The media has forced its audience to perceive life in a certain light – everything has to be in accordance to these unquestioned rules and anything astray is wrong. This spans fashion, beauty and has even corrupted food. Instagram food accounts can show the most indulgent treats, where milkshakes are adorned by candy, cookies and frosting before being brought to the table. A single straw with whip cream and a cherry is no longer sufficient, it needs to be grandiose and eye-opening. The same goes for works of art escaping the world’s most acclaimed kitchens. They showcase monochromatic color schemes, fluid patterns, or designs that are achieved through the use of tweezers and molds on each plate. This fixation with the right look bypasses what a great dish has at its roots, which is the flavor. Therefore, in my ode to David Chang’s Netflix series “Ugly Delicious,” I have strayed away from the perfect aesthetic and have enjoyed meals based solely on flavor profiles. Instead I challenge his show to be called “Unexpected Delicious” because nothing is more satisfying than when a dish causes the ends of your mouth to curve up into a gentle smile.This concept screams hole in the wall, multi-generational eateries, and that is exactly what I found as I craved Asian food one night after a yoga class.
Jaya Asian Grill, in the shopping center at the corner of Colorado Boulevard and Mexico Avenue, specializes in four cultures of Asian cuisine: Chinese-Cantonese, Thai, Singaporian and Malaysian. The restaurant represents authenticity as its decorations are minimal, leaving room for the flavor to be the reason you return for your South Asian food fix. Although the menu has options for those that stick to orange or kung pao chicken because the Panda would have suggested it, this is the type of restaurant where letting the waiter order their favorite dish would turn into a roulette that always ends with you cashing out. I played, and in front of me was the Nasi Lemak. Typically found in a traditional Malaysian house-hold, the star is the crispy wok fried chicken. It has developed the thinnest crust that emulates the snap of a chip as you rip into that bag of Lays. This creates a protective layer for the succulent meat hidden beneath that is still steaming from the protective chip exterior. A crucial aspect is the coconut milk rice that lays as the base for all the other layers to mash up together. It has that bright coconut fragrance but not anything that would take away from the rest of the components. Each aspect has its own rightful spot on the plate. The boiled peanuts, hard boiled egg, steaming chicken and pickled vegetables each have their own rightful spot on the plate. It is up to you to pick a bit of this and add some texture to your bite from that in order to see how each separate item unifies the dish into one. This dish calls upon all types of taste, salty from the roasted nuts, sour from the pickled veggies, sweet from the coconut, umami from the chicken and bitter from the fried anchovies. Each element is an unlikely combination to any American food that grazed our childhood kitchen counter but it is a proud staple in South East Asia.
Most restaurants pass out bread that they rarely expect patrons to finish. At Jaya, you can order a delish carb starter that won’t leave a crumb on the plate. To the naked eye, the roti resembles naan or pita bread. Upon further investigation, however, the flakey layers begin to expose themselves. Each sheet of dough is as thin as paper but loaded with rich, buttery flavor. Accompanying this is a deep red curry starring red chilis and complemented by garlic, ginger and lemongrass. The soft flat bread soaks it up effortlessly like a sponge.
Jaya can be great in terms of executing Americanized Asian food that we have all come to crave, but it also allows for a new cultural integration with flavors, combinations and textures that can become your new cravings. With large portions and a friendly staff, it has become my post-yoga treat, as well as my highly anticipated lunch for the following day.
