LAUT
15 E 17th St
New York, NY 10003
(212) 206-8989
Official Site
I have passed by Laut restaurant on 17 Street between Broadway and 5th many evenings and there has always been a crowd. Based on the crowd my first thought was, the food must be amazing. But I thought I knew better having waited for an hour on line – in the cold -to eat at a trendy brunch spot that turned out to be just ok. However, curiosity got the better of me so I gave in and followed the crowd. Little did I know that Laut is a Michelin star restaurant and the cheapest one out of the group. As it turned out the food was worth the wait. This has become one of my favorite places for intensely flavor rich Malaysian food.
The dining room of Laut can be a bit loud, full of men and women in suits, love birds on a date and students from nearby NYU. At any given night the music of Jay-Z, Usher and Bruno Mars can be heard blasting through their speakers. If you prefer a quiet dinner or lunch, this is not it. The loudness of the place gives it the essence of an Asian street eatery. Unlike most restaurants, there is no separate bar for drinks, Laut is strictly for dining. The restaurant’s interior is designed with exposed red brick walls, art work created with colored chalk and paint, and high ceilings in patterned copper. The tables are topped with marble and are accompanied by unpadded wooden chairs. A burnished wooden 2 by 4 resting horizontally next to a wall serves as a bench. At the back of the restaurant is an unmanned sushi bar with a gong hanging above. I’ve been to this restaurant on multiple occasions and I’ve never seen a sushi chef nor diners at the sushi bar; maybe they served sushi there in the past? Who knows?
Though Laut serves Malaysian cuisine the menu has a Pan-Asian touch. The food here is flavor rich with the exotic accents Asian cuisine is known for. The spices, sweet and sour are all packed in the dishes creating an explosive taste that has earned them a Michelin Star for two consecutive years (2011 and 2012). Starter dishes like the Satay Chicken, marinated and grilled on a skewer (combined with peanut sauce dip) are deliciously bathed in spices. The Roti Cani crispy thin pancake, chicken and curry sauce was also very tasty. Savory entrées like the Pineapple Chicken made with lemongrass, galangal, turmeric, ginger, coriander, bell pepper, onion, chili, shrimp paste, tamarind juice; and the Nasi Lamak with chicken, made with coconut rice, chili shrimp, chicken curry, pickled, veggie, chili, onion, anchovies, peanut and cucumber packed an incredible combination of ingredients that complement each other well. The fried anchovies in the Nasi Lamak is reminiscent of Filipino food, for which I’m well acquainted. You will be overcome by the sublime taste of the Laut Nasi Kerabu, filleted fish served in banana leaf. Unfortunately that dish was only served during the Malaysian restaurant week event. Noodle soup dishes like the Asam Laksa with Malaysia traditional spicy sour, thick lemongrass, fish flake, gravy onion, cucumber, pineapple and shrimp paste is one to behold. The flavors from all the spices can be tasted from every angle and in each bite – this dish alone is worth the trip. If there was one negative about Laut it would be the dessert. Don’t get me wrong it’s good, but I would rather pass. Most Asian restaurants are not commonly known for their desserts; but with all the amazingly flavored food, who needs dessert?
Laut is not as fancy as the rest of its Michelin Starred counterparts but the draw is the cuisine’s exotic mix of rich flavors. I’ve dined here numerous times and every meal has always been great. So don’t get turned off when you see people outside the restaurant waiting to be seated, try it like I did and you might actually like this place. By the way did I mention that the food here is very affordable? You truly get more bang for your bucks.
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