Press & PR
Review by Paul Fulford - Birmingham Mail 16th July - 4 out of 5.
IT’S not in the prettiest of locations, tucked away in a modern retail park near a supermarket and fast food joint. But make no mistake: Mint Cuisine is a mighty fine restaurant. There’s a poise about the food. A sureness of touch. An instinctive feel for ingredients. A skill. Over the year, I probably eat more curries than any other sort of nosh. But this place stood out – not quite up there with the likes of Lasan or Pushkar, but not far behind. Take the good, crisp poppadoms I ate with my wife and two sons. Few other curry houses would have sent them out with a bowl of home-made apple, onion and beetroot pickle. Better was to come with my starter – a fillet of trout that was deftly spiced and had those delicately caramelised edges that are so irresistible. A scattering of roasted vegetables and garnish of fresh, well-dressed salad completed a dish that owed much to street food traditions. The main course I ordered was altogether heftier. A shank of lamb had been slow-cooked so the flavoursome, moist meat flaked from the bone. It came with a sauce I’ve not before encountered in an Indian restaurant – a sort of demi-glace (reduced but not aggresively so) that was gently spicy. The earthy, sweet flavours of the pumpin curry that was served alongside complemented it perfectly. And the vegetable provided an ideal way of soaking up the sauce. This was a filling dish and I fear I had few inroads into the roti I ordered as ballast. However, I did find room to order what was perhaps the restaurant’s most substantial dessert. Gulab jaman – those spongy and ruinously sweet balls – are calorific enough. Drenched in brandy and set alight, they would not rank highly as recommended dishes in any diet book. Here, though, they had a lightness that set them apart. And they also happened to be delicious. Members of my family ate with delight various dishes as I murmured my pleasure at the food I ate. I shan’t burden you with details of their meals other than to say that the vanilla cheesecake ordered by my wife – no stranger to preparing stunning cheesecakes – had her struggling to find superlatives. Service throughout was efficient and charming and the modern decor of Mint Cuisine make it a pleasant place to sit. Our bill included a good number of drinks.
* Verdict **** Four out of Five
How much? £84 for four
Vegetarians? Choices
Child friendly? Yes
Disabled access? Fine
Parking? Plenty
Go back? With delight
http://www.birminghammail.net/lifestyle/food-and-drink/restaurant-reviews
World Cup Dishes
Mint Cuisine in Yardley will be getting in the World Cup spirit with some amazing dishes for you to come and celebrate with. Marketing Manager Aftab Rahman said, “We have a range of dishes designed as flags. As you’d expect, the England flag is made up as Britain’s favourite dish - white fried rice with the chicken tikka masala as the red cross.” The dishes are a complete meal and priced at only £8.95 as covered by Central News on ITV : http://www.itv.com/central-west/world-cup-spiced-up91962/
Launch of Gluten free menu - Birmingham Plus
|
|
|
Mint Cuisine launched their Gluten free menu on the 13th May 2010 after advice from many of their regular customers. Marketing Manager Aftab Rahman said, “We have been speaking to a lot of our guests who have informed us that they suffer from Coeliacs disease. This prompted us to research this further, so we looked at some of our recipes at source to ensure that there is no wheat in the products. We worked with a select group of guests who suffer from Coeliacs disease to help us identify dishes that would be suitable for them.” The management then trained all their staff to ensure that they understood the impact that Coeliacs disease has on sufferers’ diets, so that they would be confident in suggesting dishes that are gluten free. So as a result, Mint Cuisine have taken their research to the next level and launched a new menu with ‘G’ next to all gluten free items, to help guests choose in confidence. Aftab says, “Indian restaurants need to do more to recognise the dietary requirements of their customers. We can guarantee that dishes will not have wheat in them, however, it wil be made in an environment that has wheat.” To coincide with National Allergy Week, Mint have invited select group of our guests who suffer from coeliacs disease to join them for a gluten free banquet.
http://www.birminghamplus.com/news/news_item.asp?nid=1273696873
Feed back from - Liz McGow
The menu you have created looks fantastic and it is great to know that I have a place I can visit and be totally confident in the fact that I will be sitting down to a meal that is not only very tasty, but safe for me to eat. There is a huge range of gluten free starters and mains to choose from which means I'm not missing out on anything and I'm not limited at all as is often the case if I eat elsewhere. As we have looked so closely at the ingredients and the preparation and cooking methods I know that I can trust fully the menu and all your staff who know about Coeliacs and have learned how to help us when chooosing from the menu.
|
Whats on review - April 2010
On arrival at Mint, my friend and I came face-to-face with a large water feature made of plastic discs that cascaded down into a pond full of fish (carp, I think) and an array of house-bricks, which bemused us somewhat. After meeting every member of the front-of-house staff, we were greeted by Aftab, one of the four owners of the restaurant. Poppadoms and an array of fresh dips were brought to our table, our starters arriving soon afterwards. We ordered Tetul Mix (£3.95) - succulent lamb and chicken tikka, panfired with tamarind, mushrooms, onions and peppers. It was a hearty portion that looked and tasted divine, bringing the tastebuds instantly alive. We also tucked into fresh soft sheek kebab (£2.50) and a huge onion bhaji (£2.15), light in colour and nicely presented. Our mains were chosen from the ‘Signature’ and ‘Favourite’ sections of the menu. I love creamy coconut, so I was in for a good time when my Jeshore King Prawn (£9.95) arrived in its rich, hot bhuna sauce. My friend’s chicken jaipuri (£6.95), cooked with mushrooms, onions, peppers and a thick sauce, was devoured in record time. The only disappointment was the garlic nan (£2.10), which lacked garlic! However, the Bombay spicy wedges (£1.95) were a real winner, along with the mushroom pilau rice (£2.50). Realising that we were too stuffed to eat anything else, the team insisted that we try some of the home-made desserts. Within minutes, rich and creamy pistachio ice-cream (£3.35) and chocolate cake had appeared in front of us. Both proved to be delicious. Boasting tasty food, plentiful portions, and warm and friendly staff, Mint is definitely a place we’ll head for again in the future.
http://www.whatsonlive.co.uk/byVenueNoShow.asp?venue=2455&showing=2455
Mint celebrates first birthday in style with its loyal customers
Over a hundred guests joined in Mint Indian and Bangladeshi Cuisine’s first year celebration last week and enjoyed a Bollywood themed night with live music, a drinks reception and fine food.
Mint loves to spice things up so this was no ordinary celebration. Mint took the opportunity to thank their most loyal customers for their support with a special award. Staff also received awards for their hard work over the year. This follows on from Mint’s own success in winning the regional award for best Indian Ethical Restaurant for their green credentials.
The evening was hosted by the BBC’s Anita Bhalla, OBE, who is also Chairperson of Midlands Arts Centre. The keynote speaker was Khalid Mahmood MP.
A prize raffle raised over £200.00 which will be used to pay 75% of the cost to purchase a tube well, with the remaining 25% to be found by people who will use it. The well will provide clean and fresh water in a village called Kamar Khal in Bangladesh.
Aftab Rahman, Marketing Manager said “It’s important for us to support people from our country of origin and £200.00 goes along way in Bangladesh. We’re planning to develop a Mint Foundation in the near future”.
He also added “We wanted to show how grateful we are to our loyal customers as they have supported us through a difficult economic period and we look forward to cooking their delicious favourite dishes for them over the coming years”.
Covered in Post People Living Magazine March 2010:
http://edition.pagesuite-professional.co.uk/launch.aspx?referral=other&refresh=a02NPi14e03F&PBID=dfc794a1-ddee-48e3-8776-7778cbbe00ae&skip=
Well thats a good idea
MORE than 100 guests joined in Mint Indian and Bangladeshi Cuisine’s first year celebration and enjoyed a Bollywood themed night with live music, a drinks reception and fine food. A raffle raised £200 to build a well and provide fresh water in the village of Kamar Khal in Bangladesh. Aftab Rahman, marketing manager said: “It’s important for us to support people from our country of origin. We’re planning to develop a Mint Foundation.
Birmingham Mail - 12th February 2010 http://www.birminghammail.net/lifestyle/food-and-drink/food-and-drink-news/2010/02/12/well-that-s-a-good-idea-97319-25822032/
Recipes: Meal to mark Republic Day
THIS week India, celebrated the Republic Day, marking the 60th anniversary of the country’s independence. To mark the occasion, the Birmingham Mail is giving you some expert tips on how to cook a fabulous Indian meal at home with recipes from three of the area’s best curry houses. Bishal Rasaily, head chef at Pushkar in Broad Street and top chef at this week’s Best of Broad Street awards, explains how to cook a scallop starter. Follow up with a Bangladeshi lamb main course with a recipe provided by Ataur Rahman, chef at Mint Cuisine in Yardley. And round off the meal with a festive rice dessert using a recipe supplied by Murray Sethurajapillai, chef at the Mango Tree in Stonnall, Staffordshire.
Mint Cuisine’s Lamb Haleem - Serves 4
Ingredients:
½ Kg of leg or shoulder – you can use lamb or mutton.
2 Tbsp of vegetable oil
4 cloves of garlic
A finger of ginger
4 onions
4 cloves
4 cardamom
1 stick cinnamon
2 Bay leafs
2/3 tbsp of salt
1 tsp Jeera powder
1 tsp dhaniya powder
1 tsp chillie powder
1 tsp haldi powder
1 tsp paprika powder
1 tomato
½ teacup of split red lentils
1 teacup of (pre-cooked) crushed chick peas
2 green chillies
1 Bangladeshi lemon
Fresh coriander
Method:
Heat a medium sized pan and add two tbs of vegetable oil. When the oil is hot add the garlic and ginger and lower the heat and wait until it is light brown and then add four chopped onions. Add 2/3 tsp of salt and stir in and cover the lid for 10 minutes, allowing the onions to melt down. Add four cloves, four cardamoms, one stick of cinnamon, two bay leaves and stir in. Then add tea spoon of jeera, dhaniya, chilli, haldi and paprika stir this in and allow it too cook for a few minutes. Add the meat and stir. Pour in three tea cups of hot water and leave it on a medium heat for 30 minutes until the meat is nearly cooked. Follow this by adding ½ tea cup of split red lentils and 1 tea cup of (pre-cooked) chick peas and one diced tomato and cook this in a medium heat for 30 minutes. Once the dish is cooked add in some finely chopped coriander. Before serving add finely chopped chillies (you may wish to de-seed to lower the heat) and finely chop Bangladeshi lemon and sprinkle on the top. This dish is ideal to eat with rice, naan and chapattis.
Birmingham Mail - 29th January 2010 http://www.birminghammail.net/lifestyle/latest-features/2010/01/29/recipes-meal-to-mark-republic-day-97319-25714781/
City restaurant’s green credentials
INDIAN and Bangladeshi restaurant Mint Cuisine has been recognised for its green credentials in the Ethical Food Awards. The Yardley restaurant has been working closely with Birmingham City Council and other partners to reduce waste by 50 per cent as well as pioneering the use of waste to create alternative fuels. Marketing director Aftab Rahman said: “It’s great to win this award which has recognised our ethical values and it will encourage us further towards our green objectives for the coming year.”
Birmingham Mail 21st January 2010
http://www.birminghammail.net/lifestyle/2010/01/21/food-and-drink-city-restaurant-s-green-credentials-97319-25654276/
Mint continues to support charities - Birmingham Post June 2009
The new Lord Mayor, Councillor Michael Wilkes and the Lady Mayoress joined guests at a charity fund raising event on the 8th June at Mint Indian and Bangladeshi Restaurant in Yardley. The two charities supported were Pioneers and Step-up, mentoring organisations that support young people from inner city Birmingham. After dinner a raffle and an auction helped to raise funds in excess of £1,000.00 which will be used to support young people in Birmingham.
The Mint partners been involved in charity work for over twenty years. Aftab Rahman proprietor and chair of Pioneers said that “the Mint has a deep commitment to support the local community and we have supported Heartlands neo natal unit earlier this year. We are delighted to support Pioneers and Step Up. We would be happy to work in partnership with other charities to help them raise funds”. Dr Gethin Davies representing both charities said “it was superb to see so many people from so many walks of life raising money to support young people that have done well in our charities over the year. We so often think little of ourselves and our young people; this was a win- win event for all, including the innovative restaurant. Brilliant!"
The Mint makes a mint for charity - Solihull Observer February 2009
The Lord Mayor of Birmingham joined hospital staff and grateful parents on Monday (January 26) at Yardley restaurant Mint Cuisine to host a charity fund-raiser to collecting cash for life-saving neo-natal equipment at heartlands Hospital.
The Bollywood-themed evening included a charity auction and raffle and raised over £1,000, which will be handed over to the hospital.
Lisa Dunn, hospital director at Heartlands Hospital, said: "The support of local businesses and individuals is a huge boost for us in our fundraising efforts. We are extremely grateful to staff at The Mint for their support.
Aftab Rahman, marketing manager of The Mint, said: "All the partners of the Mint Restaurant have hailed from the voluntary sector and we have established some of most successful organisations in Birmingham. We maintain a strong commitment to supporting charities and our business is ideal to continue this tradition. We hope that our support will bring lasting benefits to the neo natal unit."
Awards
Best Indian Restaurant for the West midlands - Ethical Food Award 2010.
AAA Good Food Guide in recognition of outstanding food and service 2010.
Best New Comer / runner up – British Curry Award 2007.
Best recommended dining out award – by Birmingham Mail 2006.
Best Design and Built Restaurant – by Birmingham City Council in 2005.
Awarded Distinction of Excellence by – the Good Eating Guide 2005.