Lasan Restaurant - Birmingham
3-4 Dakota Buildings, James Street, St Paul's Square, Birmingham B3 1SD.
0121 212 3664
www.lasangroup.com/restaurant
Lasan Birmingham Voted 'Britain's Best Local Restaurant' by their customers and judged by Gordon Ramsey and James Day of eat-the-midlands.co.uk at the Channel 4 Finals.
James Day caught up with Executive chef Aktar Islam on the day of the finals for a meal and an Exclusive interview. Well-done Lasan!
Aktar had created an exclusive tasting menu selection of his
favourite dishes for us to try while we chatted "I try and source
influences from all over India - I would normally be there myself
now, I love travelling around the Country trying different dishes
and ingredients, to bring them home and experiment with their
flavours and textures, however, the 'F' Word has meant that trip is
on hold this year.
All our ingredients are authentic - sourcing meats from the
neighbouring counties of Staffordshire for beef, Shropshire for
Chicken, as well as Worcestershire, and further afield we have some
fantastic ingredients from Warwickshire and the East Midlands,
however, I feel that you cannot have an authentic restaurant
without bringing the core ingredients from the country of original.
I know if I am serving Cashmere herbs, or Goan style dishes or a
true Punjabi dish, that the ingredients, and the flavours, are
truly from that area - not just that they say so on the packet!
This is something very important to me to create the full Lasan
experience"
Our first dish was a selection of starters - Aloo Brie Tikki
Potato balls flavoured with ginger and cashew nuts, stuffed with
brie, served with tamarind sauce, Mahi Machli - Salmon marinated in
a tomato and roasted red pepper puree with coriander, lime juice,
served with salad and coriander sauce, Murch Tikka Salas - Tandoori
chicken strips with bay leaves, onions, tomato, cucumber and chick
peas croutons dressed with coriander oil and crushed peppercorns
and a Sarson Ka Jhinga - succulent Tandoori King Prawns served with
baby leaves, dressed in fresh grape fruit vinaigrette.
What Aktar is good at is not only bringing the best of his
ingredients by treating them with respect, but pushing the
boundaries, and creating an overall new flavour from the components
of the dish, by pushing the boundaries mixed with his own deep
knowledge and passion "Some people say I am arrogant, but when I
get in my domain of the kitchen, I am so focused on the
ingredients, and conscious to treat them with respect that my
vision is channelled at just that, so I expect the best from
everyone around me - I learnt a great deal from my experience with
Chef Gordon [Ramsey]on the F Word and will carry my passion, whilst
perhaps dampening my exterior persona a little, but not too much"
he smiles.
The flavours of the selection were exemplary - I was also struck
by the impact of the colour on the plate "we do not use any
colourants or artificial ingredients, what you do see are the
natural oils, marinades, pastes and fresh herbs that we use, which
if treated with the respect you mention, will keep their colour -
They should carry through to the flavours of each ingredient
lifting from the food" And it did. The selection was the perfect
combination - with the roasted peppers lifting the salmon and the
grapefruit vinaigrette cutting through the succulent prawns were a
perfect dish to end on.
All too often when a restaurant is blessed by such a passionate
and knowledgeable Executive chef, the rest of the team can let it
down, as was all too clearly shown on recent finals of the F word
when the Greek Restaurant lost their place in the finals against
the accomplished Pheasant, purely through poor service, as did many
others, however the front of house team were almost as informed as
Akbar on the ingredients, and flavours.
The main selection of Allepy Fish curry, Balchao King Prawns,
Dum Ki Murgh and Mirch Baingan Ka Sala was an equal journey of
colour and flavours "Many people say I should do the 'main-stream'
things, and serve in a traditional Balti dish, or give selections
like this on canteen plates, but this is what we do. We like to
keep the surrounds simple, and let the ingredients speak for
themselves - we do not like fads, or begging to every whim - there
are lots of very good restaurants in the region, if people want a
Balti, then go to one of the many very good restaurants offering
this - we do food from India, cooked with passion, and authentic
ingredients."
Aktar Islam and James Day
Lasan Selection
And true they do - The Fish curry was the favourite of my guest,
each served in an individual white square dish, the flavour lifted
the presentation - Sea Bass being cooked perfectly - crisp skin,
and rich velvety white flesh not overpowered but complemented by
the mustard seeds which we saw in the F Word Finals dish, and which
was soured with raw mango and tamarind which meant the flavour of
the dish truly lingered. The King Prawn was my favourite served
Goan Style flavoured with coriander seeds dry slow roast chillies
and lifted by the flavour of malt vinegar, which worked perfectly
with the coconut milk.
Dum Ki Murgh is a delicately spiced poussin and was suitably
braised in a mild caramelised onion and yogurt curry, accompanied
by sweet cashew nuts, and an almost satay flavour to it - All three
dishes were balanced by the Baby aubergine, which were simmered in
spicy poppy seeds cashew nuts and a tomato curry and fresh green
chillies " we pride ourselves in creating not only balanced dishes,
but also a balanced selection in our tasting menu - we change our
menu four times a year, and work with the Indian seasons, where
they actually enjoy 6 seasons, so the tasting menu and specials
will incorporate these - we have just taken delivery of an
excellent shoulder of beef which I will be slow cooking for over
four hours to make it perfectly tender, then will hopefully be in
this weekend if we are not too busy"
While we were chatting and eating, the phone never stopped
ringing with those keen regulars as well as many from all over the
country who were booking Lasan on the strength of Aktar's passions
for food. I he going to be inundated after tonight's deserved
result "We aim to continue just as we are, so those guests who do
mange to book and enjoy our cuisine will be able to experience the
true Lasan, without compromise."
The tasting menu is £39.95 per head, and includes
desserts, which we unfortunately were unable to stay for, so we
have been invited back to enjoy the full experience at our leisure,
and we will take you with us! Well Done Lasan and thank you Aktar
and Jabbar - Another great Birmingham Restaurant!
Read an exclusive interview with Aktar on the day of the
announcement of him winning the F Word here
The Reviewer
James Day is a 'Virtual-Foodie' who edits popular food news and
reviews website Eat the
Midlands which carries up to date articles covering all
things foodie in the region, alongside reviews written whilst on
his travels around our finest eateries meeting with chefs, and
local producers.
James also runs the Midlands Lifestyle Dining Club, Gourmet Life which offers the regions
foodies exclusive discounts at some of the finest restaurants in
the region - which must meet strict selection criteria, including
sourcing at least 20% of their main a la carte menu from the
region.
James' other project includes running the popular and
established county wide dining guide Dine With Us.