Tuesday 10 February 2009

Review: Restoran Kechara Oasis

We can't resist giving Restoran Kechara Oasis a try after seeing the tag "New Age Vegetarian Cuisine", what more with reassurances by Yozora that the food was great here especially the yue sang (raw fish dish) which was given a total new twist. Yozora arranged for a Chap Goh Mei lunch yesterday and we happily trouped down the errrmm basement??? of Jaya One. Seems like the new trend of not calling road level as Ground floor but for Jaya One, the ground floor is actually above ground... oh never mind.

To access this restaurant on Block D, you'll need to either park your car at B1 where Kechara Oasis' entrance is located, somewhat opposite of Overseas Restaurant; or from road level look for Killiney Kopitiam/News Junction and take the escalator up to B1 and proceed walking into the car park and turn left. You should be able to see Kechara Oasis from here. If you're coming over from Palm Walk, look for Simply Fusion Cafe and take the escalator down to B1 and walk into the car park and turn left.

We toured the place earlier last week, the setting were rich in magenta which is Kechara House signature colour, paired with beige and lots of silver Tibetan ornaments plus furniture, the place spell exquisite. A beautiful contemporary fine dining vegetarian restaurant, great to entertain guests. There is a special VIP room which one could use when the menu is above RM1K, they're waiting for the karaoke set to arrive. Wine is served but you'll need to inform in advance so that you can be placed in a separate dining area so as not to offend religious vegans in the main dining hall. Since the restaurant is very new, the proper menu is not done up yet, just make do with the current one printed on white paper first ok.

We started off with the Kechara Yue Sang of course. The different nuts and seeds on separate dishes were added to the various shredded carrot, white radish, seaweed, purple cabbage, pomelo and some other things we could not decide what were they. All Irene Lim, the Director, told us was we must lap up every single morsels cos they contain loads of selenium, collagen, vitamins and minerals that will make us look younger teeheehee! I loved the macadamia, cashew and sunflower seeds, on top of the usual peanuts which gave this yue sang a very crunchy and fragrant experience. However, RM58 for half a portion, I think it's a bit expensive AND should you like to try this, sorry, you'll have to wait till next CNY heh :p

Kechara Yue Sang (RM58 for half portion)

Yozora reserved 10 pieces of Deep Fried Vietnamese Spring Rolls (RM15) cos these babies run out fast! Beneath the crispy rice paper roll lies in the soft mushroom fillings. Served with lettuce and pickled carrot and white radish.

Vietnamese Spring Roll (RM15 for 10)

Yozora ordered Set C RM128 which can cater to 8-10 persons that have 6 main dishes and came with rice plus soup of the day. Here are the dishes we have yesterday...

Vegetarian Char Siu (mock bbq meat) is nice with a coating of sweetish char siu sauce.

Vegetarian Char Siu (Part of Set C RM128)

Then we have this Deep Fried Oyster Mushroom lightly coated with sweet and sour sauce. I like this cos the mushrooms doesn't taste oily even though they were deep fried! The sauce is not over powering at all.

Deep Fried Mushroom Cooked in Sweet n Sour Sauce  (Part of Set C RM128)

This dish of brinjal wins hand down for they're totally not oily. Not sure how this was cooked but the brown bits tasted a bit like lai yau. I believed these brinjal were cooked in water before being stir-fried just like this Stir-Fried Eggplants With Minced Fish which I've cooked before hence they don't soak up so much oil.

Brinjal  (Part of Set C RM128)

Next came the mock fish errmmm I'm not sure if it's known as assam sauce cos it tasted a bit like assam but it's not entirely sour like one. The mock fish looked like cod with rather similar texture. This is something I would order again.

Vegetarian Assam Fish (Part of Set C RM128)

Mapo Tofu was smooth and easily slurped down the throat. Not hot, great for people who can't tolerate hot stuff.

Mapo Tofu (Part of Set C RM128)

These stir-fried sweet potato shoots were great. Gently fried to retain crunchiness.

Stir-fried Sweet Potato Shoots (Part of Set C RM128)

I've ordered this Braised Yee Meen for my boiboi who was recovering from fever. The yee meen was braised till soft and contained a lot of ingredients which my boiboi did't ate much. He likes the yee meen so much that he asked for second and third helping. Later on our friend, Casper, scooped some for her 2 year old daughter. Turned out she liked it as well.

Braised Yee Meen (Small RM8)

Actually by now, the 6 adults were already very stuffed but we couldn't resist the desserts. The majority have Colourful Ice (RM5.50) which contained strips of nangka, jelly, sea coconut, longan plus I've no idea what else since I stayed far from them. Errmm I can't stand nangka smell :p

Colourful Ice (RM5.50)

And so I had Mango Pudding (RM4.50) instead. I have to say this smooth and soft pudding is freshly made and not using those instant powder cos can taste the milky bits but not overpowering. Irene told us the dessert chef is from China and he churns out the desserts in small batches and made fresh all the time.

Mango Pudding (RM4.50)

I haven't really scrutinise the menu but there are quite a number of other items we have to try. The prices of the dishes are quite well balanced with some rather steep priced stuff but of course they have reasonable ones. As with my other experience of vegetarian dining, this one is true to what Irene had preached... natural and healthy, less salt, less oil and NO MSG!

Remember do make reservation as the restaurant was almost full yesterday but that was most prolly because it was the 15th day in the lunar calendar plus Chap Goh Mei.


Restoran Kechara Oasis
D19, B1 Block D, Jaya One
72A, Jalan University, Petaling Jaya,
Tel: 603-7968 1818
Opening Hours:
Daily Lunch - 11.30am to 3.00pm
Daily Dinner - 6.00pm to 10.00pm


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14 comments:

  1. wahh now vegetarian also goes up-class! the dinner we had at Hakka was disastrous, hehe..wouldn't be posting abt it. But this plc is worth a try!

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  2. yee sang full of vitamins and minerals... 1st time hearing that... worth the price i think... and the deep fried mushroom with sweet and sour sauce looks really tempting

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  3. Yay, another vegetarian place to try and not so far from my place :)

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  4. I pass by this restaurant at Jaya One before....after reviewing ur food review on this....maybe will go and try for myself...

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  5. Quite a number of foodies blogged about this and have similar views, a bit pricey but quite good. Will have to wait for mother-in-law's birthday to visit :-)

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  6. yea, food at Kechara Oasis looks really authentic i tell ya. The one we tried was the cheap version of vege chap fan.. and man was it CHEAP! :)

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  7. I had similar fried oyster mushroom with sweet sour sauce at Camp Forest, taste like "ku lou yoke" rite?

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  8. mmm.. good time for you all to try when I am not there... i see one of the dish i will not eat for sure. heehe... anyway veggie is not my type of food

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  9. nomad gourmand, disastrous at Hakka? tell tell what happened?? :p

    cindy, do give them a try

    jason, din know you lup vegetarian food. well unless yr *cough cough* likes vegetarian :p

    vialentino, hurry and feed back

    family first, i hope her birthday is not in Dec :p dun wait can go try even this weekend ;-)

    c&c, can u imagine the vast difference in terms of the ambiance of this place vs buddy's? :p

    yes mimi but better i wud say

    hehehehe yes joyce :p dun worry, we're planning the next one with loads of meat when you come back

    worldwindows, do find time to drop by ok

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  10. i am glad that you liked the food there. the next time we go, lets try the more affordable dishes :). and Joyce Wong, you may just have to eat there if we choose this for your Birthday dinner venue *evil smirk*.

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  11. hello ppl! =)

    interested in more vegetarian restaurants?

    do visit:

    http://compassionate-vegetarians.blogspot.com

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  12. yozora, you're so evil!!!

    thanks jamie, you've got some great vegetarian reviews there!

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  13. The entrance is tricky to find, access is actually from the basement next to cold storage. It was worth the effort tho, the food is certainly "fine-dining"-ish and the ambience is really classy. Definitely one to bring the family to! Grandma's birthday anyone?

    I personally recommend the Kechara salad and this simple but yummy taufoo dish with soy sauce (you have to order off menu)

    You can browse thru their website www.kechara.com/oasis ... lots of yummy vege dishes on there

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