In Lah! La land
A pan-Asian restaurant that claims it’s not an authentic restaurant but just serves good food.
But to be young was the very heaven,” wrote English poet William Wordsworth. That was in the age of Romantics. These are different — and difficult — times. Anisha Maker, 24, cannot agree more with Wordsworth’s words. In fact, age was the biggest impediment to her ambition of becoming self-reliant and starting something on her own.
Maker was the head chef at Kefi restaurant, Taj Club House, Chennai, when she decided to quit her job and move back to Delhi. “Odd working hours and rigorous shifts were taking a toll on me and I started toying and vacillating with the thought of a startup,” says Maker. “I had no savings when I came back, but my family and friends stood by me — both financially and morally,” she adds.
A strong inclination but with limited resources, Maker started her own restaurant, “Lah!” in Hauz Khas village, christened after a Singlish (a portmanteau for Singaporean and English) slang meaning ‘nothing’. Lah! lives up to its name in a way of conforming to nothing and being very easygoing.
It is a pan-southeast Asian joint, but a disclaimer outside the kitchen proclaims, “We are not an authentic restaurant. We just serve good food”. A tony setup with five tables, Lah! is ideal for long and unhurried meals and serves Vietnamese, Thai, Malaysian and Chinese. “But I like to add a touch of my own culinary twist,” quips Maker.
On my first visit to the restaurant, it was not too difficult to decide on what to order. The host receives her guests personally as well as recommends her favourites. Not taking a chance, I decided to start with my regular order of smoky hot chicken wings (Rs 220). It didn’t take long for the head chef to serve a plate of crusty, perfectly seasoned pieces of tangy chicken, with house slaw. A kitchen window allows you to take a peek at Maker instructing her stewards, as they deftly prepared the orders.
I followed her advice with my main course — chicken malay curry, served with a choice of parota or steamed rice (Rs 270), and the customised ‘noodle bowl’ (Rs 250). The former is a sumptuous preparation of creamy, green curry, with sufficient chunks of chicken. And, yes, the noodle bowl is customised — you can pick your choice of noodles, sauce, meats and vegetables.
I ordered flat noodles with zucchini, capsicum, broccoli and pok choy in soy garlic cilantro sauce.
Only a three-month-old venture, Lah! is already making good money and you can see why. The restaurant is packed during lunch and dinner hours and there is a waiting period of 10-15 minutes. The total revenue stands roughly at Rs 1.9 lakh every month. After paying the overheads and salaries to her five helpers — one waiter, three chefs and one steward — Maker saves between Rs 30,000 and Rs 50,000 a month. “It is still not what I was earning at the Taj, but I know I’ll get there,” she says, beaming with confidence.
It took nearly three months for Maker to set up the place. Pieces of sturdy wooden furniture were bought from a shop close to the restaurant. The walls were painted with her choice of colours: bright green and red. Three friends created a wall art facing the tables, depicting a huge tree with leaves and a mix of alternative designs. A photographic montage of Asian tribals was downloaded from Google. Maker says she deliberately chose to keep the menu limited and straightforward. “Restaurants with large menus tend to serve dishes which often tend to taste the same,” she feels. She made it a point to personally train the chefs.
How did the place become so popular? “If you believe in something strongly, it comes true. I believe in spirituality; I always knew the restaurant will do well.” It helps that the food at Lah! is reasonably priced.
Finished your meal and want desserts? You are in for a surprise as Maker makes a candid confession, “They are not my forte.” In fact, there’s no desserts menu and you have to ask the server for what’s on the menu for the day. Maker says that her desserts depend on what she feels like making that particular day. Well, this does live up to the “not an authentic restaurant” disclaimer. But true to its claims, they do serve good food.
(No alcohol served. A meal for two costs Rs 800)