40. Opheem.

  It's only fitting that Birmingham should have a great south Asian restaurant and Opheem fits the bill. For Aktar Islam, there is life after Lasan and for Birmingham diners his afterlife is a paradise of delicious food.

  The new restaurant is smart, modern and chic - as far away from one's idea of what a 'curry house' should look like as one could imagine. It is spacious and eye-catching and reeks 21st centuryness which is no bad thing. The staff are rising to the task - professional, helpful, polite, knowledgable and friendly without being overbearing.

  But, as always, in the end it's about the food. Michelin has already awarded the restaurant a plate, and rightly so, and my dining companion and I both relished an eminently pleasing lunch today. The experience had everything that one should wish to say one had enjoyed 'Fine Dining' and there was not a course which did not cause us to praise chef's offerings.

  For a start there were 3 spicy amuses bouches (illustrated above) and then some lovely sourdough bread with a delicious lamb pâté. And so to the starter. My dining companion thought his stupendous scallop to be thoroughly enjoyable and I had kukkut from The Punjab which was a perfectly spicy Goosnargh chicken with grains and pumpkin which did not add to the flavour but gave a bit of bite to the dish.

  My companion derived great pleasure from his dish served from the Traditional menu - Karahai, chicken tossed with whole coriander seeds, chilli and bell pepper and I opted to have my main course from the special menu choosing, enjoying fish as I do, Allepy, a beautifully cooked piece of halibut, mildly spiced, served with a delightful Kerala coconut milk, spinach, kohlrabi, squid in an immaculately crispy coating and raw mango. An extremely enjoyable dish. And, as the menu reminds us, a winning course on The Great British Menu.

  I lusted after one of the delicious-sounding desserts but my companion was too full to venture on to the third course so I politely declined to eat when he could not but I shall not miss the opportunity to try one next time I visit - and there will be 'a next time' and hopefully in the near future.

  Aktar Islam has added to Birmingham's great culinary reputation by opening Opheem.