Jom Makan (CLOSED)

Malay for ‘let’s go eat’, Jom Makan is a fast, fuss-free dining option well-suited to groups and for casual impromptu meals. Malaysian dishes are served efficiently in a large canteen-like room that’s modern and airy but otherwise nondescript. Many dishes on the menu – satay, roti canai, nasi goreng – are common in Straits restaurants, but some, such as nasi ayam percik (grilled chicken with spicy coconut sauce) and mee bandung (spicy noodle soup), are more unusual. We enjoyed the mee goreng, chock-full of prawns and chicken, with yellow noodles that had spent just enough time in the wok to absorb the flavours of kecap and chilli while retaining their springiness. Nasi lemak was a textbook example of coconut rice with moist, fragrant beef rendang, and squid in a sticky, sweet sambal that didn’t compromise on spiciness. Side dishes and desserts fared less well, with telur dadar (omelette) being rather overwhelmed by raw onion and chilli, and a lurid-green sago gula melaka containing little of the palm sugar that epitomises this dessert. Portions are adequate and prices modest. A good pre-theatre or post-museum choice.