Thursday 27 February 2020

COOOK The Starling (A Foodie's Nest)


Remember I wrote about this lonely place? Well, it is not lonely anymore, in fact it has sprung to life and I am glad to report that the food is pretty good. 


I noticed a flurry of activities at this kiosk when I visited the food court and I decided that it was time to get my lunch from here.


The menu is limited but I liked all the four that I tried.


The first thing I ordered was the Claypot Chicken Rice (RM16.00), something that I love and usually not sold at lunchtime around my area.


I was asked if I wanted spring onions. Oh yes! I love spring onions. Then I was asked if I wanted chili. Of course! 


I was very pleased with this claypot chicken rice. There were generous chunks of boneless chicken (not from the breast I am very sure) and slices of lap cheong in the rice. Very aromatic and delicious.

Portion size is fair and for an average person, this is adequate but I could eat more hee...hee...


For those of you who like crust, you will be pleased that the rice gets crusty. Personally, I don't see the point of the crust. It is hard to scrape off and doesn't taste that great. So please enlighten me, will ya?


Next I had the Grilled Pork Chop (RM16.00) which is served with rice topped with minced pork and a small salad. The minced pork was tasty and went well with the rice.


The pork chop was well marinated and was moist and tender. The two sauces served complemented the meat very well. This meal was also very good but it left me wanting as the portion size was too modest for me.


Then another day I had the Braised Pork Leg (RM16.00). Ooh..la...la...


Let me tell you something. Some places serve you more bone than meat, not here.


What I was served was very meaty and yes, it was indeed very tasty. I was also pleased that the amount of meat in my bowl was rather generous. And it does not have that strong porky smell. Yay! I would have this again for sure.


Finally, I had the Lap Mei Fan (RM20.00). You have a choice of Original (RM16.00, with vegetables) or Lard Rice (RM18.00, no vegetables). Addition of one egg sets you back RM2.00.

So vegetable vs lard - who wins? Lard hands down. Why? Because. Well, my reasoning is I would rather have tasty lard than a few miserable strands of greens. So I went for the full monty and boy, I had no regrets.


Look at that! The lard was crispy and fresh. The lap cheong used is of good quality and this lap mei fan tasted so much better than the one I had during my Chinese New Year reunion dinner.


Mmmmpphhhh!!! If there is any comment I can make, I thought there was not enough sauce. Maybe it does not need that much sauce because the lard and lap cheong are already so awesome. 

There is one more item on the menu which is a salad with pork chop. But that would be too light for me.


I guess this has become one of my favorite kiosks and I hope that it does well.

24 comments:

  1. Hi ;) wonderfull ;) I like yours writting style ;)

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  2. Oooooo...I want! I was thinking of going for the claypot rice here that day, been so long! But it was kind of out of the way and I changed my mind. Must go one of these days! Ooooo...pork leg!!! You're killing me! Yum yummmmm!!!

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  3. Good that you enjoyed all your choices from this stall. Grilled pork chop for me please!

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  4. lonely in 2018, lively in 2020! and i think i can see why - the claypots look splendid! i love crusty-rice bottoms, cos they have that unique crisp texture that contrasts so nicely with the rest of the rice and that deeper, smokier taste - gimme all the crusty rice! :) the lap mei fan looks terrific too - i love liver sausage :D

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    1. Ah..I see! Let me go and try the crust again LOL!

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  5. It is still operated by the same people? I remember the cook is a Japanese man. Seems like the portion of rice pork chop is just right for me. The claypot chicken and lap mei fan sounds like a must-try.

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    1. Yes, same people. Hope you can go and try the food.

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  6. They're still Coook....but they're obviously cooking different things now from what I saw in your previous photos of the place (they were previously doing coffee, tea, cakes & desserts). Anyway, all the dishes of the new Coook look delicious. My one no-no is the veggie component that comes with some of the sets...fresh salad leaves just don't go with Chinese food in my opinion.

    To answer your question on the crusty rice, you have to eat bits of it together with the rice...it gives you in one mouthful a crunch and a smokier taste to the rice. The downside, it's heaty to your body + its hearsay of it being carcinogenic deters me from eating too much of it (I pass it to my husband who loves it).

    As for the last dish, it's not really lap mei fan as it's missing other waxed meat like waxed duck (the very reason why I don't like lap mei fan). It should be called lap cheong fan (haha!) since it contains only the normal lap cheong (cut two ways, in slices & cubes) and liver sausage (which I love!). This lap cheong fun I'd be more than happy to order. ^_~

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    1. The previous menu was not so attractive. I am glad the new menu is loads better. I agree with you on those salad leaves.

      Let me try eating the crust with the rice and see if I like it like that. But it is quite difficult to
      scrape it off.

      I see...I find the smell of waxed duck very strong, can't remember how it tastes though hah..hah... For the first time, I actually appreciate lap cheong.

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  7. Good that its business is picking up. I love the look of the claypot chicken rice.

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    1. It's delicious. I hope their business picks up and that they can sustain.

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  8. If this place is in Ipoh, I will definitely want to taste the food there. Everything looks good to me.

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    1. I am sure you would enjoy the food :)

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  9. I saw this COOOK many times but didn't try as I had not seen your reviews yet.
    So now I got your green lights to try their claypot chicken rice! I love the burnt crusts for the added texture in my mouth. I am weird because I love anything very hard that could break one's teeth.

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    1. Now that you know that Ah Hong Chee approves, you better go and try, OK? I want to eat again, this time making sure I scrape the crust to eat together with the rice and not at the end.

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  10. I don't like rice crust because they are hard and tend to stick in my teeth >_<
    Portion of the pork chop was too measly for my appetite too :P

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    1. hah...hah... It is also hard to scrape off and after second try, I still don't like crust. Yes, the pork chop is too little.

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