Chic Oz
By INTAN MAIZURA AHMAD KAMAL
intanm@nstp.com.my
Gorgeous Aussie flavours and great ambiance are on the menu when you dine at the stylish Cova Café, Lounge and Bistro, writes INTAN MAIZURA AHMAD KAMAL
WITH Michael Buble crooning a rousing It’s A New Day in the background, a comfy beige and brown sofa so inviting, the fan above swirling much needed cool air to the al fresco area that looks out to a slice of sky, I could easily have lounged the rest of my afternoon here. But much as I wanted to sink into blissful stupor, I had work to do. Eat.
Cova, a name chosen for its catchiness serves up modern Australian cuisine in a setting that’s chic, minimalist and uncluttered. The owner, Chin Pei Ling, who had a bridal studio business before venturing into F&B, tells me that they’re striving for comfort dining food, which is simple to prepare yet has a twist to the presentation, condiments and the overall combination.
Chin, 32, and her business partner, Irene, enjoyed their tertiary education in Australia and whilst there, embraced Australian food with a vengeance. “Aussie cuisine is not only contemporary, but it’s also very versatile and you can play around with ingredients and combinations. You can really let your imagination run wild,” says Chin, who has a business development and marketing background.
The expansive menu is mostly Chin’s own creations, inspired by her travels in Australia, leafing through Aussie magazines, TV, chef friends and checking out other restaurants. The recipes are then fine tuned by her team of chefs. “We try them in our kitchen, do some food tasting. It’s not rocket science,” says Chin, who’s speciality is crab cakes.
Cova, which opened last September, doesn’t have an Aussie chef on board but their head chef, who handles the western menu, is experienced in Australian cuisine. The sous chef is in charge of the Asian kitchen.
Australian cuisine, explains Chin, uses a lot of Asian ingredients but “... they don’t call it fusion. They might incorporate some wasabi or miso to a salad just for a bit of sharpness.”
The small talk over, it’s finally time for some Aussie feasting. First, a Sampler. You choose three items from the appetiser menu for a grand opener.
There’s crab cake served with homemade honey mustard which is Cova’s top seller. The marinated chicken wing with cilantro dressing has texture contrasts – crispy and cooling. The fish fritters go really well with the roasted garlic aioli.
The Soft Shell Crab Salad is an exciting change. The greens are tossed with a yoghurt and cilantro dressing, topped with deep-fried soft shell crabs and sprinkled generously with more pan-fried crabmeat. Nice.
Says Chin, a bubbly Aquarian whose childhood dream was to become a vet: “Soft shell crab is a regular in Japanese and Chinese cuisine but rare in western cuisine. A lot of customers want salad but are not familiar with say, tuna, so we incorporated soft shell crab.”
Another Cova top seller is the delicious Seafood Spaghetti with abundant fresh scallops, tiger prawn, calamari, and mussels tossed in a garlicky white wine sauce combined with homemade seafood stock. If you don’t like your pasta dry, you’ll like this, as it’s literally Aglio Olio with sauce.
The Grilled Cod is a definite East meets West affair. The white cod fish, imported from Norway, is pan-seared on a bed of potato rosti and turkey ham, topped with enoki and wilted spinach and sprinkled with a sweet teriyaki sauce so the fish wouldn’t taste too oily. This dish really is a beautiful marriage of East and West.
Next to come is the tasty Chargrilled Paprika Chicken Wrap, which is sliced chicken breast meat seasoned with a bit of paprika, chargrilled and put into a paprika wrap. Served with homemade guacamole and salsa, it goes very well with the chunky chips and coleslaw.
For something Asian, I chose the Cova Rice, a special ulam rice (daun pegaga, coconut, dried shrimps all tossed into the rice and left to infuse) that’s served with salted egg, tangy mango kerabu and homemade aromatic chicken rendang. It’s deliciously authentic and an effort my mum would definitely have been proud of.
What better way to end then to indulge in some mouthwatering desserts? Chin was very happy to oblige us with her awesome Warm Chocolate Lava Cake and sinful Strawberry Parfait.
Beautifully presented with fat-free vanilla gelato on a shell of cat’s tongue biscuit, the former reduces me to blissful stupor again as I savour the chocolate lava sauce bit by bit as it oozes out from the warm chocolate cake. The Strawberry Parfait is no less delectable. With layers of mascarpone cream, strawberries, caramel and ice cream, it’s the perfect end to a perfect Aussie sojourn.
Cova Café Lounge and Bistro
F-226-B, The Gardens,
Mid Valley, Kuala Lumpur
T: 03-2287 6260