nonya – rijstaffel, the rice table

rijstaffel is a dutch word that translates to “rice table”.  at nonya, the only indonesian restaurant in québec, the rice table is their tasting menu.  i am not familiar with indonesian cuisine, so i wanted to try a little bit of everything.  the rijstaffel was the perfect choice for doing just that.  the chef offers you the choice between a $40 and a $45 tasting menu.  each requires a minimum of two people and offers a slightly different selection of dishes.  my dining companion and i opted for the less expensive of the two (mainly because i wanted to capture the kroket through my camera lens – see picture above).

to start, we were served a little bowl of complimentary peanuts.  there are only so many ways to serve peanuts and these are the ordinary salted kind you can find anywhere. what i found to be a pleasant little surprise was the taste of garlic when i popped some peanuts in my mouth.  upon closer inspection, i saw little slivers of fried (or were they toasted?) garlic mixed in with the nuts.  i have never had garlic this way before.  i really liked it and could have eaten a bowl of just that.

i am not normally a fan of martinis.  the one time i had an apple martini, i downright hated it.  however, i can’t resist the allure of the litchi, so when i saw it on the menu, i took the plunge and ordered the litchi martini.  surprise, surprise!  i actually liked this one.  the drink, with its slightly pink hue, came with a litchi in it and a ground cherry adorning the rim of the glass.  unlike other martinis i’ve had, this one didn’t have that bold, dry taste i’ve come to expect.  i even wondered if there was any alcohol in it.  the taste of litchi was subtle and not cloying.  it was almost like drinking juice, only not as sweet.  conclusion: i would definitely order one the next time i dine at nonya.

to start our meal, we were each served with bowls of laksa, gado-gado, and a kroket. the laksa, a yellow curry soup with shrimp, quail egg, chicken and vermicelli, was simply divine.  the curry was subtle in a way that the taste lightly lingers in your mouth making you want more, but never in a way that makes you tire of it.  the single shrimp was firm, but not rubbery.  the quail egg was cooked just right, with the yolk being neither runny nor powdery.  the chicken was tender and the vermicelli were silky.  perfection in a bowl?  quite possibly.  i could have spent the whole night eating just that and would have left with a smile on my face.  i didn’t want to see the bottom of the bowl…  i sadly watched as my empty bowl was whisked away and replaced with a bowl of gado-gado. this traditional indonesian salad with hard-boiled eggs, shrimp crackers, and peanut sauce dressing was not my favourite dish of the evening.  although all the ingredients were fresh, i just wasn’t too keen on the peanut dressing.  this probably has more to do with my dislike of peanut products in general than the dish itself.  however, i ate it in its entirety and got ready to attack the next appetizer.  i had been waiting for this moment – the opportunity to capture the kroket through the lens of my camera.  i had read about this on many sites, seen pictures of this piece of culinary art and i finally got the chance to experience it for myself.  pictures taken, i carefully planned my attack strategy.  i gently cut down the middle of the pear-shaped, panko-crusted mashed potato wonder to reveal a belly of ground beef stuffing.  to me, it was a work of art.  aesthetics aside, would it hold up to a taste test?  i quite enjoyed it.  it wasn’t anything mind-blowing, but it wasn’t paté chinois either.  the mashed potatoes didn’t taste like leftovers, the beef didn’t smell like defrosted beef mince.  a nice little appetizer indeed.

on to the mains!  we were served smaller versions of four entrées: beef rendang, sate kambing, udar bakar, and ayam panggang.  the rendang, best described as a dry beef curry, was subtle in its spicing.  the beef itself was a little too stringy for me.  it wasn’t tough, but it wasn’t melt-in-your-mouth tender either.  unlike the beef, the sate kambing, grilled lamb brochettes coated with a sweet soy and peanut sauce, was nice and tender.  like the rest of the meal, the flavours were subtle.  in this case, they were barely detectable.  my favourites out of the entées were the udar bakar (coconut milk-soaked grilled shrimp) and ayam panggang (grilled red curry cornish hen).  the shrimp, like the one in the soup was again firm yet not rubbery.  the cornish hen had a nice gamey taste to it and went well with the sweet and spicy soy sauce that came with it.

the entrées came to the table with an assortment of side dishes: yellow curry tofu, eggplant with spicy tomato sauce, soy galettes soaked in kecap manis (sweet soy sauce), vegetables in curry sauce, caramelized peanuts and anchovies, marinated carrots and cucumbers, shrimp crackers, homemade hot sauce, and jasmin rice. although we had mini versions of all the dishes, tummy real estate was lacking towards the end.  that didn’t stop us from having the dessert of the day though.

to end our indonesian feast, we opted for some herbal tea to go along with our desserts. black rice pudding in coconut milk and pandan-flavoured crême brûlée were brought to the table to sweeten our taste buds.  both were good in their own way.  that would explain why my friend preferred the black rice pudding and i devoured the crême brûlée.

from reading this, it might seem like most of the meal was just alright.  the food might not have been out of this world (even if it’s cuisine i’ve never had before), but that could have been the fault of the laksa.  my mind kept going back to that wonderful soup… would i eat at nonya again?  no doubt about it.

a little note on the service:  i read on many sites that the service is slow.  i even read some comments from diners that the service is horrendous because of its pace.  i feel the need to add my two cents.  yes, our dinner stretched over three and a half hours. was this wrong?  not in my books.  never did i find the service slow.  i would characterize it more as non-intrusive.  we were served by three different people: the chef/owner, his sister (also owner), and a waiter.  all were attentive and knowledgeable about the food. the chef would bring the dishes to the table and explain what each dish was.  although we were in a little room off of the main dining room, water glasses were filled, courses came at appropriate intervals, and someone came to the table every now and then to ask if everything was ok.  they kept their distance while making sure that we enjoyed our meal.  i believe that the pace of a meal is supposed to be slow.  one needs to take the time to let the textures play on the tongue and the flavours tease the taste buds.  in my opinion, food is more an element of pleasure than one of sustenance.  if you simply eat to abate your hunger and can’t take the time to appreciate a slower pace, why bother eating outside the home?  fast food this isn’t, but it isn’t bad service either.

nonya
151, rue bernard ouest
montréal, québec
H2T 2K3
T: 514.875.9998
www.nonya.ca

payment: cash, credit cards

hours:
wed to sat 17h30-23h