Was introduced by a couple of Punjabi Sikh friends to, not a Punjabi, but a new Tamil eatery in Penang’s Little India: Jayam Fusion Cuisine yesterday.
Just opened in early-Feb this year, nothing really set Jayam Fusion Cuisine apart from a whole host of other well-established, older Tamilian eateries which one finds nearby, all within a few hundred metres: Sri Ananda Bahwan, Woodlands, Veloo Vilas, Krsna, etc.
But our Punjabi Sikh friends said its attentive, friendly service made all the difference for them:
And this was the only place where they really enjoyed the South Indian thosai, a breakfast staple that had taken the whole of India by storm in the past three decades!
𝘛𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘢𝘪 are crisp crepes made from a blend of 𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘥 𝘥𝘢𝘭 (black lentils), 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘢 𝘥𝘢𝘭 (split peas) and fenugreek seeds, served with 𝘬𝘢𝘳𝘢-𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘺 (red-hued coconut chutney, spiced with red chilis), white coconut 𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘺, and 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘶 (yellow lentil curry).
Another of my favourite breakfast options is the 𝘜𝘱𝘶𝘮𝘢 (called upma in India) - spiced semolina, with cashew nuts, curry leaves and tempered spices.
Quite heavily-spiced here, as in chili-spicy, perhaps to cater to Malaysian-Tamil tastes, as opposed to the mild, subtly-flavoured ones I’d had in India (Chennai, Bangalore), back in Singapore, or even London, and Artesia, Los Angeles’ own “Little India”.
Woodlands here in Penang serves one that closely resembles the authentic Indian one. Mild quibble, as Jayam Fusion Cuisine’s rendition was quite tasty, despite its aggressive heat:
The masala thosai - thosai with spiced potato-onion filling - were folded into triangles here, like the ones we usually find in Bangalore, instead of the large cylindrical Tamil ones. We topped ours with a crisp vadai, the savoury Indian “donut”, which was perfect for dunking in the dips:
If one comes here at around 10.30am, when the eatery starts serving lunch options, but also when the breakfast cooks (specialising in “thosai”, “upuma”, “idli”, “paratha”, etc. ), who’re about to knock off from their morning shift work, were still lingering around, one can order from both the breakfast and lunch menus. We did that, and could order their vegetarian thali (a meat version is also available).
Then, we found out what they meant by “fusion” here - they were referring to their adaptation of other Indian regional cuisines, but done to suit the Tamil palate. We had the Sino-Indian mushroom Manchurian , something more likely to be found in Kolkata, or at one of Nelson Wang’s popular Sino-Indian restaurants in Mumbai or elsewhere in India.
Of course, the “Manchurian” here has nothing to do with Manchuria, or anywhere near China, for that matter, but a moniker invented by Nelson Wang for his new dish in Mumbai back in 1975, but which has became so popular, it’s become an indispensable part of Indian cuisine.
We also ordered butter chicken, which looked and tasted nothing like what one finds in Northern India. Again, we suspected it was made to cater to local Tamil preferences in this very local joint.
We also had the 𝘚𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘻𝘸𝘢𝘯 𝘗𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘳 (which is how “Szechuan” or “Sichuan” is spelt in India) - tasty, but in a tongue-scalding, mouth-numbing way. The cooks certainly pulled no punches in their addition of chilis to their cooking here.
𝘗𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘒𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘮𝘪𝘳𝘪 𝘯𝘢𝘢𝘯𝘴 to accompany our curries here.
Dessert was the best, although a tad heavy: 𝘚𝘢𝘬𝘬𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘪 𝘗𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘭 - spiced, sweetened rice.
Overall, I think I’d come back for the breakfast options, which we all enjoyed. I’d have second thoughts about the “fusion” dishes.
Address
Jayam Fusion Cuisine
57, Lebuh Pantai (Beach Street), 10300 George Town, Penang, Malaysia
Operating hours: 7.30am to 10pm daily
