Casa Latina @ Persiaran Ampang

Arepas & empanadas, chupe & ceviche, moqueca & milanesa: Casa Latina, a new Venezuelan-run restaurant, champions the lively flavours of Caracas, Brasilia & Bogota in a calm corner of KL; it's the second South American eatery to open in our city this year, three months after El Maiz, in a welcome awakening of a richly nuanced collection of cuisines in Malaysia.

For the complete Casa Latina experience, it's currently best to come on weekends, when chef-founder Tamara & her team roll out an extensive menu that hopscotches from Brazilian-style fish cooked with coconut cream & annatto red oil to Peruvian prawn-&-potato soup.

From Mondays through Fridays, the selection is comparatively compact, though there's still more than enough for a table to share. We'll never say no to arepas - Casa Latina serves no fewer than five varieties of these griddled corn flour patties, plumply stuffed with, say, chicken, avocados, mayo & green pea sprouts, for a sink-your-teeth-into-this substitute for regular ol' sandwiches (RM12). Empanadas come in a choice of wheat flour, green plantain dough, corn meal dough or tapioca dough; each piece of pastry is packed with possibilities like beef, peas & olives, conveying a heady punch of savouriness, harmonised with kitchen-made salsas & sauces (RM6 each).

The cooking channels honest, home-made sensibilities, not intimidatingly unfamiliar for Malaysian taste buds. Arroz chaufa is fried rice that illuminates the influence of Chinese immigrants on Peruvian cuisine; it's a safe, inoffensive recipe (RM20). For something that blends Venezuelan and Malaysian inspirations, check out Casa Latina's take on asado negro, featuring beef caramelised with chocolate sauce & gula Melaka, striking up deep, dark dimensions of flavour (RM28).

There's a second component to Casa Latina, which also calls itself a 'cacao lab.' The venue takes pride in its own hot chocolate & mousse, both smooth & sultry, robust & pure, as well as pralines made in collaboration with Malaysian brand Chocolate Concierge, relying mainly on cacao from Malaysia, South America & Africa, with fillings that span South American guavas, dates & cheese, coconut, passion fruit & more; if you have chocolate-loving friends, take them here. And if you linger long enough, Casa Latina's amiable New Zealand-born manager Nic might bring you a sharply balanced shot of ginger-infused espresso that could be the most memorable coffee you'll try this month. There's a nice confluence of cultures here that makes Casa Latina a restaurant to bookmark.

Casa Latina

20, Persiaran Ampang, Kuala Lumpur. Open Sun-Thurs, 9am-9pm; Fri-Sat, 9am-1030pm. Tel: 03-4265-2332

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El Maiz Venezuelan Cuisine @ Menara AmpleWest

It's a shame that arepas aren't part of KL's culinary conversation; along with tostones & other Venezuelan staples, they're arrestingly delicious. For a far-too-rare taste of South America in our city, put El Maiz on your list of venues to visit - chef Fabiana Zambrano, outlet managing director Luis Arias & supervisor Gaby Perez, all Venezuelans who've lived in the Klang Valley for years, are enthusiastic about introducing the cooking of their homeland to Malaysians. Start with the arepas - griddled cakes made with Venezuelan corn flour (true to the name El Maiz, Spanish for The Corn), plumply stuffed with, say, tender pulled chicken & yellow cheese (RM20) for a meal that's richly, flavourfully chew-worthy. Buen provecho, indeed.

Those tostones! Twice-fried unripe plantain slices, thickly crisp, beautifully topped with robust pulled beef, shredded cheese & a garlicky-citrusy guasacaca sauce of parsley & chilli peppers (only RM18 for two pieces; order them) - they may well make some customers contemplate a flight to Caracas for more. Single-plate meals are available - the Asado Negro features rice & fried sweet plantains with carnivore-baiting chunks of beef stewed in sugarcane (RM42) - but there's more that merits further investigation, from traditional soups & salads to empanadas & tequenos. Pretty good wine is offered for RM16 by the glass.

El Maiz Venezuelan Cuisine & Latin Deli

A-G-1, Ground Floor, Menara AmpleWest, Jalan Puncak, Off Jalan P. Ramlee, Kuala Lumpur. 

Open 10am-3pm, 5pm-9pm (Mon-Sat); 9am-3pm (Sun). Tel: 03-2022-1733

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Sebastian's Venezuelan Gastro Bar @ Persiaran Ampang

Seven years ago, Venezuelan teenager Sebastian landed in Malaysia on an art scholarship; now 25, he's made KL his home, opening a restaurant this month that showcases soul food from his homeland. Sebastian's is a real hole in the wall in Ampang, with a laid-back, anything-goes vibe - walk in at 7:30pm on a Wednesday night, & the kitchen might not even be open yet, so you'll be left to your own devices for awhile, admiring the artwork on the walls (painted by Sebastian himself) or chatting with one friendly server while the music blasting from the speakers swings from what sounds like dramatic Portuguese-style fado to Men At Work's unmistakeable Down Under. You'll begin to doubt whether the restaurant takes its fare seriously, but once the food finally starts coming (prepared by Sebastian's brother), it becomes clear that this is cooking worth loosening your belt for.

Start with the Venezuelan national dish, pabellon criollo (RM35; a platter of steamed white rice, stewed black beans, savoury shredded beef & sweetly ripe plantain slices, perfect for patrons who favour the produce of rustic kitchens), & order a very tasty side of arepas (RM20 for two pieces of Sebastian's own-made grilled cornmeal flatbread stuffed with chicken & cheese).

Croquettes are also good, crisp to the bite, plump with pulled chicken, topped with a variation of zesty guasacaca green sauce (RM20 for three). We also like the chorizo (RM20 for six pieces), firm but juicy, robust in flavour. If you're not on a diet, check out the cachapa, a traditional thick corn dough pancake blanketed with butter & cheese, or the tequenos, Venezuela's version of cheese sticks - much of the food tastes like it had been cooked in someone's home or at a street-side stall. The only flop was the bland & rubbery octopus with potatoes, but any disappointment was drowned out by rich & smooth Venezuelan rum.

Sebastian's @ Ampang

32 Persiaran Ampang, Kuala Lumpur. In theory, open daily, 7pm till late (kitchen closes 11pm). A drinking crowd comes in at 10pm, & the music gets loud. Tel: 012-250-2465

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