Coca Steamboat, Subang Parade

I have heard about Coca Restaurant many years ago while I’m still residing in Ipoh e.g. through promotion leaflet distributed by Jusco. I also still remembers how I used to say, “All these eateries are in KL, it’s not that we can go.” Yeah, Ipoh is seriously deprived of some higher end eateries.

When I shifted here in KL, these memories seems to be sealed somewhere in my brain and it never came across my mind to try these places which once regarded as “too far” until I received an email from Coca’s Marketing Manager, Ms Andrea Chua few weeks back, inviting me over to their Subang outlet for a dinner for two.

Calvin got to tag along and since I’ve read about Coca from other bloggers’ experience, we were not expecting for steamboat. True enough, as soon as we met Andrea, we were told that they have prepared a la carte dishes for us. We got to choose our drinks; I had the Roselle Juice while Calvin opted for fresh coconut. Good to perk up an appetite as the Roselle juice was sourish, yet refreshing and sugar free.

The first appetizer to arrive to our table was the Coca Stuffed Prawns (RM 9.00). The meat of these two large prawns (longer than my palm!) were removed, minced and mixed with onion, mushroom and some other ingredients and stuffed back into the prawns before being deep fried. Lipsmackingly delicious, the stuffing were juicy despite being deep fried and not greasy at all. Definitely a good start to the meal.

Next, was the famous Pandan Chicken (Kai Haw Bai Toey, RM 8.80). We both loved this a lot! Almost as big as my fist, the meat were well marinated, tender, succulent and exudes a lovely pandan fragrance.

We have been informed that Coca encourage healthy eating, hence they substitute coconut milk with yoghurt in their curry-based dishes, such as this Green Curry Chicken with Homemade Fish Balls (Gaeng Kew Wan Loke Chin Pla Kap Nuer Kai, RM 11.80). Overall, the dish looked exactly the same as the original version, only the gravy appeared to be slightly thicker. The chicken meat were, again, very tender and came in big chunks. Served together with aubergines and home made fish balls, I could taste that it was a bit different from the version cooked with coconut milk. If you’re not keen to have it cooked with yoghurt, you still can request them to cook it with coconut milk.

The Steamed Siakap in Thai Style was another hit. Prettily garnished with chopped scallion, cili padi, garlic, coriander, ginger and lime sauce, the flesh were fresh and firm but not overcooked. I just can’t stop to “bathe” the meat with the tangy and spicy lime sauce before putting it into my mouth. Absolutely delish.

Usually come drenched with gravy in Chinese restaurants, the Thai Butter Prawn was prepared the opposite way. The large prawns were prefectly cooked with a savoury butter “crust”, elevated with curry leaves and other spices. We polished the plate clean.

Calvin doesn’t fancy Tom Yam, hence I had all the Seafood Tom Yam (RM 13.80) to myself, except the prawns. Not too oily and brimming with oyster mushroom, squid, onion and large prawns, I just love the taste as soon as the spiciness started to kick in. I even drenched my bowl of rice with it.

The Pattaya BBQ Chicken (Kai Yang Pattaya, RM 11.80) might seem burnt and dry but do not let it fool you. Similar to the Pandan Chicken, the chicken thigh was grilled to perfection; slightly crispy skin while the meat remain tender and juicy. The marinade were sufficient, with a little smoky flavour.

And finally, the last dish of the night. A new item, as claimed by Andrea herself; the Steamed Live Crab with Beer! A gigantic Phillippines crab was chose for this dish, where the crab was steamed with beer, ginger and basil leaves. Do not worry about the alcohol content as alcohol will evaporate once exposed to heat. The crab absorbed much of the beer essence, which was quite refreshing. Definitely something new to try especially if you’re a crustacean fan (hint hint to Precious Pea).

Both of us were literally stuffed but Andrea insist that we must have dessert. One of Thailand’s popular dessert, Red Ruby or Tub Tim Krob (RM 7.50) and Honeydew Sago in Coconut Milk (RM 7.50) were presented before us and we found out that, resistance is futile. I like Coca’s version of Red Ruby as it served with jackfruit and not cloyingly sweet or lemak. The honeydew sago however, was quite lemak as it came with a thick layer of sinful coconut milk.

It was certainly a fun dining experience at Coca. The service was good, polite and friendly, although they might be slow in clearing the table during peak hour. The prices were a bit on the high side but we were amazed by the freshness of the seafood and the vast choice of a la carte dishes available.

Coca is currently running these promotions:

1. Live oyster – RM 32++ for 1/2 dozen. Add another RM 7 for a glass of white wine. Promotion runs till end of December 2008.

2. Steamboat with buffet spread (appetizer and desserts only) at RM 68++ per person on Friday – Sunday.

*We truly thank you, Andrea for the invitation!