Recently, we won a dining voucher for two (worth RM200) to dine at IR1968 Indochine Bar &Restaurant located in Terrace at Hock Choon. The restaurant serves Indonesia-Chinese cuisine and was first established in Hong Kong in 1968, hence the name. The IR1968 in HK is included in the Michelin Guide HK/Macau 2011-2012.
Making a reservation for this restaurant was a little strange (one of the stipulations of using the voucher was that we had to make a prior reservation). I called the restaurant, and told the guy I wanted to book a table for two adults and 1 child for lunch and the response I got was "uhm" and the guy hung up! I just assumed he got my message and we just turned up at the restaurant. I was surprised at how quiet the restaurant was, us being the only customers for the afternoon (haha felt like we booked the whole restaurant for ourselves!). I noticed that they had set lunches for RM9.90++which included a soup, main and Chinese tea - very cheap if you ask me! But sadly, I think the location does not really help. Service was a little slow, but pleasant enough. We weren't really in a rush, so it didn't bother us.
Outdoor terrace
Nice decor indoors
Our voucher entitles us to a set menu for two, hence we didn't have to choose from the menu. It included a drink, soup, starter, main and dessert, apparently worth RM200 in total. We enjoyed the food here, and the ambiance of the restaurant is nice and relaxing too.
Minty Ginger Tea - green apple, mint, ginger, cucumber, 100% natural wild honey - a very nice, refreshing drink
We started off with a warming bowl of
double boiled superior chicken soup (sop sayur ayam). The soup, served with some bak choy and chicken strips was clear, light and very clean tasting.
This was followed swiftly by the appetizer platter which consisted of 3 different components - wanton with tom yum sauce, vegetarian spring roll with minty sauce (lumpia), and Indonesian sweet corn and shrimp fritter (perkedel jagung). Despite all being deep fried, they were not oily and all tasted good.
Indonesian sweetcorn and shrimp fritter (Perkedel jagung)
The mains also consisted of 3 items - a chicken dish, a fish dish and a vegetable dish, together with an Indonesian traditional fried rice. The food presentation here is definitely nice. The fried rice was very fragrant and each grain was full of "wok hei". From the mains, I really liked the tangy flavours of the fish fillet with Javanese lemongrass sour and spicy sauce - so appetizing! The chicken with fresh coconut and banana flower sauce was rich and creamy (far left in photo).
Fish fillet with Javanese lemongrass sour and spicy sauce (ikan asam serai)
Garlic mixed vegetables (chap chai goreng)
Fragrant fried rice
Dessert was watermelon cubes with honey
For information, price for starters and soups start from RM12, poultry and meat from RM22, fish and prawns from RM25, squid from RM38 and vegetables from RM16.
Pork-free.
Price: We did not pay for this meal since we won dining vouchers from a magazine contest. However, this is NOT an invited review.
Location: IR1968 Indochine Bar & Restaurant, Terrace at Hock Choon, 241-B, Lorong Nibong,off Jalan Ampang, 50450 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Tel: 03-2141 3550
GPS Coordinates:3.159585,101.728827
