Makan, the KiwiFav of the week

In the courtyard of an old house lost between the borders of Roma and Doctores, there is a small restaurant that for just over a year has been offering traditional flavors from Singapore and several other countries from Southeast Asia: Makan.Makan, the name chosen to represent this paradise of flavors created by Singaporean chef Maryann Yong and Mexican chef Mario Malvaez, means to eat in Malay, the official language of Singapore, and is also a popular expression commonly used in the Asian country to ask people if they have eaten or to invite them to eat. Thus, this restaurant is also an open invitation to a feast where the young couple of cooks makes the most of the plethora of Mexican ingredients while evoking the flavors typical of Singapore, the country where they met, and the various cuisines they discovered during their multiple travels across Southeast Asia.The menu at Makan is brief—it features three appetizers, five main dishes, and a couple of desserts—and changes almost daily, as it adheres to the seasonality of local products. The restaurant also offers a modest selection of natural wines or low-intervention wines—red, rosé, orange, white, and sparkling—and some cocktails crafted by Mexican bartender Elí Martínez to enjoy with the dishes served in the unusual garden.To whet your appetite, the braised lettuces are a complete delight. They arrive at the table drenched in soy sauce and are topped with a generous portion of creamy garlic puree and a few garlic chips scattered here and there.Without a doubt, the chicken rice is one of the must-try dishes at Makan. The bird is poached in a broth made from ginger, lemongrass, and soy sauce, resulting in an extremely juicy and flavorful chicken that shares the plate with fragrant jasmine rice that perfumes every bite. Another favorite is the roasted eggplant with fideuá. The purple fruit comes on a kind of dried noodle decorated with a silky eggplant and peanut puree, pickled cucumbers, basil leaves, and cilantro sprigs.As expected, the dessert at Makan is also a revelation. Depending on the day, you can find anything from delicious frozen popsicles to an elegant pavlova, both options featuring seasonal fruit.It is worth noting that from time to time Makan shares its kitchen with emerging culinary projects in order to create community within the culinary industry, so if you keep an eye on their calendar, you can enjoy ephemeral delights such as the caramel and miso milkshake for Margarita Burgers by chef Ricardo Campuzano or the makan sichuan tart for their most recent collaboration with Ficelle, a classic French boulangerie by restaurateur Julien de Bellaige and baker Eric Lenoir.