William Street has long been puffing and panting under the pressure of housing ambitious restaurants that either end up serving mediocre food, or those that are under-recognised because they serve cuisine that isn’t mainstream in Ireland yet. Jumon falls under neither category, a quality that is as precarious as it is mildly disappointing.
Exposed brick walls run along one side of the narrow, alley-like space that has ostrich murals on the other side. The menu promises Asian-inspired dishes, also venturing into Indian and Middle Eastern territory unlike many places that restrict themselves to the east Asian connotations that come with using “Asian”.
While the restaurant deserves praise for effort in that regard, the flavour combinations leave you hankering for coherence. A white miso houmous is creamy and good on its own, and we could make peace with the toppings of furikake and chilli oil, but the accompanying poppadoms just didn’t hit the spot. The Arabs know what they’re doing when they serve soft pita with their chickpea showstopper, and that traditionalism is worth paying attention to.
A plate of jiaozi arrives with a side of kimchi and jade mayo, and it takes a fair bit of prodding for the servers to reveal what goes into the latter. After one server has ignored our request to know, making it seem like it's a secret ingredient, another says “it’s just jade mayo”. A third server overhears us asking what the green bits are, and quickly answers with “jalapeño”. After all the fuss over it, we realise that the jade mayo does nothing for the dumplings that are otherwise standard and gyoza-like, stuffed with carrot, chinese cabbage, and mushroom. A lighter sauce would have complemented them better.
“Chaat me up” is the kitchen’s take on the beloved Indian street-style aloo chaat. Fried, diced potatoes are topped with yoghurt, tamarind chutney, and a coriander chutney that strangely tastes pesto-esque. A garnish of sliced onion adds some welcome pungency, while the sliced green chilli is superfluous because it has no heat. It’s a confused mish mash of more complex chaat condiments applied to an otherwise uncomplicated staple.
The “kkanpoong tofu” is like a good-looking relationship candidate whose texting game is strong, but lacks the smoothness that comes with planning dates well. A sticky, sweet and spicy gochujang glaze hugs cubes of batter-fried tofu that would have lived up to their godly appearance had the tofu been silken. Toppings of pickled cucumber and crushed, caramelised peanuts add crunch, making it the best dish we’ve had at the restaurant thus far.
To our pleasant surprise, this impression is quickly superseded by the dan dan noodles. Udon flavoured with tahini and chilli are made wholesome with scrambled tofu, chinese cabbage, mushrooms, peanuts, and scallions clinging to them. A whole fried egg gives the noodles depth once the yolk is broken into and mixed in. The dish doesn’t skimp on spice and has a signature Sichuan vitality.
We get that Jumon is attempting Asian fusion, and while the successful use of tahini with dan dan noodles warrants commendation, most of the other dishes lack a thorough approach to combining ingredients from different parts of the globe. Our meal was enjoyable, but we might struggle to follow through and for now, we’re content with categorising this as a place that begets one visit for the dan dan noodles to see if you’d like to establish a longer-term relationship with them.
