The Chat-ilicious Debate

Dear foodies,

I have decided to, once and for all, hunt down and eat the best 'chat' in Karachi. Available on every street corner of every market and bus stop in Karachi, the humble plate of chat is a favourite of Karchiites but the burning question that emerges from this is, who is the best and NO this does not include fruit chat!

Ever since the announcement status update on facebook, I have gotten many recommendations from many of my friends.

The method of research is going to be simple, I have identified a core group of guinea pigs, two of whom are my best friends Danial Shaikh and Wajeeh Fatima, leaving just one more coveted spot on the team (nominations and bribes to be sent to my email address). We will test one recommended chat house per week. After the the first bite the GP's (guinea pigs) will rate the dish based on a scale of 1 to 10 with 1 being the hightest and 10 being the lowest.

That's just rating the 'chat' fresh off the thaila, the best chat will need to hold its own in the ever-famous 'parcel' format. For that I will be identifying a group of 4 more GP's within my office and the same process will be repeated.

The results will be published as soon as they are in, so stay tuned to the blog.

The nominations and the nominators are:

1. The Gazebo - Nadia Qaisar


2. Chatkharey - Mrs. Aisha Owais


3. The guy who stands next to Tando Adam Sajji at Hasan Square - Umair Siddiqui


4. Javed Bhai's at Zoology Department, Karachi University - Mrs. Suwaida Tahir


5. Falmingo's Chat, Boat Basin - Ayraj Adhami & Sadia Hussain-Haider


6. Hyderi Chat, Hyderi Market - Fyza Khan & Fahad Hafeez


7. Sherry's, Phase 4 Defence - Mrs. Misbah Omer


8. Off I. I. Chundrigarh Road, between SCB and Prize Bond Market - Asif Yousuf


9. Bohri Chat House, Empress Market, Saddar - Asif Yousuf


10. The guy next to Meezan Bank on Tariq Road - Me


11. Mirchi near Khayaban-e-Seher - Shazia Khan


12. Bohri Bazaar Chaat, the famous chat wala in the gali opposite nimco - Mehreen Kazi


13. The guy who sells chaat in Ancholi, Near Ahmed Medicos - Moizuddin


14. Iqbal Bhai's Chaat, Opposite Bata Store, Pakistan Chowk - Faheem Farooqui


15. Shamsu Chaat - Ali J Wastani


16. The guy at Dhorajee next to Yousuf Burger - Atif Zubair

I'll add to the list as the recommendations come in. Personally I'm dying to try Hyderi and the guy at Hasan Square.

I'd love some comments and questions or even improvements to the research methodology.

Bon Apetit,

Z

Low Hanging Olives!

February 22, 2011: It's a strange thing to turn 30, but Mahreen did it with so much flair. It is in honour of her birthday that I come out of my usual laziness to update this blog.

After huge debates and lots of tantrums we went to a place called Olivetto which is right next to the Russian Consulate.

We seemed to scare the guy at the desk when we told him the population of his new restaurant was about to hit double figures (12 people). But they managed to pull some tables together. Olivettos had a lunch time deal which was actually pretty reasonable, Rs. 750 for a choice of soups as a starter, a main course and dessert.

I ordered the Tomato soup, Sirloin steak as the main course and dessert was the creme brulee with a shikanjbeen for drinks.

They eventually brought the soup, which was actually pretty nice, not a Knorr soup as we were expecting. Danish got a 'complimentary' soup which he was charged for later.

Then came my steak, finally a place that did not forget my order. The steak was a little too well done to the point that it was too dry, and it seemed unmarinaded. Being very hungry I ate the entire thing but was left quite disappointed due to a thorough lack of flavour.

The creme brulee came after a 10 minute wait, I'm not a sweet-ivore so I'll hold back my comments, however, my team seemed to like it a lot.

Overall, other than the company, it was a disappointing experience. The service was slow, but they did not mix up any orders. The main course was weak and the shikanjbeen was a tad bit of saving grace, but not by much. I will never willingly go back to Olivetto again, however, it avoids the blacklist out of respect for Mahreen's big day!!

Bon Apetit,

Z

Shikanjbeen

Sirloin Steak