Out in the big smoke

Night out to the bright lights of Brummieland last night. Picked up the lady from work, late, because my mind was wandering off somewhere else at M5-M42 junction. Got there in the end after a scramble through the southern reaches of Birmingham suburbia through Kings Norton and down Pershore Road. Again places I used to know so well. It's hard to gather any real sense of nostalgia for such mundane places little worth mentioning, but hey this might be the last time I go round that bit of the world for a while.

We decided to go to Lasan for dinner as we have heard a lot about it (Yes I know, the website is under construction - The manager was taking photos as we ate). This was, according to the Independent newspaper (or tabloid as it will only be sold in tabloid size as of this week), one of the 10 best Indian restaurants in the UK. Worried that it would be packed full, a late reservation was made at 3pm for a table for two, seating at 6:30pm, much to the delight of the person on the phone who said that the big crunch usually starts at 7pm.

The outside of the place was well hidden in a side street just off St Paul's Square. It would not have merited another look if you didn't know what you were looking for. The inside was pretty modern and minimalist in style, though I felt that the music was somewhat loud. Shouldn't have bothered with booking at it was totally deserted at 6:45pm. After ordering a Cobra (the beer, not the reptile), we settled down to study the menu - "To Start, To Follow ...".

Decided to share a red mullet with spicy salsa for starters and go for the methi lamb shank as main course with three vegetarian side dishes - marrow curry, okra and pickled mango, lentils and baby aubergines. As none of these came with any form of carbohydrates, we also asked for a pilau rice and a paratha. The red mullet came promptly enough, two fillets stacked on a pile of greens. The fillets were tasty enough, though I was somewhat uncertain about the texture. It felt unlike the red mullets I had before, most of which were grilled whole on the bone which gave a more flaky meaty texture. These did not flake as much and felt more chewy, leading to suspicions that they were not fully defrosted before cooking.

The mains arrived soon after the table was cleared. A hefty shank of lamb stood upright in a green sauce with flecks of darker green. The meat was meltingly tender and slid off the bone easily. It was possible to taste some of the individual spices in the sauce which was definitely a departure from the usual ghee-laden curries. The same theme was carried over to the veggie side dishes which were individually different in taste. The okra, one of our favourite greens, were cooked to perfection, still retaining its shape but far from stringy. They were somewhat stingy with the baby aubergines, or did I misread the menu when it said "baby aubergine" without the 's'. The paratha was a real highlight - light, crispy and fragrant. It resembled the good roti canai / murtabaks more than the usual thick heavy greasy parathas. There wasn't enough rice to soak up all the nice juices so we asked for another portion of it.

Mains over and nearly full, we were interested to look at the dessert menu. After all, the desserts were apparently a strength of this place. We received a small A5 card each titled "To End" with a list of specialties including a choice of Indian sweets. Having decided on one dessert each - firni brulee tart and warm carrot halva with ice cream, we were informed that the desserts may take 20-30 minutes as they needed to be prepared from scratch. Both desserts came after a brief wait, nowhere as long as expected. The carrot halva came with a raspberry couli, as expected, but the tart did too. Perhaps the kitchen was being generous. Both desserts were finely crafted piece of art, and went down very slowly. This was more due to bursting waistlines more that anything. I felt that my brulee tart was a tad too creamy towards the end but it could just be me feeling the strain.

In summary, 1 starter, 1 main, 3 sides, 2 pilau rice, 1 paratha, 2 desserts, 1 Cobra between the two of us was perhaps a bit over ambitious. The damage came to around £40 which I suppose is about right for this type of quality and quantity. The lady said that it was good but not *that* good, but bear in mind that it is not often that she feels that something is perfect.

After the meal we went to watch "The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" at the AMC Cinema near Five Ways, first time we had been there (or any cinema for a while, come to think of it). I thought it was a decent enough movie, especially the idea and storyline about memory erasure, though the both of us suffered from nausea towards the end of the movie. Whether this was due to the big (and congealment of fat in the stomach?) dinner or the camera work is a moot point because it sort of put a damper on the evening. Oh yes, the seats were good at the AMC, better than most cinemas we have been to.

Location 52°N 2°W