This update was supposed to be about the Ogilvy trip to Nando's on Friday, but over the weekend I went somewhere which needed some truth-telling about.
Last Friday night, my friends and I made a trip to Shan-e-Mughalia which is a buffet located next to Millennium Mall on the spot of the former Drive-In cinema. It’s a nice sprawling space- very roomy- and there is a weirdo holding a nasty spear at the door greeting you. It all sets you up for an interesting dining experience. Or so you would think!
Believe me, there are not words to describe the horror that is the food of Shan-e-Mughalia, the name IS an overstatement. None of the meat was properly cooked through, PERIOD. They had even managed to undercook the quail!
Overall, the food was completely devoid of any flavor; you could have closed your eyes and eaten daal thinking it was biryani and never have known the difference- and you still would have hated it thoroughly. I struggled to finish any dish I had tried, even the barbecue, much to my horror of wasting food. It was not just me who felt this way; my friend Farheen gave up on the entire feeding ritual after the ghastly pasta which was the first and last dish she attempted. I sympathize with her, I had just one nibble from her plate and can swear it tasted like the dough mum used to make for roti. It was awful.
They had no tea in the tea dispenser for the entire time we were there, leaving us only one consumable item for after dinner- the Walls ice cream- which one had to fight tooth and nail just to get a skimpy little serving of.
Overall, it was the most terrible experience I have ever had, which is an opinion that was unanimously shared by my KU posse. It was a complete waste of 700 rupees, thoroughly unsatisfactory. Everyone I talked to before the “food of the apocalypse” had warned me to stay away, even Ali who warned us and went along anyway out of the goodness of his heart. Although he deserves to give us all an “I told you so,” he didn’t.
But he did tell us so!
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Monday, October 19, 2009
Chicken Ala Carte
19th October, Monday: After a thorough praise session in favour of a place called Cafe Koel, which apparently has awesome ambiance, awesome-er food and awesome-er-er service, this was the place the Ogilvy gang headed to on Yasir's birthday, we finally ordered lunch. With all the talk of desi food, we decided to order some Pakistani food from Ginoginelles. As usual I was the one ordering, an was shocked to learn that Gino's had closed down their branch in Muhammad Ali Society, a massive error on their part which ended up costing us an extra 100 rupees in delivery charges.
Down to the food! We ordered a Chicken Boneless Green Masala and some Seekh Kebabs upon request from the creative department. Since they were sending it from their Khadda market branch, it took its sweet time getting here too. But the food seemed somewhat worth it.
The chicken seemed well cooked and lived up to its name but was not as spicy as I had expected it to be and the biggest problem, a rather small serving for 320 rupees a pop. The Seekh kebebs were also well cooked and in contrast to the chicken were very helathy in size, not something you normally come accross and for a normal price too 130 rupees a plate. They did manage to over do it a tick with the salt, but not enough to ruin the kebab, the use of the spices covered the excess salt. Mahreen seemed somewhat troubled by the spice, bu not enough to stop her from eating the kebabs.
Overall, it was a good show by Gino's, however the extra 100 killed it. Ginos has some great food, but it should get rid of the rediculous delivery charge especially when they have the term "Free Office/Home Delivery" on the front of their brochure in bold lettering!
Down to the food! We ordered a Chicken Boneless Green Masala and some Seekh Kebabs upon request from the creative department. Since they were sending it from their Khadda market branch, it took its sweet time getting here too. But the food seemed somewhat worth it.
The chicken seemed well cooked and lived up to its name but was not as spicy as I had expected it to be and the biggest problem, a rather small serving for 320 rupees a pop. The Seekh kebebs were also well cooked and in contrast to the chicken were very helathy in size, not something you normally come accross and for a normal price too 130 rupees a plate. They did manage to over do it a tick with the salt, but not enough to ruin the kebab, the use of the spices covered the excess salt. Mahreen seemed somewhat troubled by the spice, bu not enough to stop her from eating the kebabs.
Overall, it was a good show by Gino's, however the extra 100 killed it. Ginos has some great food, but it should get rid of the rediculous delivery charge especially when they have the term "Free Office/Home Delivery" on the front of their brochure in bold lettering!
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Roasters or what?
10 October, Friday: After our regular Friday squabbling, we ended up going to Roasters in Sindhi Muslim, I still don’t know whose idea that was. There were eleven of us this time round. The staff was really nice at the beginning, they prepared our table, gave us menus and took our orders… but then again that’s what they were being paid for.
I ordered a Wild Mushroom Steak with a side of mashed potatoes and vegetables. Food came half an hour later, lo and behold, they had forgotten my order. So while my friends ate and passed consoling glances my way, I waited trying not to let my impatience show.
Twenty minutes later, a very embarrassed looking waiter brought me my steak with a side of baked potato. Late and with the wrong side order! Even more embarrassed the waiter immediately ran off and got me some extra mashed potatoes which my friend Yasir enjoyed.
However, this is a forum on food and even through all the inconvenience, the steak was superb. Its very easy to ruin a steak by under or over cooking it, which other restaurants very usually do, the texture of the meat was perfectly ‘well done’. The texture of the wild mushroom sauce was a bit thin but the flavour was superb. The side of vegetables could have done with a bit more seasoning just to give it a tick more flavour. I had a bit of the mashed potatoes, and they could have been mashed a little bit better, I encountered some small chunks which might have been missed by the steak un-enthusiast.
Over all the food was just right with a nice balance of flavor and aroma. And I heard no one complain about their food, and everyone seemed to polish off their entire plates. A significant accomplishment for Roasters. In case you are wondering what happened to my baked potato,
Shahryar can better comment on that.
Regards,
Z
I ordered a Wild Mushroom Steak with a side of mashed potatoes and vegetables. Food came half an hour later, lo and behold, they had forgotten my order. So while my friends ate and passed consoling glances my way, I waited trying not to let my impatience show.
Twenty minutes later, a very embarrassed looking waiter brought me my steak with a side of baked potato. Late and with the wrong side order! Even more embarrassed the waiter immediately ran off and got me some extra mashed potatoes which my friend Yasir enjoyed.
However, this is a forum on food and even through all the inconvenience, the steak was superb. Its very easy to ruin a steak by under or over cooking it, which other restaurants very usually do, the texture of the meat was perfectly ‘well done’. The texture of the wild mushroom sauce was a bit thin but the flavour was superb. The side of vegetables could have done with a bit more seasoning just to give it a tick more flavour. I had a bit of the mashed potatoes, and they could have been mashed a little bit better, I encountered some small chunks which might have been missed by the steak un-enthusiast.
Over all the food was just right with a nice balance of flavor and aroma. And I heard no one complain about their food, and everyone seemed to polish off their entire plates. A significant accomplishment for Roasters. In case you are wondering what happened to my baked potato,
Shahryar can better comment on that.
Regards,
Z
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Welcome to Food and Whine
My friends call me a bit of a whiner when it comes to food, but the truth is, the way I was brought up, food has some very high standards to look up to. Let me explain, in my family, food is a sacred art. The men and women have perfected it over time and believe me the term "haath mein maza" (taste in the hands) makes a lot of sense for them. My mum has, by large, shunned modern technology to assist her in cooking. She still mixes her own spices and uses the ancient "sil batta" to grind them which gives the food a flavour that can only be described as sublime. This is the honest truth and will be appreciated to all those related to me, I have never seen her ruin or even slightly mess it up, and I have always maintained that I am yet to taste a Chicken Karahi that is even remotely in the same league as mum's, it IS the best in town. If someone disagrees, I am open to being proved wrong.
Now that you have a perspective on the standards for food, let me explain what this blog is about. My friend, Misbah, suggested that I become a food critic because I have a lot of valuable input when it comes to food(I can imagine all of you rolling your eyes to that). But that is exactly what I'm going to do, give an honest opinion on food right here in Karachi.
My friends and I have a tradition here at Ogilvy, every Friday we go out and have a good lunch, sometimes we even order in, I'll even put up my comments on that. Do share your input and experiences on the food you've had at the places reviewed and remember, the best foods are found in the oddest of places.
Bon Appétit
Zubair
Now that you have a perspective on the standards for food, let me explain what this blog is about. My friend, Misbah, suggested that I become a food critic because I have a lot of valuable input when it comes to food(I can imagine all of you rolling your eyes to that). But that is exactly what I'm going to do, give an honest opinion on food right here in Karachi.
My friends and I have a tradition here at Ogilvy, every Friday we go out and have a good lunch, sometimes we even order in, I'll even put up my comments on that. Do share your input and experiences on the food you've had at the places reviewed and remember, the best foods are found in the oddest of places.
Bon Appétit
Zubair
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