Mexican, Latino-Chino food promo @ Bella Italia KK

It is always a great pleasure to visit one of the most happening and dynamic restaurant in KK - Bella Italia of Jesselton hotel. Much effort have been done by Executive Head Chef Leo Velazquez to turn this quite restaurant into the most happening thing in town. As such we were invited by the kind Chef try out their new food promo for May. Namely 'Mexican Road Side Chicken' and 'Latino-Chino' which is Latin inspired Noodle dishes with Asian Flair. Read on to find out more.

Bella Italia @ Jesselton Hotel

No. 69 Jalan Gaya, 88000 Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia

Phone: 088-313366/ 019-8079780

Hours: Mon - Sun: 6:30 am - 10:00 pm

 

Everydayfoodilove.co team: (from right) $ronco$, Monica, Melisa and Angeline (me)

First off, let's start with the Latino-chino dishes as we were very intrigued how asian food is interpreted from a latin american's point of view. First dish from this category, we sampled double beef soup noodles.

 

It resembles our ngiu chap, sans organs and intestines. The broth was clear, light but packs some strong flavor. The tomato salsa gives it a nice soury tang, a nice complement to the tender beef that took hours to cook to give it it's texture.

 

Next we had Fried noodles, or more accurately, koay tiao

This fried koay tiao has the appearance of any normal local bred. But the twist comes in the after taste. Once you bite in the flat noodles, a smooth coconuty taste will ensue in a few seconds. The koay tiao also has the traditional chinese wok hei, i.e stir fried over high heat to release a unique aroma and taste.

 

Next, we had the Crispy Roti Canai.

Now this is not your run of the mill roti. In appearance, you can't even tell its a roti canai. Its basically torn up roti canai, tossed together with eggs, chicken, mushroom, curry and spices as well as Tomato salsa. Very fragrant and aromatic from the spices, as well as touch of soury salsa. Very special indeed.

All Latino-Chino dishes cost RM8.80++ each 

 

Next we had the village feeder burrito. Its called village feeder because its so large it can feed the whole village. If you're a fan of Bella Italla KK's Facebook page, you'll know that many have accepted the Burrito Challenge, finish the dish (a whopping 1.5Kg worth of goodies) +1 litre of coke a and you get a free t-shirt. Well our version of burrito today is small one, 3 petite ladies and 1 guy can't handle all the kind chef feed us, so we asked for a miniature version.

But miniature it is not in flavor. The special burrito is wrapped around rice, chili con carne, big peppers onions, topped with special gravy and salsa. Very filling and delicious with all those myriad of tastes exploding in your mouth. This can be had at RM15 for the small one and RM35 for the village feeder.

 

Mexican Road Side Chicken

And we've come to the pinnacle of this month's promotion which is the chicken dish. Every so often, Chef Leo comes up with different Chicken menu. Before this, they had the Carribean chicken and American BBQ which were both awesome by the way, and now, Bella is going Mexico.

First up we have this tender chicken grilled in spices, and dazzled in salsa. The chicken that bella uses comes from their own corn fed chicken farm. So you have meaty chicken infused with spices roasted over low heat for several hours. The result, a dish worth spending time to circle around the block to find a parking space.

Side dish for the tender tasty chicken is firstly, the guacamole, a staple Mexican dip. Contains mashed up avocado, spices and mandatory salsa, topped with fresh herbs. The sweetness that comes from the avocado blends in with the soury salsa, to ignite your appetite.  

Next we had corn on the cob, boiled, then smeared with garlicy-butter, with a dash of paprika and herbs, absolutely well executed, and the kitchen crew go at lengths to make a bland mexican staple, into an explosion of flavors.

Another Mexican sauce that makes it into the menu is this refried beans. Ever since Chef Leo arrived at KK we have learnt a lot about world cuisine, and my google search history is a testament to this. This dish are cooked and mashed beans which is a staple Mexican entree. And Bella has executed this to suite local taste. Consume this in anyway you like, for me, drizzle this over the chicken also works rather well. 

Another side dish to the Mexican Road Side chicken is the tomato rice. Just like us, Malaysians, rice is a staple for the Mexicans as well. Very flavorful, and fragrant from the herbs and spices. This is definitely not your everyday nasi tomato. 

Price for Mexican Roadside Chicken : RM30++ which is good for 2 person.

This whole month is Mexican Food promo. Although we didn't get to sample these wonderful dishes, (because our belly are already potruding out forming a muffin top, and ugly sight!!) but we did manage to take so photos to keep you all salivating even more.

This is the nachos, tomato salsa, sour cream, olives, with melted cheese.

Next is the mushroom quesadilla

This dish here is the chicken chicharrones with green chili sauce

Also included in this set is the Prawns in aqua de chile

All this can be had at RM20++

 

 

Shot with Nikon D7000 
I am Angeline (Yoga teacher, photographer and blogger). Thank you for reading my posts. My media coverage touches mostly on lifestyle events and focuses on happening scenes in Kuala Lumpur and Kota Kinabalu. I also write food reviews, travel and hotel reviews, KL clubbing reviews and product launches. My other interests include the movies, technology and photography. Subscribe to my facebook page. Contact me via my email at: [email protected]