KUALA LUMPUR, March 19 A perfectly-baked pear in red wine, its skin wrinkled and caramelised, almost slightly burnt near its stem. Its colour a delicious hue of summer gold, the fruit seems to be waiting for our forks to dive in and to pierce its still-firm flesh. The dollop of cream on the side seems almost unnecessary when its natural sweetness and richness shine through without further embellishment.
We finish our meal, sated and surprised. The restaurant, a new Italian arrival in our neighbourhood with the rustic moniker of Casa del Cocco, is a success in our eyes. The situation couldnt be more different just a few months ago.
There used to be another caf-restaurant called Caf Libre in the same spot, one of the few Western-style bistros that always had trouble finding a footing in Taman Desa where pubs, kopitiams and Japanese-Korean BBQ diners reign supreme.
Caf Libre was not exactly the sort of establishment to set the KL dining scene on fire; it was a simple place where residents could get a cup of coffee and grab a decent, freshly-made sandwich. It wasnt going to win any awards (and indeed, it didnt).
We remember coming in on rainy evenings after work and escaping the usual traffic jam in the city. Too tired to cook and weary of the production-line bowls of curry laksa at the ubiquitous kopitiams, we could always drop by Caf Libre and get a good, warm meal.
The bistro had an almost-utilitarian philosophy to interior design, but the place was always cheered up by the friendly smile of the manager-waiter and his gent! le, poli te manner. He always brought us the menus even when we asked for our usual orders because, in his words, Just in case you want something different. You never know.
While waiting for our orders to arrive, there were plenty of magazines to browse Time and The Economist featured prominently. Most were some months out-of-date and slightly tattered, but it only meant patrons actually read them; we certainly did.
Most of the patrons were in fact regulars like us we all knew what we liked and could return to safely. For us, it was often a starter of wild mushroom soup, heady in its earthy aroma and always served piping hot, the way we like our soups to be on rainy days. This was usually followed by some sandwiches made from artisanal breads like healthy seven-grain or umami-rich sun-dried tomato.
Some scrambled eggs with smoked salmon or a riskier jalapeo on toasted muffins proved that you could have brunch foods for dinner while their freshly-made iced lemonade always had the right sour-but-not-too-sour kick. Their coffee, though, was a bit weak sometimes. This was alright by us; we never expected everything to be perfect, only a place we could feel comfortable and have a fuss-free meal.
Good things dont last forever: Caf Libre closed down some months back without any notice. Perhaps that isnt fair, to say there wasnt any notice; the number of patrons had dwindled in recent months. It isnt easy to survive in a less-than-stellar economy. We understand this but missed our dependable standby. Life goes on.
Therefore it wasnt without some trepidation on our part when we noticed a new restaurant had opened where Caf Libre used to be. Less than a month old, Casa del Cocco has its own history starting life as a more bohemian-style Italian restaurant called The Coconut H! ouse at Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock in Malacca known for their wood-fire oven pizzas.
The owner, a Mr Yong, had his inspiration from his own Chinese-language literary magazine of the same name. His next outlet and first in Kuala Lumpur was subject to quite a bit of moving, from its initial location in Pudu to 3 Two Square in Petaling Jaya before settling down in Taman Desa. The name change may bring them a bit of luck though they are not straying too far from its origins Casa del Cocco means Coconut House in Italian.
Certainly this new venture has a more stylish, contemporary dcor with textured white walls and sleek black tables and chairs. An awkward alcove is dealt with by conveniently stacking wood logs there; these arent for decoration only and are used to fuel the oven that produces all the crispy and smoky-flavoured pizzas they are famous for.
The menu at Casa del Cocco isnt meant to be revolutionary recognisable favourites like Bolognese (we chose pork over the common beef mince for this), vongole and carbonara for the pastas are available to please the majority. The Italian sausage, tomato and bean soup is surprisingly hearty and the use of garbanzo beans (locally known as chickpeas) adds to the homey feel of the dish.
Pork is a star attraction here, whether as toppings (the Parma ham and rocket pizza) or as mains (the slow-roasted pork shoulder with fennel seeds and herbs is oven-cooked overnight and is tender-to-melting). Its even paired with other meat we had the thinly sliced veal & prosciutto cooked with white wine sauce and successfully so.
Besides the baked pear with red wine mentioned earlier, we also had some tiramisu and baked coffee mousse. The tiramisu could stand being a tad more alcoholic while the mousse had a distinctive smoky flavor that was very satisfyi! ng. The coffee, though, was a bit weak, we felt.
We dont need stronger coffee though; somehow this makes our evening at Casa del Cocco happily familiar for us, like we have found a memory of what we loved about its predecessor unpretentious and reliable comfort food without having to venture too far from our home. Not all dining experiences have to be adventures; sometimes all we want is a simple meal without having to roam.
Casa del Cocco 18, Jalan 5/109F, Plaza Danau 2, Taman Danau Desa, Kuala Lumpur (03 7972 3268). Open daily 7:30am 10pm.
