Coco Garden Malaysian Restaurant
| Address: | 420 Jefferson Rd #12, Rochester, NY 14623, USA |
| Phone: | +1 585-272-0001 |
| Site: | cocogardenrochester.com |
| Rating: | 4.5 |
| Working: | 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–11PM 11AM–11PM 11AM–10PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 7
PA
Paul Cicotta
This is it! The Grand Series Finale of the International Dinner Club held at Coco Garden. Throughout the year of 2015 we have been through many ups and downs at various international restaurants, but Coco Garden nailed it in every-way. This place comes extremely close to mimicking the authenticity of Malaysian food right here in the Rochester area. The restaurant is located in the same location as many predecessors beforehand in the Goodwill Plaza off Jefferson Road. Now the interior of the restaurant has not changed, but dont be scared, the food more than makes up for it. We were greeted right away upon arrival, and where seated in a spacious private room in the back, with a TV to watch CNN. A special shout-out goes out to Naz B. who knew the owners of the place, and educated all of us in the art of Malaysian Food. Gil O. was also in attendance, and lived in Malaysia for a couple of years could agree that the food is right on par to that of home. Like the last supper, this was a feast to truly remember. BEVERAGES: BUBBLE TEAS: The Bubble Teas where all too milky, and thin in texture. Lea B, and myself tried a sampling of the Taro, Mango, and Coconut Teas ALL of which tasted bad. In fact we both looked at each other saying, "I dont think we can finish this". This area needs improvement. APPETIZERS: THE ROTI CANAI: This was one of the BEST appetizers to get here, as the pancake was very thin and deliciously crispy. It was complimented by a thick chicken and potato curry to dunk the pancakes in. The only downside is that you wanted more! SATAY CHICKEN AND BEEF: Naz B. will HOOK YOU UP, as both of these meats cooked on a stick where tender to perfection. The peanut sauce to dunk it in had a nice kick to it, making you want to pick up another to dunk. SOUPS AND NOODLES: CHOW KEEH TEOW: The stir-fired rice cake strips where extremely tender. This dish included HUGE shrimp, squid, and bean sprouts mixed with eggs. What tied this signature Malaysian dish together was the Chili paste spread throughout, along with the toasted cashews making this a mouth-watering balanced appetizer. SEAFOOD TOMYAN RICE NOODLES: The first you notice are the succulent jumbo sized shrimp prawns floating on top of a delicious spicy and sour broth based soup. The fish sauce used in the soup was not over-powering on the pallet, and complimented the fried noodles soaking inside. I also enjoyed the hints of Thai Chili Noodle Paste in it, also giving this soup the SPICY kick it needed. CURRY MEE w/ CHICKEN: The tender pieces of boneless chicken blended in well with the coconut curry noodle soup. The coconut curry was well balanced with coconut milk and half n half which made the base of the soup very THICK!! You can taste the hints of turmeric, garlic, bean sprouts, and cilantro throughout. ENTREES: SAMBAI KANGKONG: An excellent vegetarian choice, and notably Malaysias favorite vegetable dish. This dish composed of water spinach mixed in with a shrimp paste throughout. The garlic, and shallots placed on top bring down the taste of the shrimp paste considerably giving you less of that "fishy" after taste. It also carried a kick to it combined with a spicy chili paste throughout. COCONUT JUMBO PRAWNS: devoured in 2 seconds, these succulent jumbo shrimp did not disappoint. The shrimp where lightly doused in butter, and pan fried with coconut breadcrumbs. The broth base had hints of the coconut butter used throughout. No dipping sauce needed! PORK SPARERIBS: This was NOT a good entrée, as these pork spareribs came out extremely dry. Not only where the ribs dry, but they had no traditional Black Bean sauce on top. I felt like I was ripping through a lot of dry meat with no seasonings placed on the meat. Meh on this one. BEEF RANDANG: We all agreed, this was the BEST ENTRÉE of the night! It included tender pieces of spicy beef simmered lightly till the outside was golden brown. It had this incredible cinnamon taste with the coconut milk based sauce which you could eat handfuls on its own.
GR
Grayson Kitteh
First of all this is not Malaysian restaurant. Perhaps 10% of their menu are Malaysian food and the rest 90% are just Asian food from any other Asian restaurant. Not worth to be called Malaysian restaurant. Anyway, food taste good, but for some reason I dont think any of their food is fresh or made from scratch. Asked for Roti Telur, they dont make it. Probably because they dont make it from scratch; otherwise, they can just add an egg or any other ingredients in the dough. In conclusion, they use a frozen Roti Canai which you can get from any Asian store which is way cheaper and you can just fry it yourself. For that reason, I wonder if any of their food is fresh. They probably use all pre-made sauces or food and just heat them up LOL. Instant food restaurant.
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Sun Tzu Lao
Ive never been disappointed going here. Reliable quality. Ive gotten a few dishes I didnt particularly care for, but thats a risk you take trying new things. The service has been excellent every time, the people are very pleasant, and the food is excellent. Theres no giant bags of frozen sesame chicken going into a wok of used fryer oil here. They cook calamari just right also, which is one of my favorite appetizers. My friend from Beijing whos here for school gets a bit homesick, and the authentic food here helps give her a break from western food, bringing her a bit closer to home. I think theres something to be said for that.
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Teufel Hund
ABSOLUTELY OUTSTANDING FOOD AND SERVICE. QUALITY IS TOPS & SO IS QUANTITY!!! The food is cooked expeditiously, unlike other places where you have to wait 20 minutes from the time you order to the time the food comes out to you. I also was extremely surprised at how delicious their Mocha Smoothie was!!! Ive never been to an ethnic restaurant and had their coffee beat out specialty coffee shops. I drank the Mocha Smoothie as my desert (perfectly blended not too sweet like some Starbucks Frappe.) Wow, it was that GOOD! The proprietor should be commended!
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Tish Z
Great food, authentic taste. Went here a week after coming back from Malaysia. Been twice now and we will definitely be back. The only dish I wouldnt order again was the basil chicken, not bad just not as good as the other stuff. Roti canai is great with nice pieces of tender meat in the curry. The beef rendang is probably my favorite, nice kick but not too spicy. The house special pork has great flavor and melts in your mouth (it is pork belly and very fatty but if youve never had it give it a try). Coconut rice is wonderful.
BE
Ben Fram
Finally, Malaysian food in Rochester! Ive been waiting for this since first experiencing Malaysian cuisine in Philadelphia. The staff are friendly and will gladly help you find a menu choice that will either fit your tastes or push your limits. Coco Garden has a broad range of menu items including Malaysian, Thai, Indonesian and some Chinese dishes that would be difficult to find elsewhere. If you are a fan of any of these cuisines, you owe it to yourself to give Coco Garden a try.
JU
Justin Tran
The food here is delicious and I love most of their dishes. Some are a little hit or miss though, but I would say the majority is really good. I recommend their Roti Canai appetizer if you like curry. For dishes, I recommend the sizzling tofu, nasi lemak (rice dish), Chow Kueh Teow (stir fried noodle dish) and house special udon. I the only thing is that its a little more expensive than some of the other Asian restaurants, but the food is good enough to justify it.
