Pan-asian delights @ Nonya Dubai, Taj JLT Dubai

We took the folks over to the Taj one afternoon mid-May to review the newly opened Nonya over dinner. I had found out about the venue on socials ; apparently it had ‘Malaysian and Singaporean influences’. Possibly the first time I’ve seen a fine dining joint specifically mention this in their social blurp. We got curious.

Is it really good? Or is it just another one of many restaurants, joining in the ‘pan-asian’ trend ?

Let’s find out.

Wait a minute.

Nonya? Where is this place again?

Nonya sits on the 44th floor of the Taj – which you would definitely have seen, at the edge of Jumeirah Lake Towers. It’s a sleek structure – one we stare at everyday from our living room in the marina. Well, about time we check out the hotel from within, isn’t it? 🙂 Technically it would have been our second time to the hotel, though I wouldn’t count taking photos of the fog from Paros a full experience of what they have to offer 😉

First Impressions.

It was quiet when we walked in around 6pm on a Thursday afternoon. First thing that got our attention was the view. We went straight out – and spent the next half an hour snapping away (as you do ).

I would go so far to say – if you are flying in to Dubai from overseas, or have guests coming to visit – you have to do Nonya.

Nonya is for JLT what ‘The View’ is for the Palm, and what ‘Zeta Seventy Seven‘ is for JBR. Add it to your list.

I mean c’mon, look at this.

Shall we talk about the food now?

Nonya’s menu is – as they describe to be ‘Pan-asian’ with strong Malaysian and Singaporean influences. When the team introduced the Chef to us, we started chatting and found out that he was from the same hometown as – what a nice surprise. Brought up in Malaysia, Chef Kong worked for many years in Singapore before moving over to Dubai – to head the Nonya culinary team. The menu shows – with familiar dishes such as crispy lotus stem, pohpia, ngoh hiang, satay ayam and cereal chicken amongst others.

What did we have?

There was a set menu prepared for the evening – which we quite happily went with.

Get the truffle crispy lotus stem (65 AED) – this is fried with szechuan pepper and honey chilli sauce. Good spicy start to the evening.

Truffle Crispy Lotus Stem (65 AED), also in the ‘Afterwork Menu’

The wok-fried cereal chicken (75 AED) was an interesting, albeit good take to the otherwise more commonly known dish – the cereal prawn. There was also a Vegetarian and Non-veg Dim Sum selection – both, priced 65 AED each ( a fine dining standard..)

Onto mains.

For mains – it was good to see again, familiar dishes. We all loved the beef rendang (145 AED) – braised beef tenderloin cooked with galangal and coconut – so fragrant and good with rice, which they made it ‘different’ with blue pea flower.

The nonya chicken curry (120 AED) was delicious, and mentioned on the menu to be served with a baguette but c’mon – that’s not a baguette, who eats curry with a baguette? That’s roti canai for you, and rightly so 😉

For vegetables, we had the pak choi and tofu (75 AED) – cooked with chilli and garlic black sauce. And all this was served together with a Khao Pad, shared together with the troupe.

If you feel like splurging for some cod, try their Nonya Black Cod. Pricey at 220 AED, but different to what you normally get in other Asian restaurants as this is served with their own Nonya sauce. Spicy, yes. But yummmm.

What about sweets?

Funny to see sago gula melaka in the dessert list – which mum and I finished very quickly 😉 As with all asian restaurants – there is always mochi ice cream in the mix, and priced much the same at 65 AED for 3.

Afterwork Drinks.

Have a read through here for details on their Afterwork Drinks offer.

There’s also Ladies Nights, every Thursdays

Go on Thursdays after 8pm, and you get free flow cocktails for 158 AED and 50% off their Ala Carte Menu. And live music by the very charming duo Henrick Solera and Lisette Vega. Not bad, right?

Have a look at their Ladies Night menu here.

Overall Thoughts

Mum and dad gives Nonya and a big thumbs up. We are of course completely biased as the chef is from our hometown 😉 But hey – good food is good food, right?

With regards to pricing – I would put Nonya on par with other fine dining pan-asian restaurants such as Sea Fu and Eauzone. It’s on the upper end, so check the menu before you go so you know what to expect.

If you wanna pop in for a quick one, go for their Afterwork offer – it’s an inexpensive option for an early date or catch up with friends. If you have more time, stay for dinner, or go on Thursdays for ladies night and make it a big night out 😉

Definitely one to bring guests to.