Jom Makan

We took the children to the restaurant this weekend, spotting it hidden away on our way to the National Gallery, to our delight they had a kids eat free special offer running, which i believe runs until the end of January. The food was served within 10 mins, so the kids were happy not having to wait for long and we were all thoroughly impressed. A really light, fresh and healthy meal that we will definately be going back for more of.
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Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 9
Sunday, December 07, 2008

got a leaflet offering main dish at £5.

drop by at 5pm and surprisingly the restaurant was quite quiet.

the mee goreng was good and teh tarik really goes well with the spicy noodle. will go again tomorrow for other dishes.
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mallondon
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 10
Monday, December 01, 2008

Had a meal at Jom Makan last night. The food was a delight. However, the waitress was unfriendly and unhelpful. She seemed only interested in getting us to leave as quickly as possible. Bill arrived whilst we were still eating. Felt like a fast food restaurant.
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Phil
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 4
Saturday, November 29, 2008

Maybe I don't know enough about Malaysian food but I thoroughly enjoyed my dish of nasi lemak, the item criticised by one reviewer below. Maybe the rice could have been a bit more coconutty but the sambal was nice and the rendang tasty, the anchovies crisped to ultra-fishy perfection. I also had some roti flatbread which was flaky and delicious, and came with a spoonful of zingy pickled veg. I'd happily have had a side dish of the pickles on their own.

The 'creme caramel' was rich and unctuous and went down a treat with the sweet malaysian coffee. The drink billed as "ice water syrup with lime" turned out to be rose water syrup, in which the lime wasn't very apparent. Luckily I like rosewater but a lot of people don't - it's a strong flavour. This needs to be corrected on the menu and meanwhile staff should tell anyone ordering that drink what it actually is. One slightly irritating and unnecessary touch of presentation was the green plastic banana-leaf sheets on the mains plates, which just get food trapped beneath them and aren't needed anyway.

I don't know if my waitress was the same one praised by a reviewer below, but she was certainly efficient (apart from the drink discrepancy), very friendly and amazingly cute. Dishes were served quickly but without any feeling of wanting you to hurry up and go. Interior and decor are nice, the room has a spacious feel. I will definitely return. I do agree with Metro about the website though - it's terrible, needs simplifying and should stop trying to be so shouty and "fun".
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Backdrifter - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7
Friday, September 26, 2008

The interior and customer service was brilliant, however, the food was not up to scratch. My satay starter was the nicest I have had in any of the Malaysian restaurant in London. However the main course of nasi lemak was dissapointing. The coconut rice had barely the taste of coconut and the squid sambal lacked any taste.

For the price they are charging, it's definitely not good value for money.
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Azhar
Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 2
Thursday, September 25, 2008

"Alamak!" - An expression of surprise: used to express surprise, annoyance, or derision. In this case, wholly directed to the food at Jom Makan.

SIgh. Yet another gastronomic catastrophe, on par with the BN by-election catastrophe at Permatang Pauh yesterday (yay!). The food here is bad. Nothing fresh about the food, although it certainly was fast. Restaurants like these give Malaysian food a bad name. Such a shame as Malaysian food really is fabulous - by far my favourite.

The restaurant has just opened and yet no sign of any Malaysian chefs in the kitchen to ensure quality, esp in the critical start up period. And the waiting staff were all Eastern European. Perhaps that's why I was given a small bowl of chillies in oyster sauce to go with my noodles.

In a word, Alamak. Jom Makan? I'd rather not, actually.
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JMS - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 4
Wednesday, August 27, 2008

My friends and I were there for a small celebratory dinner last wk. First thought, bigger signs need to be placed outside and around the restaurant as we had difficulty finding the place (coming from the direction opposite from Trafalgar Sq). The deco was simple but elegant and atmosphere pleasant. Service was fantastic. We were greeted by a very kind and professional (and beautiful!!) waitress, Maya, who was more patient than i was with the indecisive ones in our group!! The food was on the table in a blink of an eye! Excellent for a quick bite before a night out. I had the Rendang which was lovely. The rice cakes did not look too appetizing at first glance, but tasted fine. The portions of the side dishes were a tad too small hence value for money weighs up on the lower end of the scale. However we also went for Maya's other recommendations: chilli prawns, curry noodles and spicy beef - all of which were truly delicious!! Drinks were of reasonable prices. This place is definitely worth a visit! But those of weak gastronomical systems, be warned: Almost all of the items on the menu are spicy!
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Morgan
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 5
Monday, August 18, 2008

Right. I said I would come back to give this another chance. I did so with a 25% voucher off the food bill from the first visit as an enticement from the below par first visit.

It was worse than my first visit, whoever delegated the cooking needs to go back to the drawing board. The cooking was woeful and worse than airline food.

I feel saddened, embarrassed and insulted for I'm Malaysian.
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bellaphon
Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 0
Sunday, August 17, 2008

Jumped for a joy when I heard there was a new Maylaysian kid was on the block. London is full of the other cuisine types but sadly starved of authentic Malyasian ones. I was hoping to add Jom Makan to my very short list of Malaysian joints which consists of The Malaysia Hall Canteen and the Satay House. But sadly no.

The Otak-otak popiah tasted of tinned fish that's been overly salted to a point where I left half of it unfinished. What a waste of £3.60! The main course of Nasi Lemak which I did finish was a very average, the beef rendang that came with it had very little evidence of being cooked with coconut cream, it tasted more of braised spick beef. The cooking needs serious attention.

I'm only going back for two reasons; firstly as I'm patriotically Malaysian I'll give it another chance and secondly the service was excellent.
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bellaphon
Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 6
Sunday, July 27, 2008

Went on Monday for lunch. Was really cool. Staff are lovely. Food was great.

We work round the corner so will use this place a lot (hoping Jom staff see this and send a voucher!)
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david c - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Wednesday, July 16, 2008