Vietnamese Cuisine in the Midst of a Hectic Life
Following enormous success in Singapore, NamNam Noodle Bar opened two outlets in Jakarta: one in PIK and another one in Plaza Indonesia. The restaurant was founded by Nam Q Nguyen, or Chef Nam for short. Having extensive experience in hotels and restaurants around the world—such as a premium Scandinavian restaurant in New York called Aquavit, a fine dining French restaurant in Singapore named The Lighthouse, The Legian Hotel in Bali and The Sukothai Bangkok (a five-star luxury hotel)—is one major contributing factor in his successful culinary business. Another essential factor is his creativity, hard work and determination to preserve Vietnamese traditions.
The high demand for casual Vietnamese street food is the reason for NamNam Noodle Bar’s existence. The restaurant aims at serving street food with a modern twist at an affordable price so that everyone can eat and enjoy it.
I started off the Vietnamese culinary adventure by trying two of the delicious appetizers: fresh southern rolls with prawn, fresh herbs, peanut sauce and crispy fried prawn and chicken rolls. The delicious fresh southern rolls are perfect for those who live a healthy lifestyle. The herbs were so fresh and the peanut sauce tasted so good! The crispy fried prawn and chicken rolls really were crispy, one was not enough for me!
While I was still enjoying the appetizers, the main course came. As I predicted, the main course tasted just as amazing as the appetizers. I tried two signature dishes for the main course. The first dish that I was delighted to try was the Pho Beef Combination. As the name suggests, the Pho Beef Combination is a combination of pho, beef steak slices (served medium rare), beef balls, beef shank, tendon and honeycomb tripe—this one is all about beef!
Feeling not quite full enough, I tried the second dish, Quang Style Egg Noodle. The dish was the best noodle dish I ever tasted! Unlike the Pho Beef Combination, Quang Style Egg Noodle is served without broth. Served with grilled chicken, prawn, fried prawn wonton, rice cracker, chopped herbs and peanuts, this egg noodle dish is the best, period!
I finished off the pleasant dining experience with three Viet desserts. For sweets lovers, the fruit cocktail, with pineapple, jackfruit, lychee and crushed ice along with the chilled dried longan, with lotus seeds, water chestnut and seaweed, make perfect desserts. For those who like sweetness in moderation, the chilled three colour dessert, which contains cendol, grass jelly and pomegranate, is recommended.
Diners who are curious about the taste of Viet coffee should try the Viet black coffee or Viet coffee with condensed milk. Other beverages such as lime soda, fresh young coconut and freshly pressed sugarcane juice with kaffir lime leaves are available at the restaurant.
Nam, a chef who started his cooking by accident but then fell in love with the culinary world, has a simple yet different philosophy in creating and preparing the dishes. Simple because he is committed to creating honest and clean dishes, different because he does not use MSG in his dishes. Chef Nam aims at providing the chance for everyone to be able to enjoy healthy Vietnamese street food—with a taste that can be accepted by everybody and a price attainable for all groups of people.
NamNam Noodle Bar is designed to be casual and cosy. The restaurant applies a quick service concept, suited to the hustling and bustling lives of Jakartans.
(www.namnamnoodlebar.co.id)
