Chef-owner Tracy Goh opened Damansara in Noe Valley two years ago, and serves Malaysian comfort food from her native Kuala Lumpur. The name derives from the area in which she grew up, where she was immersed in the myriad and diverse flavors of a cuisine that boasts influences from India, Portugal, and China. Watching her walk quietly and thoughtfully around the space, checking on customers, bringing out dishes to the tables herself, answering questions, I felt her attachment to the space and the food.
Our first dish was a small plate of fried chicken.
Boneless thighs are marinated in a cured duck-egg-yolk cream, then dredged in savory house-made cereal for satisfyingly crunchy, juicy, and meaty bites. While there are many other intriguing items on the small-plates menu, I would be tempted to get this every time. That said, I’m rather kicking myself that we didn’t make a whole meal out of small plates.
Instead, I ordered the Damansara laksa.
Or, if you like, the “tame” laksa. Brimming with chicken, tofu puffs, prawns, and egg, the aromatic broth is kicked up by belachan, a funky-sweet shrimp paste. Chef Goh makes all her own sauces and pastes and, on one of her rounds through the dining room, I asked if she had something to make the dish a bit spicier. She went right into the kitchen and made me a hotter version of the shrimp sambal. Deceptively fiery, the heat crept up on me as I added it, increasing my enjoyment of the rich soup exponentially.
My friend decided to be a bit daring and ordered the asam laksa.
His bowl brought a cacophony of flavors and aromas, with mackerel floating in a tamarind fish broth among tangy pineapple chunks, pungent Indonesian basil leaves, the whole emanating a decidedly funky kick from the fermented shrimp paste.
Another intriguing dish we all shared was the steamed taro cake:
Really unlike anything I’d ever had, a steamed taro cake comes richly loaded with fermented black beans, preserved radishes, shiitake mushrooms and more of that spiced cereal. Can’t you just taste the umami-ness of it all?
My friend’s wife opted for the nasi lemak and fried chicken rice plate:
A turmeric-scented fried chicken leg curls around the nasi lemak, coconutty rice made with pandan and butterfly pea flower, giving it a lovely blue tint. Achar pickles and crispy/chewy anchovies added oomph to the dish, along with a sweet sambal.
We also had a side of the roti Chani with a mild vegan curry.
The luscious flatbread came out piping hot, and was a highlight of the meal.
While I could not finish my laksa, we managed to put away three desserts.
These were actually in the snacks and beverages section of the menu, and our server waxed rhapsodic about the kaya and fried bread. Kaya, a creamy mixture of pandan, egg and coconut custard, gets slathered over the warm, puffy bread. Swooningly good, I’d almost eschew the other snacks, but I did also really enjoy the chendol ice, as unfamiliar a concept as it was for me.
Cut-up pandan noodles atop crushed ice and smothered with salted coconut cream, palm syrup and sweet beans. A ridiculously refreshing dish! On the other hand, I found our third snack, the cassava butter cake brulée, a little dense and not as flavorful for my taste.
There is beer, wine, soju, and sake on offer at Damansara, along with very interesting non-alcohol beverage choices, such as homemade natural rosewater and lactose-free cow’s milk.
With so much more to explore on this beguiling menu, I’m itching to go back with a large, intrepid group and plumb the depths of Chef Goh’s table.