Wednesday, May 24, 2006

The Coconut House

Pooi San was driving me around aimlessly on Sunday. We were trying to think of a new place for dinner and beers. Not a hard thing to do, for most people.

The thing about her is that she drinks only Carlsberg and avoids places that provide only side parking. We finally settled down at the Coconut House at Jalan Pudu Lama. It serves Danish beers and the parking bays are not too challenging.

The restaurant is housed in a rustic pre-war building. With its tall ceiling, retro chandeliers, the place is charming and even romantic, given enough beers.

Like its sister restaurant in Melaka (which I visited years ago), the service is again overly unobtrusive. Even though, it was near empty, we had to wave frantically for our orders to be taken.

We ordered sauteed button mushrooms (specifically) for appetisers but were served bland shitake and abalone mushrooms (RM 9) instead. The expressionless waiter said it was the same thing!

The seafood pizza (RM 21) was tasty but looked a little impoverished even with extra seafood toppings (RM 4.50). The crust was uneven and lopsided but it was a pretty good deal.

The pork-free restaurant also serves pasta dishes, soups, salads, desserts and coconut juice.

Coconut House
28-30 Jalan Pudu Lama, Kuala Lumpur
(Behind the Hindu temple, opposite Puduraya)

Tel: 03 2031 2830



We had the whole place to ourselves


While our pizza is being fired up in a giant coconut oven...


...we settled for some mistaken mushrooms


The seafood pizza with extra seafood toppings


Pooi San the happy camper. Note: the coconut is an ashtray

8 comments:

patrickteoh said...

You had the whole place to yourself? And you're surprised? It sounds like the kind of place that one would enjoy if one is totally oblivious of ones surroundings due perhaps to the company. A place that looks like that and calls itself The Coconut House and serves pizza and what essentialy is stir fried mushrooms given to you on a plain white plate without any attempt at garnishing should be BURNT DOWN. Well, maybe not la since it is obviously a heritage building. At the very least the operator should be thrown out and Anthony Bourdain or Jamie Oliver made offers. Or at the very least Kylie Kwong.

By the way, that pizza looks like it needs something like a cold Carlsberg to be able to wash it down. At least that part they got right.

Thanks for the post, Smith. I shall remember to avoid The Coconut House. Carlsberg beer is available at other outlets.

Anonymous said...

nasi lemak ada?

Dana said...

Like what you said, the first coconut house was at Malacca, somewhere on the next street of Jonker Street. It was open by this Chinese movie critics nickname "Zhuang Nuo".

Both the restaurants have their own strong supporter, despite the food quality are not on par. I am guessing it must be their support to "Zhuang Nuo" himself, as well as the chinese literature magazine run by him on the same name "Coconut House".

J said...

Erm... dude.

I don't think the place is pork free la.

I just went there the other night and my friend ate a Roast Pork dish.

Anonymous said...

roast pork? thanks.. -_-"

Anonymous said...

hey hey, u had miss the top recepi in this coconut house!!! u should get the TIRAMISU!!! OMG OMG!! Everyone should TRY!!!!! yummy yummy!!!!

Anonymous said...

nope ... its not pork free - i work a few doors away ...

Anonymous said...

definitely not pork free, just had lunch there last week. Service slow...even though the place in pratically empty