The Coconut Club (Siglap)

Food —— Went with high expectations and surprisingly wasn’t disappointed at all 👍 Wondered how good can nasi lemak be to cost more than $10 but ok first impression is definitely 🌱HEALTHIER🌱 - the old-crop Thai Jasmine rice with cold pressed coconut milk is light and fragrant without being oily 💯 Between the Signature Chicken Nasi Lemak ($21) and Classic Nasi Lemak ($15), the Deep Fried Kempong Fish 🐟 is the highlight for me 🥰 definitely something you can’t get of this quality from normal nasi lemak - well-battered and sweet ❤️ The Pisang Goreng ($14) is a good dessert pairing as well ✨Pink Guava Sourplum ($8) is made from fresh fruits and refreshingly addiction☺️ Somewhere i will consider going back really for the nice casual ambience and when craving good premium local delights 😘

The Coconut Club really needs no introduction at this stage — being now a brand name under The Lo & Behold Group, The Coconut Club has moved to greater heights ever since their humble beginnings at Ann Siang Hill. Whilst still serving up their signature Ayam Goreng Berempah that they had been dishing out since their early days, The Coconut Club has widened their menu to offer quite a good spread of dishes and desserts that also features the use of coconut in them. Taking over the former premises of the now-defunct at Frankel Avenue in Siglap, The Coconut Club’s newest concept is more of a canteen-style eatery — one that is smaller than that of their flagship outlet along Beach Road. Entering the establishment, the Frankel Avenue outlet exudes different vibes from the Beach Road location; the use of green tiles and rattan furniture and fittings give the entire space a contemporary Balinese vibe that is especially relaxing to sit on the weekend — though some might find the dining hall a little claustrophobic considering the proximity between the tables. The Coconut Club at Frankel Avenue serves up pretty much the same dishes as their flagship store when it comes to the mains, though there is a lack of a tea-time menu as well as a smaller variety of desserts at Frankel Avenue. Their Frankel Avenue outlet does, however, serve up an outlet-exclusive brunch menu that is only available on weekends between 10am to 4:30pm. The list of beverages at Frankel Avenue remains rather consistent to what their Beach Road location has to offer — this includes coconut-based beverages such as that of the Coconut Milk / Water Cold Brew brewed using beans roasted by PPP Coffee and a Coconut Shake, as well as a variety of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.

Making our way down to the Frankel Avenue location of The Coconut Club specially for their brunch menu, we found ourselves going for the Apom Berkuah with Pisang Pengat; an item that is described on the menu to come with elements such as fermented rice pancakes, coconut milk, blue pea flower, banana, gula sauce, vanilla ice cream. The fermented rice pancakes comes with a beautiful blue hue that is swirled within the batter that gives a plus to its aesthetic appeal. Digging straight into the fermented rice pancakes, they carried a very light tinge of tanginess from the fermentation process; while the fermented rice pancakes were soft and fluffy on the top, what we found really intriguing is the browned, crusted bottoms that gave it a textural contrast especially when they are being consumed whilst warm. Pairing each morsel of the fermented rice pancakes with a little bit of that Pisang Pengat and the Vanilla Ice-Cream, the former features soft, caramalised bananas in a thick and rich caramel sauce — not overly sweet, and good to have on its own. The Vanilla Ice-Cream was a crowd pleaser; adds a smooth, luscious creaminess that gels all of that together. Overall, a dish that we saw more as a dessert to share across the table to end the meal off rather than a brunch dish for one individual pax — though we can also see how this is being offered as a brunch item as their iteration of pancakes that some would have for breakfast.

There has been some talk about the quality of The Coconut Club’s Nasi Lemak of the late — the Ayam Goreng Berempah Nasi Lemak has also seen quite a price hike ever since their days from Ann Siang Hill when it was priced at $12.80 during their early days. The Ayam Goreng Berempah Nasi Lemak now costs $21 before prevailing charges at both their Beach Road and Frankel Avenue locations — something that just seems a little less accessible and a little out of touch, though one can also argue about how the cost of living have increased since those days and the same would also be applied on the cost of their ingredients as well. That being said, with the same style of Nasi Lemak being replicated at different locations such as that of Wild Coco at McNair Road, Spicy Wife Nasi Lemak at Amoy Street Food Centre and Uptown Nasi Lemak at Telok Ayer, there seems to be a bit lesser of an appeal to The Coconut Club’s rendition when prices come into play. Still, The Coconut Club does serve up a rather decent plate of Nasi Lemak disregarding the price point; one where much care has been placed in every single component that appears on the plate — the Ayam Goreng Berempah perhaps being our favourite element in their rendition of Nasi Lemak. The Frankel Avenue location does seem like a fairly sweet spot for The Coconut Club — its undeniable how the East is always that neighbourhood to look at when a notable F&B establishment decide to expand operations out of a central location; Frankel Avenue being away from the hustle & bustle of the East Coast Road / Tanjong Katong neighbourhood, yet shares a relatively similar crowd to those areas. Whilst the queues have yet to start forming up due to it being relatively new during our visit, we do foresee The Coconut Club at Frankel Avenue being a location for returning customers wanting to give their brunch menu a go, as well as for those living close by to experience their Nasi Lemak without having to make that trip down to town any more!