What is that you see? Yes, that restaurant’s name is Umi Nom. As in, Umi Nom (nom nom nom nom mmmm munch…). Genevieve tipped me off to the place by emailing me the NY Times $25 and under article featuring none other than my namesake. Of course, we had to try it. [...]]]>

What is that you see? Yes, that restaurant’s name is Umi Nom. As in, Umi Nom (nom nom nom nom mmmm munch…). Genevieve tipped me off to the place by emailing me the NY Times $25 and under article featuring none other than my namesake. Of course, we had to try it. So off we went on the mythical (and often none-existent) “G” train. You know we mean business if we brave the G train. It’s the short little train that even the times when it comes, you end up running towards the front, because you forget that it isn’t a “full” train.

Umi Nom
433 Dekalb Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11205

For most of you, this means that you need to get on the “G” train (most probably from Metropolitan/Lorimer) and get off at Classon Avenue. For us, this meant taking the L, going to prospect park, hanging out at Gen’s, then heading back out to Atlantic Ave, getting out of the subway, and going to the G train. (Otherwise, we would have go back into Manhattan to go back into Brooklyn, which is the craziest annoying aspect of traveling in Brooklyn in NYC. All trains head towards Manhattan.)

Ridiculous. I mean, you know I had to preface this entry with the “G” train rants. However, everyone take heart! THIS PLACE IS WORTH IT! I present to you, a delicious thai fusion place that is BYOB (we got a six-pack of hoegardens)

We started with a complimentary amuse bouche of fried cream crab dumplings. It was warm, light, and crispy, and gave us hope for rest of the meal. I should write about the last time I tried a NY Times $25 and under, where I was severely offended and disappointed.

We were rewarded for our trek, since this place was amazing. I liked everything we got, although some dishes more than others. We started with a cured beef dish, which resembled beef jerky. It was tough and smokey, but when you chewed it exuded flavor. Yes, I would recommend it. Next up, we shared a grilled sardine, that was done really lovely! One of my favorites from the night. It was topped with julienned daikon in a papaya salad-esque Thai/Vietnamese dressing. Surprisingly, this restaurant didn’t glaze their food with too many flavors, they let the ingredients stand for themselves. The fish was grilled with salt and subtle flavors with a side of pickled salad.

The real surprise was the rice I ordered. The boys went for a traditional “sticky rice.” I wanted garlic rice, since anything with garlic in it is a WIN for me. AND IT WAS AMAZING. They must have roasted the garlic, creamed it, and mixed it with the cooked rice. It was delicious and INFUSED with garlic. THIS wasn’t a subtle flavored and I LOVED it! For 2-3 dollars, the portion was SO generous. It was amazing. Get it. Order the garlic rice, NOT the sticky rice. (Which was executed fine. You know, fluffy and comforting… but rather normal and plain. I eat sticky rice at home regularly, so it’s not a treat for me. Oftentimes I prefer unsticky rice… coconut rice… jasmine rice, which is exotic for me, and pilafs.)

We also ordered prawns, which was large and cooked excellently. The plate came with 3 and there was 4 of us. I feel like dishes like that are objectionable and I would like to see the restaurant go the extra mile and tell us that this is the case, or in our case where it wouldnt make sense to order an extra plate… throw an extra shrimp in. The texture was great and the head is always flavorful. However, it doesn’t beat the prawns from Pok Pok, which is flavorful (and perfect), and these babies were cooked well but rather bland. They were cooked in a hearty broth, but I think prawns do well with something a little stronger.

Next, we got chinese sausage, which presentation wise left more to be desired. However, it worked for the dish and surprisingly this was spicy, sweet, and delicious. This was Chris and Ryan’s favorite dish. The dip offered in this dish was great with the prawns, too.

We were dying to try their fried chicken, which came topped with jalapenos, curiously. Ryan has a high standard for wings and/or chicken, but this was a different animal all together from other chicken I have tried. The chicken was DRY. Or rather, it was a dry fried chicken, the breading being something similar to what my mother uses, which is not oily, but gives you a nice crunch. Inside, the chicken was incredibly juicy. But, for fried chicken, which is wet with glaze, the dryness was different. It also had a good amount of heat and although it wasn’t my favorite thing I had that night, it was damn good. I can’t even say that “it doesn’t bear Pok Pok’s wings,” because it was just different. It’s not trying to be a glazed wing like every other Asian fusion. The execution is really well done that I wonder how they did it. Dry fried chicken itself isn’t quite my thing, but this was delicious. Anticipating us not wanting to share too much, we got two separate plates for four of us, which we polished off.

Genevieve and I ordered this molten chocolate cake. Decadent and amazing with thick cream and warmed cherries on the side. You know, there is no need to go on about it. Just go. Definitely get the sausage, garlic rice, fish, and everything else that follows should taste delicious. GET THE CHOCOLATE CHERRY CAKE.

At the end of the day, ALL this (we got like 2 side orders of sticky rice) cost around $80 and filled us up. (This doesn’t include alcohol. This place is a BTOB and we picked up a six pack of Hoegaardens to drink. Always a plus in my book.) There were 4 of us, so that’s around $20 a person. Not bad, huh? TRULY $25 a person. Good call NY TIMES!

At the end, we were being silly and I paid with my credit card, wondering if they would notice that my name is “Umi.” I don’t think they did before Ryan couldn’t hold it in any longer and shouted, “HER NAME IS UMI!!!!!!!!!” He was very giddy. The server, who was a sweetheart all evening looked unimpressed. He just sort of nodded. Then we showed him my credit card and he went on his way … charging it. It was anticlimactic, I will admit. I think they should give me a Umi Nom t shirt. They are lucky that this blog isn’t called Umi Nom Nom nom nom! CAUSE THEN I WOULD TOTALLY HAVE STOLEN THEIR URL!