Casa Latina at Persiaran Ampang: Restaurant review

Arepas and empanadas, chupe and ceviche, moqueca and milanesa: Casa Latina, a new Venezuelan-run restaurant, champions the lively flavours of Caracas, Brasilia and 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 and her team roll out an extensive menu that hopscotches from Brazilian-style fish cooked with coconut cream and annatto red oil to Peruvian prawn-and-potato soup.

Starters

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 and 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 and olives, conveying a heady punch of savouriness, harmonised with kitchen-made salsas and sauces (RM6 each).

Malaysian touch

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 and gula Melaka, striking up deep, dark dimensions of flavour (RM28).

Everything chocolate

There’s a second component to Casa Latina, which also calls itself a ‘cacao lab.’ The venue takes pride in its own hot chocolate and mousse, both smooth and sultry, robust and pure, as well as pralines made in collaboration with Malaysian brand Chocolate Concierge, relying mainly on cacao from Malaysia, South America and Africa, with fillings that span South American guavas, dates and cheese, coconut, passion fruit and 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.

Location & Details

Address: 20, Persiaran Ampang, Kuala Lumpur.
Hours: Open Sun-Thurs, 9am-9pm; Fri-Sat, 9am-1030pm.
Time:  +603-42652332
Find: View directory for Casa Latina here.