BBQ Chicken and Crispy Pork Rice - Coconut House AUD8.50
From the new shopfront, it looks like they're trying to be a 马来大排挡 Malaysian-style hawker stall. Gotta give it a try!
Having had mixed reviews, we had to try it for ourselves.
The service was a bit haphazard. In typical Malaysian tidak-apa fashion, loosely meaning easy-going, the planning wasn't the best. You got little plastic cards to tick 4 (AUD6.50) or 6 pieces (AUD8) of your choice of 酿豆腐 Yong Tofu, fish/surimi stuffed morsels, to go with 2 rolls of steamed chee cheong fun 猪肠粉 rice noodles. That's fine, but please don't let me queue to get to the front, and then give me the cards to take away and tick, implying I had to re-join the queue! Just as well, the waiter did learn to let patrons pay and return the cards when convenient. There were also little cards for the other menu items, which would simplify things for the kitchen. Just next to the cashier were where the lady-boss chopped the BBQ chicken, roasted really, and crispy roast pork. The bench seemed rather low... and it seemed as if she was trying very hard to avoid chopping off her fingers!
The chicken rice looked the part, served with soup and a garlicky chiclli sauce. The rice cooked was in chicken stock, flavoured with ginger, garlic and pandan leaves. Not bad, but the rice was tad undercooked. The chicken and pork were good otherwise. Still, I was hankering for the freshly roasted, ok fried, Garlic Chicken from Rose Garden a few shops away!
The Yong Tofu Cheong Fun was a mess. After reheating the various components, the girl unceremoniously dumps it on a plate, authentically snipping it into bites-sized pieces with a pair of scissors. She then drenches it with a rather watery curry sauce, probably meant for laksa. Taste-wise, the 酿腐竹皮 stuffed bean-sheets was fairly authentic, reminding me of the cheap, tasty doughy fish paste bulked up with cornstarch. Not gourmet food, but I grew up with it!
The verdict, well... despite having decent sounding dishes, the end result wasn't very satisfying. Would we go back... ? uhm... maybe...
Still... even on a Wednesday night, it was packed with students looking for a cheap feed that filled their tummies and staved off homesick cravings for the foods they loved.
From Rose Garden, a few shops up towards the Queen Victoria Market.
Coconut House
(03) 9329 6401
449 Elizabeth St
Melbourne VIC 3000
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