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Monday 8 June 2015

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
 

12 comments:

  1. I had this Hainanese chicken chop at a coffee shop in Penang but I understand it has since closed down. RM3.50 only! So so cheap!

    I know that Cozy Corner at Ampang Park - used to stay at Crown Princess when I attended meetings, seminars, workshops and what not there on my working trips long ago. Some friends ate there - said the food was good but I never got round to try anything at that place. The food at this one sure looks pretty good.

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    1. Yeah, that Cozy Corner has probably been around as long as Ampang Park has. The food at Cozy House is considered good for people wanting halal food but, for the Chinese, we can definitely find better ones.

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  2. I tell you a secret: the anak boss of this restaurant is my best friend. I'm not kidding. I sometimes go there to meet him for free meal when he got no time to come out and yumcha with me ;)

    Your observation is correct that most of the customers here are Malays and expats. And, a lot of them are loyal customers of 2-3 generations. According to the anak boss, even the Selangor royal family is their regular, the princes/princesses sometimes dine there anonymously and the sultan's bodyguards sometimes go there to tapao.

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    1. No secret...you've told me before (you're the little bird I was referring to...kekeke!). I'm not surprised that Selangor royalty dines there (I've seen a pic of Najib too) but I'm surprised that the princes/princesses can 'tahan' as their service is wanting! :( I had to ask for white rice 3 times (after they brought us the pandan chicken 10 - 15 mins earlier).

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  3. Looks like you did not have a good experience at Daidomon - the way you put it. I ate at Daidomon, GE Mall a few years ago and it was not that nice an experience too. After that I seldom go to GE Mall. After reading your review of this Cozy House, I don't think I will eat here unless my boss decides to have team lunches there since it is halal but I doubt so since my office is not near.

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    1. Yes, that Daidomon experience was one of my worst dining experiences (the other being Seoul Garden). The meat for grilling was brought to us....frozen! And the scallops were stinky! The rest weren't very fresh either.

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  4. it's been many years since i visited great eastern mall ... interestingly the outlets there seem to have a lot of longevity! :)

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    1. I can understand why....no new (or good) eating places here to entice you to come visit! :D

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  5. Hmmm...too bad the chicken chop was a disappointment. I can't imagine why they used chicken breast. Maybe its too much trouble to remove the bones from chicken legs. The fried squid looks good. Nice to munch on.

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    1. Exactly.....who would use breast meat for chicken chop!

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  6. Hi,

    Not to comment on Cozy House here (although I frequented the place) but you REALLY should try Penang Village next time. Yes, looks can be deceiving. There seems to not be many patron in Penang Village but they are usually quite full during dinner time. Foods are absolute delight and I dare say many are better tasted than Cozy. Their Kailan 2 Rasa, Fish & Chips, Char Kuey Teow, Mee Kari are among what I've tried (and many more I've forgotten the name). You can even have a look at their menu from their website.

    I think the reason why people are not open to try Penang Village is because the impression you get from just looking at the restaurant, it might be expensive (it is, at least, a little bit pricier than Cozy) and there is no people eating there (food might not be good right?). Thing is, their ambience is better than Cozy and patron usually sits at tables further inside where we passerby might not be able to see from the entrance, thus, the restaurant seems empty. Go try it sometimes. :)

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    1. Yeah, it always looks deserted from the outside, so I dare not go in! Thanks for the tip. Perhaps, I'll try this one the next time I'm here to stock up on my cat's snacks :)

      And thanks for dropping by my blog.

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