Open Mon–Sat midday–11pm; Sun midday–10pm
Word had already got out by the time we had arrived at the second branch of Malaysian restaurant Jom Makan one week after opening. Scanning the outdoor area – currently using clear plastic reminiscent of a holiday resort restaurant to shelter the patio – and interior, we noticed lots of families, including Americans and Asians with big appetites; lots of dishes filled the tables.
Jom Makan means ‘let’s go eat’, so the restaurant makes swift, slick service its top priority. The casual dining experience is also reflected in the mustard yellow and burnt orange interior – a long banquette lines the wall where we sat; mats double up as menus. Other tables offer a view onto the open kitchen.
Our Malaysian waitress let us know that dishes would arrive when they were ready. I plumped for a Kerabu Cendawan (£3.80); grilled soy and ginger-marinated portobello mushroom with an oriental-style salad – to start. My friend had a Kerabu Daging (£4.80); char-grilled marinated beef which arrived with the same salad – which tasted more like a salsa – and dressing but with added chilli and garlic. My friend looked enviously when my smooth, spicy Roti Dalcha arrived with sweet moreish just-off-the-hot-griddle Malaysian flatbread. Her tender salmon arrived with a very spicy sauce. We had also ordered a side of begedil (£3.20) – deep-fried potato and spring onion cakes with coconut and roasted chilli sauce – which had the right balance of sweet and spicy and wasn’t oily.
Our fresh fruit drinks; melon, mango and lychee (£2.80) were desserts in themselves (there’s no alcohol on the menu), but we also had a refreshing mango coco (£3.50) to share – coconut ice-cream rather than mousse as described on the menu with a mango centre.
The food was well executed, if not particularly exciting. Our waitress was attentive, but two different waiters arrived at our table with our neighbours’ dishes and one interrupted our neighbours, who were paying their bill, to give us our dessert menus. Hopefully, this is just a teething problem and we’ll see calmer staff on our next visit.
Meal for two around £40.
