Indian Cuisine With a Regional Touch at Dastaan
There are a number of solid purveyors of Indian cuisine that dot the capital’s landscape, and now there’s one new eatery to join this list – Dastaan Indian Restaurant.
Owned and operated by Sk Rabiul Baksh, former Indian chef at the Hyatt Regency Beijing Wangjing, Dastaan slyly opened in Sanlitun earlier this year. And with a city already packed with competition on the Indian cuisine front, the place really shines.
We initially decided to check out the spot. Situated on the third floor in one of the blocks of Sanlitun SOHO, we were going for the lunch buffet, which was happening weekly on Sundays and Wednesdays. Unfortunately for us, when we arrived we were informed the buffet had been temporarily canceled due to Covid concerns.
In spite of the lack of the buffet – which has been gaining a lot of popularity in the months since its inception – we were greeted by a menu that went well and beyond what we’d come to expect at a typical Indian restaurant.
Chef Rabiul ready to deliver some goodies
While a lot of the classics did populate Dastaan's menu – with offerings like chicken tikka masala, lamb vindaloo, and tandoori chicken – there was a generous helping of South Asian dishes on offer. This was expanded upon with a section of dishes that Rabiul often had while growing up.
From this section we decided upon the kosha mangsho (RMB 88), a Kolkata-style lamb dish with potatoes. We also ordered dahi baingan ka bartha (RMB 58), stir-fried eggplant with yogurt, spices and other veggies, chicken tikka masala (RMB 68), and a few naan breads.
Clockwise from right: kosha mangsho, assortment of naan, dahi baingan ka bartha
The kosha mangsho was intriguing, a masala-style curry – i.e. a curry base utilizing a hefty amount of aromatics and spices, cooked in hot oil to release their flavor. These spices and aromatics really shined through, imparting a deep richness onto the lamb and potatoes, with a thick curry base that made it a little heartier than a typical lamb rogan josh.
The other dishes were rich in flavor as well. The eggplant was another favorite here, it being easy to pick up with the naan.
Dastaan's weekly lunch buffets have become popular as of late
While the buffet will soon make its return, happening at its usual times, in the coming weeks, Chef Rabiul has added a new offering through April in the form of a new set deal. Called the Lucknow to Tangra – Lucknow being in northern India, not far from Delhi, and Tangra, on the east coast, being home to India's only China town – the set consists of chicken biryani, chili chicken, a vegetable raitha (a yogurt-based sauce) and Coke, all for RMB 118 until Apr 30.
Chef Rabiul has made Dastaan into an Indian restaurant that stands out. Regional offerings sprinkled in with classics make for an adventure for the taste buds – a welcome escape when world travel is still off the table, but something we'd go back to again and again even if it was.
Dastaan Indian Restaurant 达斯坦印度餐厅
3F, Sanlitun SOHO 5 Shopping Mall, Chaoyang District
潮阳区三里屯SOHO5号上场3层
Images: Dianping, Vincent R. Vinci, courtesy of Dastaan
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