Lahpet

Started out as a popular spot in Hackney, Lahpet has managed to find its way closer to the city. First opening as a stall at Old Spitalfields Market, and now occupying a nice restaurant space in Shoreditch. Featuring huge windows, decorated with bamboo stems & leaves, the restaurant has a fairly light setting. Its interior in overall has a contemporary style with a light cosy touch.

We arrived for our dinner at Lahpet quite early in the evening. Initially, the restaurant was pretty quiet, but later in the evening, they dimmed down the lights and the music grew louder. It gradually went from a bright quiet spot to a buzzing one. It’s certainly one vibrant spot, great for friends gathering or casual drinks & nibble.

Here is what we ordered at Lahpet:

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Stuffed Aubergine (£13)

To start with, we had the Stuffed Aubergine. Normally this is a dish that we’d skip on the menu. However, we were enticed with the dried shrimp & oyster mushroom filling, and so decided to give it a go. Dried shrimp is such a magical ingredient. While you can’t really see a real shrimp in there, it was the very reason behind that incredibly rich savoury flavour of the dish. It also added such an umami touch which created a luscious sensation to the palate.

Fried Bream (£14)

Seeing morning glory on the menu, i.e. my favourite vegetables, I simply couldn’t resist ordering this dish. You can order morning glory alone as a side dish but why not go for this dish instead when you can enjoy some fried beam with it too! We loved the fact that the fried bream was served as a whole fish. If you’re worried about bones, don’t worry, the meat was already neatly sliced up so it doesn’t require a lot of effort to tackle it. The fish was crispy and savoury on the outside, while the inside enveloped a soft and sweet flesh. It tasted generally fresh and we enjoyed it a lot.

Mohinga (£12)

The last time I had Mohinga, a Burmese noodle fish soup/stew, was at The Shan State. From that experience, whilst I was intrigued and enticed by the flavours, it was a tad too oily to handle. The version here at Lahpet seemed to have a different take on it.

First off it’s not overly oily. I find the texture thicker and richer as well. Flavour-wise, I thought the taste of fish was less strong but the dish carried a more tangy touch. I personally enjoyed the fried fish skins, which added a lovely crunchy texture. Nevertheless, in overall I did think it was relatively underwhelming compared to the other dishes we had.

In summary…

…we generally enjoyed our experience at Lahpet. It’s definitely a very different experience on Burmese cuisine, in a positive way, from that at The Shan State. The vibrant atmosphere added to the experience as well. Worth giving it a try if you’re around the area.

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Tel: 020 3883 5629
Website: https://lahpet.co.uk/
Instagram: @lahpet

Nearest station: Shoreditch High Street Overground