RESTAURANT REVIEW: Moca Loca, Garden City Mall

I have been meaning to check out Moca Loca for a while now, right after I saw it next to Sugarcane, the Jamaican restaurant, on my last visit to Garden City Mall.

The décor is gorgeous and draws you in immediately; black and white and sepia larger-than-life portraits hang suspended on a wide wall; the chrome-like and black done bar adds an air of elegance and glamour to the surroundings, and if you take a walk all the way through, two giant wall clocks will catch your eye as you’re trying to catch the time. I love that the chairs are done up in a way reminiscent of an old school pastry shop – delicately wrought with patterns that look like they were cut out of a stencil. You

can sit by the bar, or sink into the soft black settees alongside the portraits (which, we were hypothesizing, may be the owners of the restaurant in their younger days?...)

The menu is extensive, covering pizza, pasta, burgers, salads, breakfasts and a small section for desserts. The food sounds good too, but unfortunately doesn’t live up to the hype – the prices are fair, and so is the food.

The burger tasted almost homemade, which is the best kind of burger if you are at home. The fish with tartar sauce was a bit dry, though the presentation was good. The Chicken Kiev was also good.

What they lack in taste, they make up for in service, however – our waitress obligingly took back our milky milkshakes to bring us something more deserving of the title. I hope they get a different chef.