A variety of empanadas at Casa Latina: (clockwise from bottom) saltena, coxinha, plantain and carimanola.
COCOA’s prominence in South America is clearly important to Venezuelan chef Tamara Rodriguez as there is a space dedicated for making chocolate in her Ampang restaurant.
The glass room is where chocolatier Juan Sara spends hours dehusking cocoa beans and chopping them into smaller pieces before grinding them to a paste, then going through the mill of tampering chocolate to make silky mouthwatering pralines and truffles.