Jom Makan - Westfield Stratford City
Malaysian made easy at Jom Makan

Unit LR09, Westfield Shopping Centre, Stratford London, E20 1ET
+44 (0)20 8536 0593
www.jommakan.co.uk

Review by Amy Castle

On the upper dining terrace of the massive shopping mall that is Westfield Stratford City, Jom Makan is a modern Malaysian restaurant serving a wealth of Eastern dishes.

After an afternoon of shopping, we headed towards the burnt orange and wooden fronted exterior of the restaurant and sat in a table where we watched busy shoppers hurrying by below us. We were handed our menus, which had a wealth of choices from which we chose our three-course meal.

For starters, my boyfriend and I chose a trio of dishes. The peanut dip that accompanied the six sticks of beef and chicken satay in the Enam Satay dish was really creamy and complemented the meat well, but the beef was tough and over cooked. For the thin strips of beef on the skewers, they could have been cooked for a matter of minutes over a hot pan, but they were overcooked which was disappointing.

We also had Soto Ayam­ – a galangal infused chicken broth with beanspouts, spring onion, shallots and cubes of rice. The soup looked great but it needed seasoning and the overall taste lacked a certain something. The Ayam Bakar­ - deep fried chicken wings with a mustard mayonnaise – were well-seasoned and the mustard mayonnaise was a nice addition.

Our main meal consisted of Nasi Ayam Panggang, a roasted chicken breast marinated in caramelised sugar and five spice with rice. The five spice and sugar coating was great with the chicken, and the rice was fluffy and fresh tasting, but the chicken was dry which was unfortunate.

We shared a plate of Udon Goreng Daging noodles, with shredded beef, ginger, garlic and coriander. Once again, the beef was over-cooked and so tough. I imagined thin strips of medium-rare beef, but was disappointed as it’s something in my opinion that is so easy – and so important - to get right. The udon noodles were really thick and the texture wasn’t to my liking. The taste was good, but the thickness of the noodles made the dish rather unappealing.

Our meat dishes included Rendang Ayam, a slow-cooked traditional chicken curry with kaffir lime leaf, galangal and toasted coconut. A lover of curries, we were excited to try this traditional dish but the heat was unbearable for me! Even my other half – usually a lover of hot curries – found the dish really spicy (so I let him finish it!)

We also opted for the Ikan Masak Lemak fish dish, poached fish fillets in a tomato, chilli and coconut sauce. The fish was beautifully cooked, soft and white throughout and the fillets just broke away from each other in the mouth. The dish was also quite high on the heat scale, but it was rich and creamy at the same time.

After a chocolate brownie with lychee and strawberry ice cream for my boyfriend, we finished our meal with traditional Malaysian dark tea and coffee with sweetened milk. Served in tall glasses, the hot drinks were really relaxing and the perfect way to end a spicy meal.

It’s great to have a restaurant across London that is bringing Malaysian food to the masses, and I’m sure this cuisine will continue to be popular. There were some great flavours at Jom Makan, and if the toughness and tenderness of the meet can be addressed I think it will enhance the experience at the restaurant for me.

For more information, visit www.jommakan.co.uk