Fresco: ready to eat option in midst of shopping

choosing from the menu

Had it been that long since I last written an entry? Yup, it has been a lazy 2 months. And probably I did not eat out as frequent as I used to. When I do, I ended up eating in the familiar places. And finally after so many months procrastinating, me and Lyn decided to try Fresco. 

different ready-to-eat dishes

bake maccaroni cheese

The new Ipoh Parade do boast a totally new uplifted clean and sleek image. To replace the old Cold Storage is the new Fresco Grocerant. The price of the grocery there is marginally higher in view Fresco focus on imported item instead of the local produce. The higher end spending is also reflected in the small diner inside the grocer. Yup, for those who actually still haven't heard of Fresco (which means you are living under a coconut shell/ tempurung): there is a diner inside the grocer. This is not a brand new idea, there are some Giant/ Tesco with small dining place inside the hypermart. However, what makes Fresco stands among the rest is that it functions as a real western restaurant. There are a whole list of options to choose from, and there is even option of buying fresh produce from the grocer to be cooked there. And as I said, the higher end crowd it caters to is reflected on the price. It is not cheap, but the price is not astronomical as some fine dining in Ipoh (ahem... those who knows me would know which of the few diners I frequently refers to)

the roast chicken

roast chicken

I had noticed as well, with time, there are more and more ready-to-eat options available which are relatively economically priced compare to the higher end ala carte dishes. And it did not disappoint at all. The list is still mainly western but there are options of the ever popular local nasi lemak. Lyn ordered a quarter roast chicken, served with mashed potato (RM17.90). The chicken meat, although may not be freshly roasted, is nice without being too dry. The gravy, on the other hand, is impressively done, with adequate taste of herbs. I chose the bake maccaroni cheese served with ice lemon tea (RM14.90). The maccaroni is obviously pre-cooked and reheated from the microwave oven, but the cheese blended well with the pasta after the initially baking. If it is eaten fresh, it could have been perfect. 

I am not sure how the ala carte dishes would fare, but the ready to eat ones are satisfying in the taste department. Do not expect the dishes to be fresh, since it is ready-to-eat, but it did not disappoint at all. With its consistent taste, we would definitely come back for the freshly cook ala carte dishes. 

ratings: 3 half poink~!

comments: one of the better choice of dinner while shopping in Ipoh Parade

Fresco Gorcerant

Lot B01A, Basement 1, 

Ipoh Parade, 

105, Jalan Sultan Abdul Jalil

Greentown, Ipoh