NOM NOM (South East Asian)
No prizes for guessing this one. Which four letter word shrieks and chillaosout of every newspaper and magazine and is tweeted, blogged, flogged? “Food” ofcourse. And considering I started writing about food over three decades ago when it was perceived as low brow and unfashionable I must really love my work. What’s the biggest reason? Is it the gourmet fancy schmancy restaurants? Nope. Could it be cause I love eating and cooking? Yes. Or for the joy of discovery of holes in the wall? Yes sure. But most of all it’s the joy of connecting with you my dear reader, of understanding your palate preferences so that I can deliver reviews which are relevant and accurate.And so over the years have been meeting up over many a blind date…from Bohri Mohalla to Borivili and this weekend it was Powaii and Andheri.
BLIND DATES WITH YOU
Please take a look at the accompanying photograph of my wonderful blind dates. A sentence in my last fridays column inviting you to join me in my Powaii and Andheri eatabout had me happily showered with countless mails. Except for my old favorite reader Shilpa Chawla (who’s been in touch with me past twenty years) I met all the others for the first time. The very first to arrive was Linda Mohandas from Churchgate, Nikhil Dave the businessman turned model came next. Private wealth manager Swayam M from Malad, Chef and foodstylish Aesha Majithia, the friendly couples Hem and Hormaz Mistry, Divya and Sumek Gopal joined me here. Except for Linda (who was totally dissatisfied) all the other guests gave a thumbs up to the restaurant.
FOOD
Andheri’s Nom Nom which opened four months ago joins a growing lot of restaurants that attempt to apply a sexy gloss to Asian food (both the authentic and its Indian mutations). It offers a dizzying trip of Japan (sushi and tempura) Burma (Khao Suey), Singapore (Laksa), Thailand (Green Curry), Indonesia (Nasi goreng ) and Hong Kong too
The signature starters of Wasabi Water chest nuts, Prawns and Mushrooms had “too pungent a kick ” for first timers tasting wasabi but enjoyed by the rest of us. Chewy Tofu on skewers in Terriyaki sauce (supposedly Japanese), okayish sushi and the crunchy, sweet and tangy American corn in plum sauce (Jain preparation ) was hugely appreciated.
With the coconutty, silken Veg Red Thai Curry (“Too few vegetables” carped Linda) the tone of the meal improved, Burmese Khao Suey (“ the show stopper” Chef Aesha Majithia)though well made, could do with more accompaniments. Linda not only felt that the Nasi Goreng looked very unappealing (and compared it to politicians with egg on their face) but we all felt it tasted stodgy too.
It was the gelatinous and over sweet desserts (Tiramisu, Black Forest pastry, Darsaan) that none of us enjoyed.
DÉCOR
Walk into the charming alfresco area with lamps and leaves into the indoor section done up in rust and rope-like installations to find the handsome young owner- partner-chef Dharmesh Karmokar personally taking care of all the guests.
FINALLY
If only Nom Nom did not take it upon itself to provide something for everyone (there’s “Vietnamese” Chicken fried rice too) and focused on it’s strengths (Thai and Burmese) and fine tuned it’s desserts it would attract even more diners than it is doing now. It serves up a pleasant, cheerful, experience. A welcome and refreshing addition to Andheri’s restaurantscape.
NOM NOM, near Banana Leaf, Four Bungalows, Versova, Andheri (W)
Rs 1500 for a meal for two without alcohol.
Open for lunch and dinner
RATING
FOOD: 3.5
SERVICE: 3.5
DÉCOR: 3.5
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QUERIES
Dinesh wants a non veg tiffin in Andheri.
QUERIES ANSWERED
Rupali for chocolate chip cookies you can call Shilpa, Cakeline. Ph: 24123517, 9820007688
Please accept my apologies for not being able to meet up on this Andheri and Powaii food-safari.
Absolutely delighted to hear from you Madhurima M, Vishal Sharda, Chandrakant Kotian, Vidya Sinha, Mamta Engineer, Godlevea Pereira, Pankti Vora, Pallavi Rao, Darius Rastagari, Nitin sumitran, Chirag sancheti, Shubha Saxena, Esha Ramawat, Mahesh Mahajan, Tushar Gupta, Monica Jhaveri, Nishant Gandhi, Dhiraj Kumar, Monali Mitra, Kaustubh Jha, Anjali Bhargava. Do forgive me if I have missed adding your name and do stay in touch (rashmiudaysingh2013@gmail.com
Waitingly Yours