Coconut House is situated on the Vic Market end of Elizabeth Street, 449 Elizabeth Street. There's two of them, close to each other one that opens late and one that doesn't. I'm quite sure the kitchen is the same and they simply carry food over to the other restaurant, so I don't think it really matters which one you go to. Oh, and it's not BYO either. But you'll get over that pretty quick!
I always end up sitting at the one that opens late, their kitchen opens till 10pm Sun-Thurs and till 2am on Fri + Sat. Since it's so popular and cheap, totes avoid going there on a Friday or Saturday night as the usually non-existent service is especially frustrating when it's busy.
So you go here for the cheap dishes, pretty much everything's under 10 bucks and the dish sizes are just right. They're famous for their chicken rice, but pretty much everything else they do here is delish! The nasi lemak with chicken comes with this amazingly fragrant and spicy sambal and peanuts, so great with rice!
The hainanese chicken and fried chicken and rice or noodle dishes are pretty good too, however the broth is totally gross and tastes like dish water and it's only served with a small dish of chilli sauce. I wish they'd serve it with their amazing sambal!!
The laksa I reckon even contests with Laksa King, although Laksa King wins out, this is a pretty darn good laksa. Generous serving, mixed noodles, just right spicy and not too heavy soup, plenty of vegies and both the meat and vegetarian options are super yummy! It totally beats getting the overpriced laksa from Chilli Padi down the road at Melbourne Central.
My definite must haves when I go to Coconut House are the drinks! I absolutely love the 3 colour tea (or teh as it says on the menu) as it's like a refreshing sweet tea that's bright orange when you mix it up, and this coconut drink thing with tapioca and grass jelly in it! It's not as sweet as the similar Vietnamese version of the drink, but so cold and refreshing that it matches perfectly with the spicy dishes! It doubles up as a dessert! And you can get them in takeaway form too!
So, if you're on a budget totally head down to Coconut House. Don't expect service, you gotta get the menus and order yourself. And try and avoid a busy night coz if you're hungry, you will simply walk out frustrated that you must wait so long to eat the delicious smelling food!
Coconut House
449 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne
(03) 9329 6401
Coconut House Google Place Page
