Nom Nom, The Hotel Ashok, Chanakyapuri, Delhi: 100 Dimsum Festival

If one can ignore the cold vibes of front staff of government run The Ashok Hotel, Nom Nom comes us a pleasant surprise with welcoming staff and a huge (1400 sq.ft), well maintained and done up dining area; both al-fresco and covered. The smiling Buddha adoring walls, peppy music, a private dining room (PDR), three show kitchen each for dimsum, dessert and teppanyaki, four space stations (built at different heights to ensure privacy and view), and normal restaurant style seating, one just cannot but get mesmerised with the decor which is deliberately kept a little dark with a spotlight on table to complete the dining experience.

The social media is abuzz with all kind of reviews of new restaurants, and in case of Nom Nom they were quite conflicting. With the new 100 dimsum promotion that runs till end of Apr’14, celebrating 100 days of Nom Nom launch in Delhi, I visited the place for a personal experience.

No one can eat 100 dimsum in one go, and I am no different. I restricted myself to around 15-20 and made my choice, that included the vegetarian, chicken, pork, fish, prawn, duck, crab, octopus apart from pork spare ribs from the ala-carte menu. Must say getting all the above expensive ingredients (unlimited) in Rs1100 per person is a joy in itself.

The Thai flavoured wild mushroom dimsum are lip-smacking, couldn’t resist reordering. The aromas of lemon grass and wild mushroom burst into mouth. Chicken and water chestnut are as good as one can find anywhere else. Equally good is the steamed crab. I am just back from Goa and though I did not eat any dimsum there, but the fresh crab takes me closer to the sea.

While I am playing with yin-yang flavours at Nom Nom, Mock strawberry egg dumpling with steamed noodles and fresh fruits brings me back. After all the lovely flavours, I find them a little bland. Perhaps if it is served a little early, it wouldn’t come as a palette shock.

I continued my dream journey with steamed prawn with spicy garlic sauce. The prawn is firm and fresh while the garlic is roasted to perfection without getting it burnt; not that I don’t like burnt garlic flavour. The crystal prawn dumpling has intact see-through skin, while I dig in to fried duck wanton. The octopus head Sui mai stuffed with its own meat is both a visual and a flavour atom bomb. I try many more including veg triangles, sesame dragon roll, Chinese chicken, spicy pork bao and this is a feast fit for a king.

The only ala-carte dish that I try from the menu, pork spare ribs, makes me drool. Falling off the bone, spicy and tender ribs are certainly one of my favourite here.

In the drinks section, don’t miss the kokum cooler that delights with refreshing roasted cumin. Service is an added attraction. Servers are knowledgeable to suggest dishes, they even know ingredients of most of the exotic items, cleantable and replace cutlery, suggest waiting time and even though are polite and careful, they do not intrude into privacy.

Nom Nom has so much to offer that one visit is hardly sufficient. While the normal pricing may burn a hole, don’t miss the opportunity to try this promotion that comes at a special pricing. Atleast I won’t!

Ratings (out of 5):

Food: 4.0 | Ambience: 4.0 | Service: 4.5 | Overall: 4.0

Meal for two: Rs. 2500 | Alcohol: Yes | Credit Card: Yes | Home Delivery: No | Timings: 12 Noon-4pm (Lunch); 7.30Pm – Midnight (Dinner)

Address: Nom Nom, The Ashok Hotel, 50-B, Diplomatic Enclave, Chanakyapuri, Delhi1^st Floor, Cross Point Mall, Gurgaon | Telephone: 011-26118311/ 26118312/ 8860600497/ 9871190388