Indonesians, quite contrary to the image portrayed by some bad media, are actually very peace loving and very tolerant with each other's religious celebrations. For example, every Ramadhan month, people from all walks of life would use the chance to have break-fasting dinners or gatherings, even I do too. Likewise, Christmas and New Year are another great excuse to eat to one's heart's content with friends and families. My family is not Christian either (only me), but I managed to arrange a Christmas lunch, for the first time in our family's history.
I remember visiting Nomz a few weeks after it opened (very early 2015). Then, Arnold Poernomo was still around to oversee the running of his first 'baby' in Jakarta and I actually sat down for dinner with him. He just had a pretty bad injury in the kitchen that nearly severed his finger only by a few inches *gasp! But OH, how time flies, it's the end of 2015 already! Today, Arnold has left Nomz to launch his next project in Sydney. Now, Nomz is left in very good hands of his friends and fellow brilliant chefs: Kim Pangestu, Fery Jong and Willy Liem who oversee the kitchen, as well as his relatives, who handle the admin.
Actually, this December is as special for my family, as it is for Nomz Kitchen and Pastry, which celebrate its 1st Anniversary! So, of all the available venues out there, I chose Nomz. Honestly, I was quite nervous, because my Mother is very quite picky when eating out, plus she only eats seafood and veggies. Even Chinese restaurant is not a foolproof solution either, because Mom's quite hard to impress and so far she is only fond of a few names. With Nomz, I was quite dead sure to receive tough critics from her, I didn't know yet how Mom would find Nomz...*heart beats erratically...
So for our family's Christmas lunch, my family mostly ordered the classics off the menu, such as Vongole Spaghetti for my Mom and Brother (who actually enjoyed it!), Mac & Cheese for my niece, Mushroom Risotto for my Sister, Nasi Gila for my Brother in Law. To share in the middle, we ordered the Fire Prawn with Nam Prik Dip (also became my Mom's favourite) and Truffle Fries. These dishes have been tasted and tested and I can vouch with my reputation, that these dishes won't disappoint =P
As for myself, I ordered my favorite dish from Nomz 1st Anniversary Menu: it's the must-have, to-die-for, forget-your-diet-today Glazed Pork Belly. I may be exaggerating, but if all of my foodie friends think so too, then something right must be going on here. It's a thick slab of juicy, fat dripping, tender pork belly. I don't normally eat the skin part (be it chicken or pork or beef), but I made a special exception for this one. The honey glazed crackling crunched harmoniously in my mouth as the fat melted in my mouth and the meat fell apart at the gentles nudge of my tongue. Even the potato puree and the spinach were equally enjoyable!
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| Glazed Pork Belly - pork belly, caramel glaze, pomme puree, wilted spinach, cauliflower florets & apple caramel sauce |
So, actually, prior to the lunch with my family, I've had the privilege to preview the Anniversary Menus, as well as the special Christmas cakes by Kim Pangestu. These are their photos:
Starters
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| Seafood Chowder - cream based soup with salmon, barramundi, potato, carrot, celery mussels & corn salsa, served with garlic bread IDR 125,000 The soup's really good, even to a non-lover of seafood like me. |
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| Prawn Linguine - tom yum oil, linguine, tiger prawns IDR 95,000 |
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| Hamachi - miso butter, rice crisp, quail eggs IDR 95,000 |
Mains
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| Crispy Skin Salmon Crudo - barley risotto, salmon, wakame salad & tentsuyu broth IDR 185,000 |
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| Coq Au Vin - chicken in red wine sauce with buttered vegetables IDR 155,000 |
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| Glazed Pork Belly IDR 185,000 |
Dessert
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| Valentino - chocolate cake, chocolate soil, hazelnut cream, caramelised macadamia & mint |
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| Left: Strawberry Pavlova - crispy meringue nest, lemon cream, strawberry salsa, yogurt sorbet Bomb - mascarpone mousse, coconut sago, mango jelly, soaked savoiardi in mango sauce, chocolate soil, yellow meringue & coconut flakes. |
Kim also created several special cakes this Christmas, which would make truly sweet, cute and delectable Christmas gift. I had the strawberry shortcake and I really like it: perfect texture of sponge, it's slightly springy (how does Kim do it?!), yet soft and slightly salty to balance the sweet cream. It was really good and not too sweet that I almost ate the entire top tier (about 10cm diameter) at one go!
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| Strawberry Buche de Noel |
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| Left: Chocolate Buche de Noel Right: Two Tier Strawberry Shortcake |
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| Matcha Ogura Buche de Noel |
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| Right: Coco Buche de Noel |
So...that was a successful first-time-ever Christmas lunch for my family! Thank you Nomz for serving us delectable food, despite the massive pressure from the non-stop order (it was full house on 25th December noon!). Now that my Mum has tried and actually loved the Vongole Spaghetti and Fire Prawn here, I'll feel secure to take my Mum here for another meal. Congratulations Nomz, cheers to another successful years and delicious years ahead!
Open Hours:
Sunday - Thursday: 11 AM - 10 PM
Friday & Saturday: 11 AM - 12 midnight
*) Prices are subject to Service Charge & Tax 21%
Nomz Kitchen & Pastry
Grand Indonesia Shopping Town
East Mall, Ground Floor, Rama Lobby
Ph: +6221 23581211 / 12
For live and regular updates,
stalk my Instagram: @ellynatjohnardi
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