 10/1F
47620 Subang UEP
Malaysia
Tel +60 (0)3 5637-3058
Fax +60 (0)3 5637-3059