Food Review: The Coconut Club at Ann Siang Hill | Would you pay S$12.80 for Nasi Lemak?

Posted on July 18, 2017 by theRantingPanda in Food

The Place Opened since last November, The Coconut Club at Ann Siang Hill made headlines previously with high profile political meals here where Singapore PM Lee Hsien Loong hosted The Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte and Malaysia PM Najib to Nasi Lemak. We only managed to check out this Nasi Lemak specialty restaurant recently, which we feel breathes a new lease of life to Ann Siang precinct which has been predominantly dominated by foreign cuisines. The setting of The Coconut Club is casual, which spots a small indoor space, along with a couple of outdoor tables where you will likely be subjected to the scrutiny of people in the queue or curious passers-by.

The Food Our expectations were high even before we entered the restaurant, given the rave reviews we have heard previously. One major highlight here is the special coconut this ‘atas‘ club uses, a specially imported breed of coconut from Malaysia known as the MAWA (Malaysian West African hybrid), which the owners profess is the best for preparing their Nasi Lemak.

Prices do not come cheap for a hawker dish that we often take for granted. The most basic Nasi Lemak is priced at S$12.80, and comes with coconut rice, chicken leg, Ikan bilis, peanuts, cucumber, fried egg and sambal. The fried chicken was not as crispy as the typical wings, but it was still delicious. As for the rice, I wouldn’t have thought it was a very special breed unless I knew beforehand. The rice was tasty, though not as fragrant of some of the hawker versions I had before. That said, the rice is free flow!

We also tried the Otak-otak (S$8.50), a luxe version of a familiar hawker snack stuffed with generous fish fillings.

One of the special side dish off the menu we had was the Sambal Lala (S$12.80). This was really good. The sambal was intense and not overly spicy, complimenting well with the fresh clams.

Save some space for desserts at the end. The Cendol (S$3.80) is easily one of the best I have had in Singapore, made from the fresh coconuts shaved daily by the kitchen.

Rants A meal at The Coconut Club easily comes up to about S$20 per person, which is what we coined an ‘atas’ hawker restaurant in Singapore

Will I Return Again? In all honesty, the food here is good, though I wouldn’t say it if the best Nasi Lemak I have had in terms of taste and value. You are paying for a comfy environment and good quality ingredients here, if that is a consolation. Great to try at least once, or to bring your foreign friends, though it might be awhile before I return again.