Review: Jom Jom Malay at Ansal Plaza

Pretty interiors

Bright colours that catch your eye, a happy atmosphere, smiling and cheerful staff, and finger-licking delicious Malaysian food – that’s what Jom Jom Malay is all about. A recent addition to Delhi’s restaurant scene, and located at Ansal Plaza, Jom Jom Malay is the city’s first Malaysian restaurant.

From the moment you walk in, the vibrant setting gives you a comfortable vibe.The blue and pink cushions, wooden tables and typical Malaysian wall decor instantly makes you want to taste the food. And while you place an order and wait, try your hand at making sambal? Sambal is probably the most popular condiment in Malaysian cuisine and in many recipes, act as a foundation. The usual suspects are brought to the table – ginger, garlic, chilli, onion, lime, sugar, salt and chilli oil along with a mortar and pestle. Then comes an already-made array of sambals from the Jom Jom Malay kitchen. So, test your sambal-making skills as you grind the ingredients into a paste to the ones on the table. As I dug into the sambal that had shrimps, my attempt at recreating the condiment came nowhere close the taste!

The sambal attempt!

First arrived an array of Baos – stuffed with chicken, lamb and duck. Soft, melt-in-your-mouth baos complimented each filling. Every bite had you craving another one. Each very distinctive, my favourite was the duck with it’s deep star anise flavour. Not many places can make good cocktails but Jom Jom Malay’s Cuban Malay had me floored. A burst of citrus in every sip, it complimented the baos perfectly.

Baos (from left) Lamb, Duck and Chicken

Cheers?

Anyone who visits South East Asia, the first food item they bite into is a Satay. A satay is a piece of skewered and grilled meat that’s served with peanut sauce. Malaysians like their food to be more curried than dry so there’s an additional sauce served alongside crackers and a salad. If you like your satay to have a bit of gravy, just pour out a bit of the sauce on it and then dip it into the traditional peanut sauce. There were chicken, lamb, fish and prawn satays on offer. The lamb satay wins hands down. That would be my recommendation. The chicken was flavoursome while the fish was cooked perfectly, the prawns were slightly rubbery.

Satays and more

Next came sticky rice with an onion and sambal stuffing to be consumed with more shrimp sambal. Malaysian cuisine has a lot of Indian influence along with others from neighbouring South East Asian countries. Thus, when I took a bite of the stuffed pancakes or Murtabak, I was immediately reminded of the famous Mughlai paratha.

Stuffed sticky rice

Stuffed pancakes!

Jom Jom Malay believes in making everything from scratch. They grind their own pastes, make their own condiments and while at it, has added interesting twists to some flavours. For example, they use well seasoned dried mango skin in certain salads just to enhance the flavours. “The only thing we get is coconut milk because that would be difficult to make!” says Aftab Sidhu, who has conceptualised the menu.

Yup, that’s me digging in! The plate speaks my emotions!

The Nasi Goreng is an all-time favourite while the Rendang I make at home often. I was so glad that I got to taste both. With so many influences in the cuisine, debates rage on the origin of the dish. While they both may have originated in Indonesia, each country has made it their own with unique influences. In the Nasi Goreng, mix the sambal and crackers with an egg that binds the rice and serve it with coconut and chilli and a satay. Each bite is so pleasurable that if my stomach allowed, I would have asked for more. The Rendang was very different to the ones I’ve had earlier. I confess Malaysia has been left out of my South East Asian sojourns so far and I’m waiting to visit the country to try their food. The lamb was so soft and tender that it literally melted in your mouth. It was the perfect curry to have with roti canai. Also, the texture reminded me so much of Kosha Mangsho that I can’t wait to go home just to have my mother’s homemade mutton curry!

Just look at that Nasi Goreng!

Lamb Rendang

The name Jom Jom, loosely translated, means let’s go! So, what are you waiting for? Go and indulge in delectable Malaysian food right in the heart of Delhi!

Ambiance: 4.5/5
Food and beverage: 4.5/5
Service: 4/5
Value for Money: 4/5
Where: Ansal Plaza at Khel Gaon Marg
Follow Jom Jom Malay on Facebook

Review: Elation

Nachos

As a friend and I enter the famed Greater Kailash (GK) M block market on a Sunday morning, the place wore a deserted look. Usually buzzing with chirpy teens, middle-aged ladies with designer bags and sellers asking you check out their wares; the market seemed sleepy, yet to wake up from slumber on a winter morning.

Finding our way to Elation seemed easy enough. It’s located near Starbucks and the entrance is from behind the market. Taking the elevator up to the second floor, Justin Timberlake’s ‘Can’t stop the feeling’ greeted us as we walked through the door. It’s a pretty cozy place with comfortable indoor seating and dim lighting. However, it being winter in Delhi, we chose to sit outside on the balcony. This is literally the only time one can! They also have seating on the terrace which makes it perfect in this weather.

Delicious cold coffee

With beer and cold coffees ordered, we buried our faces in the menu card. Elation is a synonym for happiness. Good food is always a catalyst for such emotions. The variety of food Elation offers its patrons are extensive and honestly, I enjoyed every dish we tasted.

A big bowl of Nachos topped with cheese, handmade salsa and sour cream made an entrance. The salsa delicious and sour cream perfect, the nachos would be top of the line with a bit more cheese. Cheese makes everything better!

The sweet chilly garlic fish bites were delicious. Crispy bites tossed in the sauce and served on a white plate, it made for good photographs and the taste matched up to expectations.

Chicken ham and cheese sandwich with fries

We ordered the chicken ham and cheese sandwich and the recommended baked chicken sandwich. While the former came accompanied by fries (always a winning combination), the latter is what I enjoyed more. The baked sandwich is filling, well seasoned and one piece is enough to gorge on for a meal.

Gorgeous baked sandwich, a must try

The Elation Special Wrap is definitely what I’ll recommend among the starters or finger food. It’s slightly on the sweeter side but with crispy chicken and mayo generously slathered inside, I could eat it all day provided of course I consumed nothing else!

The Elation wrap

With the mains taking a bit of time, the chef sent chicken lollipops to the table. They were tasty but our focus was the mains.

First up, chicken Aglio-e-olio. It’s always a crowdpleaser – spaghetti tossed in olive oil and garlic. I must say it was well seasoned and fresh off the pan and absolutely delicious. The roast chicken breasts in peri peri sauce with mash and sautéed veggies hit the right spot. Spicy and tangy, it paired well with the mash.

Spaghetti aglio-e-olio with chicken

Fish in lemon butter sauce with mash and veggies

The last dish on the table was the grilled fish with lemon butter sauce, again accompanied by mash and veggies. I simply loved it. The sauce was not too lemony and not too buttery but just well balanced. The fish was grilled to perfection while the mash was creamy and delicious. I ate all the crunchy vegetables because it was drenched with the sauce making it delectable!

PS: For all the hookah lovers out there, Elation serves a variety of flavours. So what are you waiting for? Go check out the place!
PPS: With Christmas and New Year round the corner, check out Elation’s special offers.

Elation is located in GK 1 M Block Market, near Starbucks. Cost for one Rs 750/-
To enjoy a 20 % off on your total bill from January 1-21, 2017, please reserve a table through this link on DinerPlus 

I wrote this post in collaboration with DinerPlus. If you enjoyed what I wrote and want to try Elation, please book through the above mentioned link as I will get a small commission. As usual, I only recommend what I loved.