| Pleasin’ Indonesian >> Nonya knows your erogenous zones A new restaurant that offers Indonesian food at affordable prices, Nonya has staked out its territory on one of the sketchiest stretches of street in town, right in the heart of the Tenderloin. Surrounding it are Cleopatra’s, with one of the most hilariously crude signs to ever grace a strip joint, the always-charming Midway tavern and the perpetually greasy Montreal Pool Room. Incongruous as it may be, the lower St-Laurent location works in Nonya’s favour, making this eatery feel like more of a find than if it were situated in the Plateau. The owners, who came to Montreal from Jakarta with a five-year stop in Switzerland along the way, have done a great job of sprucing up the space on a budget. The banquettes and chairs are covered in burlap, there are splashes of bright colours here and there, and Hindu prints on the walls. The funky décor is kept real with a long, steamy counter where you can see the meals being cooked up. To start you off, a small bowl of peanuts and slices of roasted garlic is placed on the table. You can munch on this while checking out the short menu, a handful of main courses and appetizers, along with a special of the day. If you haven’t sampled Indonesian cuisine before, you’ll find dishes that are faintly familiar, from the cooking of South East Asian nations, but with a subtle spicing all their own. There are a lot of skewered meats, seafood and rice, perfumed with tamarind, coconut milk, anise, chillies, garlic and ginger. Appetizers serve their true purpose here: the flavours get you ready for more and the prices are reasonable, with most items under $3. Lumpia goreng are the Indonesian equivalent of egg rolls. Stuffed with finely-chopped shrimp and bamboo shoots, then lightly deep-fried, they have a fresh, delicate taste. They’re served with strips of refreshing marinated cucumber. But if you only get one appetizer, spring for the shrimp starter called udang mangga ($5.50). It consists of four decent-sized crustaceans arranged around a citrusy salsa made with mango. Each juicy shrimp was perfectly cooked and deshelled, with just a bit of blackening on the outside from where they’d made contact with the grill. Double yum. The main courses are presented with flair, artistically arranged on the plate in a manner you’d expect from somewhere way more upscale. I opted for a common dish called nasi goreng ($8), which literally means fried rice. The seasoned rice is shaped into a disc, topped with a fried egg, and hides a layer of delicious whole shrimp beneath it. It comes with beef satay, marinated meat threaded onto a skewer and a big, crispy shrimp cracker. My friend got a handful of melt-in-your-mouth lamb skewers, marinated the whole way through. They were served with rice and two dipping sauces-peanut and sweet soya. The proof, as they say, was in the peanut sauce. Nonya’s version is a far cry from the jazzed up peanut butter slop that you get in so many places. Crafted with care, it’s paler in colour, slightly grainy in texture and the taste is way more subtle. The restaurant is waiting for a liquor license but in the meantime, there’s another beverage to try. Susu soda gembira is basically a DIY cream soda, except way creamier. Into the glass goes condensed milk, a thick, fuchsia-coloured syrup, club soda and ice cubes. It’s like a kid’s wet dream. Nonya
brings together the best of all worlds-authentic eats, cheap prices
and style-a combination that’s not as easy to find further up
on the Main. : Feedback? restoagogo@hotmail.com |