Bamboo Union - Restaurant Review

Bamboo Union

An Explosion of Flavors is about to Rock Lahore

When you read the name of the restaurant we bet you think of green, you think of tropical, of healthy eating, of bamboo shoot stir fries and curries, of pristine East Asian beaches, you think oriental cuisine. That is exactly what the young, energetic and ambitious entrepreneur, Raza Ahmed, has to offer to Lahore! He has been inviting guests from various walks of life, making them taste the different items on the menu and getting their feedback for the past couple of weeks. We, too, got the wonderful opportunity to go for food tasting before the official opening of this Pan Asian fusion restaurant and were simply blown away by the powerful, lingering flavors, unusually striking color combinations and tantalizing fragrance of each of the items we tried. Every dish has a star ingredient, with its tatse piercing and distinct. Our taste buds were left excited for the weeks to follow. The dishes on the menu are inspired by exquisite Thai, Korean, Japanese, Chinese and Vietnamese recipes, presented to you in a way that is unlike any other restaurant in town.

We are particularly excited about the fusion part; the food is not just the combination of various flavors from across East Asia but it also borrows ideas from other continents -fish made with oriental spices but wrapped in Mexican whole wheat tacos and chicken stuffed cheese nachos served with kimchi particularly caught our attention. And the black sesame seed chicken salad – it would definitely be our favorite and we have never seen anything quite like it before.

While enjoying the exotic treats that studded the wooden table, we talked to Raza about the menu, why it is special and the kind of décor and vibe to expect once the restaurant is up and functioning. Here’s what he shared with us.

Beef Bulgogi 

Why the restaurant business?

I came back to Pakistan from Canada and joined the family business. After spending some time on the retail side of the business, I felt it needed a complete revamp but family thought otherwise. At that time I decided I had to do something on my own. I am very particular about my food and if it is not served the way I want, it is a big turn off for me. For that reason my uncle once suggested I should get into the food business as a joke – sooner than later I realised that is what I really want to do. I went to Dubai where my uncle runs a couple of restaurants, got some training for about 9 months, came back to Lahore and started looking for a place for my restaurant.

Why Asian food?

I identified a gap – Lahoris like Asian food – in fact we have our own version of Chinese food! But I wanted to bring more authentic Pan Asian flavours to Lahore. We don’t have many places doing authentic Asian dishes.

Lettuce Wraps

Chicken Stuffed Nachos with Kimchi and Salsa

Chicken Omelet

How did you choose Bamboo Union as the name of your restaurant?

A friend and I decided the name – Bamboo has to do with East Asia, with green and with healthy eating.

How has the response of your friends and family been like through the tastings you’ve had?

It has been quite good actually! Whoever had come has enjoyed the food. Fingers crossed for the opening!

Grilled Broccoli Salad

How would you describe the vibe of your restaurant?

Fast, casual, yet exotic!

How did you design your menu and choose which items to include?

Maha Jawed is our consultant. She helped us out with the menu and some of the items are my own input.

Fish Tacos in Whole Wheat 

Chicken Dumplings

What is your favorite item on the menu?

The entire menu is pretty close to my heart actually. I have been eating, sleeping, breathing my menu over the past couple of weeks to perfect the taste of each item! And I still love all the dishes!

Mo Fu Tofu and Bangkok Curry Noodles

Fire Crushed Cucumber Salad

Black Sesame Chicken Noodle Salad

Who is doing your interior?

Zainab Shaukat, and she’s done a wonderful job.

Who is your target audience?

People who like to try authentic Asian flavors, who are willing to try something new, who have travelled abroad and understand what authentic oriental dishes are like, who understand the idea of eating healthy eating. The green part of our logo in fact represents the ‘healthy eating’.

So, brace up Lahoris! You are about to experience an explosion of authentic oriental flavors very, very soon and make the rest if the country pretty envious! It is time to take a break from those niharis, pizzas and the desi Chinese. It is time to go Asian the authentic way.

You can check out their Facebook page here. 

Location: 95B-D/1 Main Boulevard, Gulberg III

*This article was published in TGIF Magazine, The Daily Times