Good food, good friends at Jombali Village

 

Looking back, it was some 13 years ago when I got acquainted with Chef Gary Ozzy Hong and his cuisine served first, at the Grill Bar and then at the biker themed, Café Racer.

 

A we-fie with Chef Gary Hong at Jombali Village

As discerning diners often returned for more dining experiences at these two eateries, the Chef successfully established a reputation for himself in Johor Baru.

 

Regulars familiar with Chef Gary will agree with me that he has an enterprising spirit and oozes with culinary creativity, probably because it is in his genes.

 

This is because his grandfather, Hong Say Tee, was an entrepreneur and innovative pioneer in the Food & Beverage industry, who earned himself the enviable moniker as Johor Baru’s Coffee Shop King.

 

[I had the privilege to feature the Coffee Shop King under Portraits in My Johor Stories 2: Interesting Places and Inspirational People, published in 2018.

 

So honoured to have documented his story because he left us peacefully at the ripe old age of 100 in August 2021.]

 

There is a charming outdoor section [Upstairs]
at Jombali Village

After a successful stint in Johor Baru, Chef Gary sold his businesses and headed across the Causeway (again!) to seek new challenges and fresh experiences to add to his culinary portfolio.

 

This I learnt when I bumped into Chef Gary just days into January this new year.

 

A lot had happened in the past few years but I was delighted to hear that he is back in the city and had recently started a new venture at Jombali Village.

 

When he graciously invited me over, I thought I should share this dining experience with my foodie friends and wasted no time in making the arrangements.

 

A section of the outdoor dining area

From my experience of the cuisine presented by Chef Gary, I had much confidence that the menu at Jombali should meet mine and the tastes of my friends.

 

With a restaurant named Jombali, I guessed it gave our talented chef a great deal of room to apply his creative culinary skills in the preparation and presentation of dishes made with Indonesian influence but using European techniques.

 

Jalan Perang is a familiar street for cafés and restaurants in Taman Pelangi so I was pleased to find parking space here.

 

Chef Gary Hong in his element,
working at the open kitchen

From its façade, I saw that the restaurant occupied two shop-lots and there was a charming outdoor dining area that overlooked the street. By the side of a Korean restaurant, a flight of stairs led to Jombali located above.

At the top of the stairs, I spotted the open kitchen through the glass paneled door even before it was opened for us to come in.

 

From where he was working at this open kitchen, Chef Gary shouted his welcome

while we were ushered to a table in the outdoor section.

 

As the waitress was taking our drink orders, my thoughts were on the concept of the open kitchen where the chef welcomed diners to watch/observe/admire his skills in preparing and presenting their food orders.

 

Emping Belinjo crisps served
with two choice of tasty sambals
 

I believe this also counts for the confidence of the chef who was pleased to show off his culinary skills so diners could see for themselves, the quality ingredients that went into the dishes and the way the chef meticulously added his personal touch before each platter was served to the diners’ tables.

 

I heard the helpful waitress recommend their refreshing fresh juices and orders were placed for Fresh Watermelon Mint and Fresh Pineapple Mint along with bottled beers like Carlsberg, Erdinger White and Hoegaarden.

 

While the main course items were being prepared, Emping Belinjo was served as a starter to whet our appetite for the dishes that Chef Gary wanted us to taste.

 

I could not get enough of Jagung Bakar Jombali

Belinjo are traditional Indonesian curly crisps made from melinjo or belinjo nuts that has a slight bitter taste and to add a bit of zing, these crackers were served on a platter with two types of sambal dips.

 

The Red sambal clearly hinted of spicy chillie while the savoury taste of the Green sambal was also a winner, rich with the toasted flavour of anchovies.

 

While we were deciding which of the two sambals we preferred, Chef Gary came to our table to say, “Hello!”

 

Decor in the indoor dining hall

When we asked him about the sambals served with the belinjo crisps, he shared about his desire to replicate the sambals once served at Yong Nasi Padang, one of the landmark coffeeshops run by his grandfather in downtown Johor Baru.

 

[Throughout the meal, I observed that each meat dish was complemented by a side of sauce or dip for diners to add something more to enhance the flavours.]

 

Then he excused himself to return to the kitchen. He was (understandably!) anxious to prepare the dishes to impress us but I guess he was confident that we will be suitably impressed because he said, “Let the food do the talking!”

 

When the platter of Jagung Bakar Jombali was served, I was pleased that this corn-on-the cob dish was not only presented creatively but it tasted so extraordinary (I must confess!) that I had to consciously stop myself from taking another piece because I had to keep some space to taste the other delightful dishes.

 

No, it was not unladylike to hold the corn in my hand and nibble the pearls of corn because this was exactly how we should relish the taste of this grilled corn-on-the-cob.

 

Nangka Goreng Gulai Hijau

Fans of seafood soup will appreciate the creamy taste of Village Crab Lump Soup, so named because the Seafood Bisque was filled with lumps of Swimmer Crab meat. It came with a slice of grilled bread to mop up the soup to its last delicious drop.

 

Clam lovers may pick from a choice of two clam soups: the Spicy Live Clam Soup, as its name indicates, tasted spicy, while the Butter & Wine Clam Soup was mmm… yum.

 

Then we were served two goreng or fried dishes, each fried quite differently.

 

A serving of Australian Angus Sirloin
Flame-Seared Steak

Earlier on, Chef Gary said that the dishes in his menu were bar-bites or just right to pair with drinks so I was pleased to see a platter of Bebek Goreng Bali, deep-fried duck with a side of dip sauce, that went well with our drinks. [By the way, the Indonesian word for duck, is bebek.]

 

Fresh fruit in a savoury dish was the next experience where we enjoyed the sweet, ripe taste of Nangka Goreng Gulai Hijau or juicy Jackfruit in Green Curry.

 

While Chef Gary uses local sources for most of his ingredients, some of the imported meats he serves include the Australian Angus Sirloin Flame-Seared Steak and the New Zealand Garlic Lamb Loin, each served with Asian Chimichurri gulai gravy.

 

Jombali Ikan Bakar

The platter of Crispy Udang Laut Besar or battered large sea prawns, was served with a citrus dip.

 

The best way to savour them was to pick up the whole prawns with my fingers, nibble the crispy bits, then chew and crunch up the juicy prawns, crispy shells and all. Then politely, leave its tail.

 

From the bones left behind, I saw that my foodie friends also enjoyed the Jombali Ikan Bakar sambal kicap, fresh whole seabass grilled and served with sweet dark sauce.

 

Welcome back to the Johor Baru F&B scene
Chef Gary Hong

When we gave our compliments and comments to Chef Gary, he was not only receptive but said that he was ready to add more items to his interesting menu.

 

Regulars (like me) who are familiar with him will notice that he had dramatically shed a lot of body weight since we first met. This he attributed to the discipline of cutting out carbohydrates in his diet.

 

But he was quick to assure us that they do serve rice for diners who wished to eat rice with the dishes in his menu. [So please do not hesitate to ask for rice!]

 

Our evening of good food with good friends ended in a convivial mood as we reminisced about the cafés that once dotted this same street and their popular dishes.

 

It was pure foodie fun to share ideas as Chef Gary was still developing his menu to offer something for everyone to enjoy.

 

Jombali Village is located up a flight of stairs at No. 39-A Jalan Perang, Taman Pelangi, 80400 Johor Baru, Johor. Open daily, from 4pm to 12am. No pork or lard are used in the kitchen. For reservations, Tel: +6017 733 5577.