Kepala or Kelapa?

When I was young, I used to confuse myself every so often between both the Malay words: kepala (head) and kelapa (coconut). But of course I can tell the difference now.

Having lived here in Melbourne for 3 and a half years now, my Malay has deteriorated SO badly that I can't even make up a full sentence in Malay to save my life. Yes, it is THAT bad. It's sad considering how I used to top my class in Bahasa Melayu during those high school days. Oh wells.

Speaking of Malay, reminds me of home. I've been so homesick lately that all I crave for is Malaysian food. Especially my favourite CHICKEN RICE! :D Even after my visit to Malaysian Oriental Wok, I still wasn't satisfied. I needed more Malaysian food dosage!

It was in the middle of the night, at 2.36am when I told SuperKev, "Let's go for lunch at Coconut House tomorrow." And so we did.

They practice hawker style - order and pay at counter then wait for food to be served. The signs that were put up were very Malaysian too. It does give us a homely feel. Even most of the staff there were Malaysians. :D

When we first stepped in, it was full house and there weren't any seats available, except for a table or two outside. Thankfully a couple stood up, and we managed to secure our seats. Otherwise, we would have to brave ourselves in the cold outside. *shrugs*

My BBQ Chicken on Rice that costed me only $7.60, which is rather cheap considering Melb's standard food price. Moreover, this is the closest chicken rice you can get to Malaysia's roasted chicken rice. Only the chilly sauce needs a tad bit of improvement, otherwise it's more or less enough to satisfy my cravings. :D

I remember when I first had BBQ Chicken on Rice in Coconut House... Instead of serving us with a bowl of classic chicken broil, a bowl of peanut and pork rib soup was served to accompany our chicken rice. Thank goodness they realized that the peanut soup don't go well with chicken rice. ;)

SuperKev decided to go for the steamed hainanese chicken rice. I tried a little, and I didn't particularly enjoy it. So I sorta came to a conclusion: Roasted Chicken on Rice at Coconut House and Steamed Hainanese Chicken Rice at Malaysian Oriental Wok.

SuperKev was super greedy, he ordered a nasi lemak with fried chicken. Of course, I gave it a try. My verdict? I'd suggest you to go to Nasi Lemak House on Grattan Street if you want a good plate of nasi lemak.

Why, you may ask? The sambal tasted really weird and it was so spicy. I didn't like the rice too. It was too coconut-ish and sticky yet dry. The rice and the sambal are the most important element when it comes to nasi lemak... So yeah, you get my drift. ;)

But I heard that they serve pretty good wanton noodle with BBQ pork. Maybe someday I'll try, if I walk in and don't feel like eating chicken rice. Although I highly doubt that'll ever happen. Or maybe if you've tried, you can leave me a comment to tell me your verdict?

Tummy grumbling for some cheap Malaysian food? Easy peasy! ;)

Head over to 449, Elizabeth Street to rumah kepala kelapa, peeps!