Star Coffee House & Restaurant - reason for leaving out the words coffee house is because everyone knows it as just the famous Star restaurant that commanded the number 2 ranking for restaurants in Kluang on TripAdvisor!
Before the self-driven trip, i had already marked out a few establishments to have our meals but Star restaurant was given a higher priority for its largely positive online reviews. A further check on its location revealed that it's just a few doors away from Hotel Anika, our accommodation for the night!
In spite of the old school, retro facade that likely didn't change much from the year it was established (1979); the interior was surprisingly quite modern and classy. We were one of the first few customers as reservation was full for the later slots; that said a lot about the popularity.
Photos of celebrities visiting the small town restaurant dotted one section of the restaurant but there's no time to check out the details as there's another reservation for our table at 7pm and we had to decide what to order!
Stir Fried Sweet Potato Leaves - lightly stir fried with the freshness still very much contained within, i liked this even though the sambal version might be more enticing. Both sister and friend found it to be a tad too salty although i was of the opinion that it was just right.
Star Special Homemade Beancurd - my sister is limiting her intake of carbohydrates while my friend is restricting his meat intake; hence, it made sense to order the signature homemade beancurd which came with strips of meat, black fungus and enoki mushrooms!
Texture of beancurd wasn't the smooth type i expected although there was a special, addictive flavour that set it apart from commercial brands. I also loved the smaller-cut portions as i absolutely enjoy eating the skin of the beancurd and there's more to chew with the smaller cut!
Beancurd Skin Rolls - since i like the skin of beancurd so much; i didn't raise any objection when either Joyce or Andrew suggested the beancurd skin rolls. I am secretly overjoyed, to be honest as i know it would be prepared in the form i like best; deep fried.
You notice any difference from your usual beancurd skin rolls? I did and it's obvious as the shape was somewhat round like a dumpling instead of being flat with just a thin layer of meat filling.
They were pretty good with a juicy filling that's meaty with a crisp texture. However, after taking a few pieces, the taste of pork can be rather overbearing and i needed to wash it down with a few cups of tea!
Star Special Crispy Fried Duck - another star recommendation, this was the dish that every blogger was talking about in their review of star restaurant.
You can opt for a full duck but in view of our numbers, there's no way we can manage an entire duck. Not when we were still thinking of supper later in the evening! Hence, a half duck it shall be.
We were almost about to cut up the duck when the waiter came over to, literally, kill the duck a second time! He was amazingly swift and before we knew it, the meat had been stripped off the bones.
The ready-to-eat version; it looked kind of familiar like the way we eat Peking duck! There were differences of course; the duck was deep fried, not roasted and instead of crepe-like pancake, we had buns!
Buns were really soft with a subtle sweetness that made them so delicious. Add in the sprinkling of sesame seeds and you can so imagine the aroma! p.s. do eat them fast while they are still hot.
On its own, the duck meat was already palatable without being overly dry or oily. But add in the fresh cucumber, the sweet sauce and the soft bun and you get bites of contrasting textures that were so, so good!
Can't remember how much i had but i think i easily cleaned up half the buns even though my tummy was almost exploding! To be frank, all three of us were super full when we stepped out of the restaurant!
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We had a great dinner and when handed the receipt, my eyes almost popped out as the meal with its luxurious offerings cost less than RM 90! In comparison, half a duck in a quality restaurant at Singapore would have cost us almost RM 60.
Location
10 & 12 Jalan Sultanah,
Kluang 86000, Malaysia
Reservation
+60 7-772 3288
Operating Hours
11.30 am to 3.30 pm
5.30 pm to 10.30 pm
Pricing
Stir Fried Sweet Potato Leaves (S) - RM 8
Star Special Homemade Beancurd (M) - RM 16
Beancurd Skin Rolls (S) - RM 14
Star Special Crispy Fried Duck (Half) - RM 35
(Subject to Prevailing GST)
