Cozy House @ Great Eastern Mall

I remembered coming to Cozy Corner in Ampang Park a long, long time ago and, for some reason, the Hainanese-style Chicken Chop (that I had previously) was the only lingering thought in my memory!

 

So, after dropping by this mall to stock up on my Cookie's favourite snacks...Angel's Salmon Sashimi & Feeline Greenies (and my oh my, how the prices have spiralled post GST...the Sashimi from RM11 to RM14.84 and the Greenies from RM15.80 to RM16.75), we had dinner at Cozy House @ Great Eastern Mall.  [#Note: There aren't many (good) eateries in Great Eastern Mall and (since) I've eaten at most of them already like Alexis, The Loaf, Espressolab, Kiku Zakura and Daidomon (don't want to be reminded of that one), it was down to Cozy House or Penang Village (but each time I pass by Penang Village, there's scarcely anyone there.]

Because of my prior experience and memory of the Hainanese Chicken Chop (which I thought was very good then), I went looking for it on the menu and found a number of chicken chops but no Hainanese Chicken Chop.  So, I decided to go with the Chicken Chop with Gravy @ RM18.90 (the closest to the Hainanese Chicken Chop from the  picture in the menu) just to see if the taste has remained all these years...it was not as I had remembered at all!! :'(  [#Note: A little bird told me that Cozy Corner (in Ampang Park) and Cozy House (in Great Eastern Mall) are not affiliated but owned by two brothers who run their restaurants independently.  I used to think they were the same (as they offer pretty similar dishes)...that could explain why the taste of the chicken chop was different.]

The accompanying fries were of the frozen kind, the brown gravy was borderline acceptable and the chicken chop was dry.  The chicken chop was over-fried and over-battered (in my opinion) as the taste turned out to be very floury.

Also, the cut of chicken they used contributed to its dryness.  They didn't use the chicken drumstick (as it normally should be) but used the wing portion (attached to the breast) instead.  And here's the proof....see the drummette bone and the unfinished piece of dry breast! ;D

Luckily, there was a saving grace in their more Chinese-inspired dishes like Fried Squid with Pepper & Salt @ RM24.90 served with a Thai sweet-and-sour chilli sauce.

For this price, we did get a generous serving of fried squid and, although they didn't have a profound taste of pepper and salt, they were surprisingly tender and crispy to the bite.  It was more than satisfactory as I've eaten my fair share of chewy squid.

Since we had a palatable experience with the pepper and salt squid, we went for another squid dish on a separate occasion when we were here (for more of Cookie's snacks, of course).  This was the Fried Squid with Butter Milk @ RM24.90.  Again, the squid was tender and crispy but the butter sauce could be better.

I also just had to order the Pandan Chicken @ RM21.90 since many blogs sing praises of this dish.  It came with 6 pieces of fairly large deep fried chicken pieces wrapped in pandan leaves.  As soon as the dish hits the table, the first thing you'd smell is the fragrance of the pandan leaves.

Unwrapping the pandan leaves revealed a well fried piece of marinated chicken that was still tender.  The marinade made the texture of the chicken slightly mushy (in my opinion) but the fragrant and well charred sides ended up to be the best parts.  I think if the chicken pieces were slightly smaller, it would have resulted in them being more well fried and more fragrant.

Our drinks were:

Iced Teh Tarik @ RM5.10 (surprisingly good and frothy)

Fresh Lime Juice with Sour Plum @ RM7.90 (had a nice zing)
Fresh Orange Juice @ RM7.90
(it's quite a small glass but, at least, it's freshly squeezed as you can taste some of the orange pulp)

 

My Personal Opinion

The restaurant offers a wide range of Chinese, Malay and Thai-influenced dishes from chicken to squid, beef, fish, prawns and vegetables that you can have with plain rice which can cost anything between RM20 - RM35.  But the single dishes of fried rice or noodles are very reasonable at between RM10 - RM15.

Their clientele seems to be predominantly Malay (since it is 'halal'), with some noticeable expatriates as well (since they'll be no language barrier in ordering), and a small handful of Chinese customers.  I suppose for a 'halal' version of Chinese-type dishes, they do a decent enough rendition (it wouldn't be level playing field if we were to compare it to 'non' halal Chinese restaurants or "tai chow" places). 

And, it's a better bet (for sure) to stick with these Chinese (or Thai) inspired dishes...and stay clear of the poorly executed western cuisine.

Cozy House Restaurant
Lot 10, 11 & 12 Level 3
Great Eastern Mall
303 Jalan Ampang
50450 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-4257 8988