I recently visited Nomi, a small and eclectic Asian fusion restaurant on the west side of El Paso. The place has a mix of different Asian influences, which isn't entirely my personal preference as I tend to gravitate towards more authentic cultural representations.
On my first visit, the restaurant had the appearance of a Japanese ramen house, so I decided to order the ramen. However, I wasn't too impressed with the dish - it seemed like Nomi is more focused on fusion-style cuisine rather than specializing in traditional Japanese fare. If you're looking for an authentic izakaya experience, this probably isn't the place.
But on a subsequent visit, something else caught my eye - the crispy pork belly with Sharon's homemade sambal. I was pleasantly surprised to find that they had an authentic Indonesian sambal sauce here in El Paso!
The sambal was absolutely delicious, with a perfect balance of heat, tanginess, and a lovely underlying coconut flavor. The pork belly was fried to crispy perfection, and the fragrant rice complemented the dish beautifully.
The only downside was that the salad I ordered was overly salty, so I had to request an alternative. But overall, the unique Southeast Asian flavors at Nomi are really exciting and a refreshing change of pace for the El Paso dining scene. Indonesian cuisine has such a complex interplay of sweet, sour, salty, and spicy elements, and it's wonderful to see those bold flavors represented here.
The service could use some improvement, as the staff seemed to be a bit scattered and didn't circulate the dining room as much as they could have. But I can see Nomi being a great hangout spot with a little refinement in that department. The food is really tasty if you know what to order.
I'd definitely recommend giving it a try, especially if you're craving something a little different and adventurous! -TODOELPASO read more