Organic food seems to be increasingly in vogue, but few places serve it as subversively as Opika, which coaxes fine flavors out of richly realized recipes.
Can something be both healthy & addictive? This quinoa salad floored us from the first bite _ slow-cooked red grains served with shrimp, tempeh crisps & kaduk leaf tempura & soaked in a fragrantly tangy Malaysian dressing of kasturi lime & nipah syrup.
IKEA-inspired? Swedish-style meatballs _ made of beef & lamb & tinged with dill _ accompanied by brown sauce, sour cream & lingonberry jelly. Pricier than what a furniture store cafe charges, but these offer a substantially more satisfying chew.
Nasi ulam & ayam percik, a carb-&-protein combo made memorable with the arresting aroma of wild herbs ricocheting through the rice.
Smoked chicken carbonara pasta. Pleasingly creamy, but at a time when top-notch Italian food isn't hard to find in KL, Opika's version won't leave a lasting impression.
Braised beef & mushroom ragout in a walnut pastry shell. Meaty, earthy & nutty _ a triumphant triumvirate of tastes & textures. And all this is simply from Opika's soft launch menu; who knows what greater gustatory genius might greet us in the months ahead?
Blends of fruits & veggies _ everything from carrots, spinach & beetroots to apples & oranges.
For takeaway, Opika also sells organic beverages, cereals & more. Mangosteen & seaweed juice? We gotta get ourselves a bottle sometime.
Opika Organic Market & Restaurant,
LG 105-106, 1 Utama (Old Wing _ well, kinda).
Tel: 03-7732-2581
