Cochine

So last week, we went for dinner at this place called Cochine on Heritage Row in Kuala Lumpur.

(I was a little nervous as Zach was coming too and it was a work dinner. I had nothing to worry about as he was so well-behaved. WAY beyond my expectations. I guess we prepped him enough! It made the dinner most enjoyable. This is him telling us the story about how he fed the koi in the fish pond on the ground floor.)

Cochine's physical presentation is a little ambiguous. It occupies the first floor of a 'heritage' building and a separate bar/club occupies the ground floor. The junction between the two is oddly mediated by a fish pond. Cochine's decoration is heavily Cambodian with pseudo-artifacts on the walls. It was a pity that they gutted out the building with no interpretation whatsoever of its original spatial planning. Other than its exterior, the building had no memory. Sad and a sure missed opportunity. Nonetheless, it was tastefully done and the table was beautifully dressed.


We were left guessing as to the type of food they served until we were given the menu. Cochine serves IndoChinese food ranging from Laotion, Thai to Vietnamese. Oh!

Foreground: Bo Luc Lac (a Vietnamese beef dish which Khoa thought was very good)

Background: Laotion seafood curry (which I thought was average)

I'm not a great foodie (don't get me wrong, I enjoy my food but I don't think my tastebuds are trained enough to comment) but I thought the food was okay. The deep fried soft shell crabs could have been a little crispier. The food waned in comparison to where my dad took us out to dinner two nights ago at Robson Heights Seafood Restaurant, on Jalan Permai, off Jalan Syed Putra, Kuala Lumpur. (I was too busy savouring the food and forgot to take photos but don't despair, we're headed there again soon. But if you can't wait, you can read more about a foodie's experience on a blog called Very SEDAP. 'Sedap' means delicious in Malaysian)

Would I go back again? For the atmosphere but not the food.