OUR tea at RizCoconut started with pie tee – thin, crispy top hats filled with braised, flavourful shredded bangkuang, topped with a tangy, garlicky chilli sauce. They were so good that I wanted a second helping.

We were at this pork-free restaurant in Damansara Jaya at 4pm, two hours before it closed for the day. RizCoconut is family-run, homemade Nyonya specialities. We were just in time to buy the remaining Nyonya kuih at the counter, two packets at one price. So we loaded on the kuih apom (pak tong ko), serimuka, pulut bakar and abor abor (a sago kuih). It was my first taste of kuih apom in years; nobody seems to make this any more.  It was spongy and lovely. I also liked the layered, sticky and coconuty abor abor.

On an earlier visit, I had enjoyed RizCoconut’s excellent ang koo, kuih talam and kuih koci. This new restaurant also offers all-time favourites like curry mee, nasi lemak with beef or chicken rendang and cuttlefish sambal, rojak mee, chicken pongteh and roti jala with curry chicken.

After our pie tee, we shared a curry mee and rojak (without the mee). I was tempted by cucur udang on the menu but was told it was already in the rojak. Indeed it was. The prawn fritters were drenched in a spicy, sweet nutty sauce together with shredded cucumber, tofu, beansprouts and egg.  We liked it a lot.

We had yellow noodles and beehoon in our curry mee which sat in a hot curry together with cockles, fish cake, beancurd puffs, egg and long beans. The natural sweetness in the curry came from the fried ikan bilis I kept turning up in the curry. It was good, homestyle curry mee, though I wished for more cockles and long beans in it.

The chicken bao buns turned out to be mantao bursting with shredded chicken rendang and carrot. They made delectable bites, the soft fluffy bun tumbling out juicy, delicious chicken rendang with potatoes in it.

Nasi lemak with beef rendang was excellent at RizCoconut. The rice, tinged with salt, exuded rich coconut aromas and the beef rendang was tender, spicy and flavourful. The ikan bilis sambal, however, was too sweet. We also had some fried chicken with the nasi lemak, and the well-marinated and crispy chicken was delightful.

For dessert, the bo bo cha cha is a must.  I loved the chewy coloured bits in it, made from tapioca flour, the coconut milk aromatic with pandan as well as the sweet potatoes and yam.

I should come back for the fried tomyam beehoon with cuttlefish sambal, nasi kunyit with curry chicken and the roti jala.

The first RizCoconut opened at the Kuchai Enterpreneur Park, Kuala Lumpur, three years ago and it has been a hit with diners. The restaurant has its origin in Tampin 65 years ago, beginning with a Nyonya kuih distribution business started by the family matriarch. The kuih business moved into a coffee shop run by the daughter. Then the granddaughter started a stall in KL and it grew into RizCoconut, with two outlets.

Prices are reasonable in this pleasant air-conditioned restaurant: curry mee is RM8.80, pie tee RM8.90, rojak RM7.90, chicken bao bun RM15.90, nasi lemak with beef rendang RM12.90, bo bo cha cha RM6.20. It’s open from 8am to 6pm daily.

RizCoconut is at 31, SS22/19, Damansara Jaya, Petaling Jaya (phone number: 012-6236571). It’s a few doors away from the post office. Street parking is limited but you can park at the Atria shopping mall and exit on the east side. – May 18, 2019.

* Eu Hooi-Khaw has been writing about food for the longest time, covering all aspects, from restaurant reviews to cooking and recipes, as well as the healthy side of it. She has written for major newspapers and magazines, published the cookbook Fresh Ingredients, and also writes for her website hooikhawandsu.com.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.