Merci, Côte Rôtie!

I’ve woken up many days with the wishful thinking that I can pack my bags and take a spontaneous flight to Paris - I get such feelings from time to time as I’ve mentioned before in one of my blogs: Je t’aime, mon Cafe Rolle.

(somebody take me there already, jeez!)

It’s only a matter of seconds before I peak outside my bedroom door and find my mother not exactly pardoning her french at somebody on the phone. So much for dreaming about Champs-Élysées on a beautiful Sunday morning, really. 

Even though spring has been uber kind to us this year by sticking around since December (winter whah, winter who?), we like to celebrate it in March - just ‘coz. 

My only fix to this specific day was to try out the new french cafe in town: Côte Rôtie. I had a super tough time trying to pronounce that name so I googled it and the first search that showed was How To Pronounce French Wine # Côte Rôtie.

I ended up spraying it, not saying it so I might stick to calling it “that new restaurant in Alliance Francaise”.

Anyhow, so a bunch of us walked in to a pleasant looking bistro, located exactly where the old Cafe Flo used to be. The weather was quite nice and well, the inside was completely packed, so we sat outside and a very welcoming server was immediately available to assist us. We received our brunch menu along with the regular one and within five mins, the server convinced us to order their Grilled Kale & Beetroot Salad.

I’m getting married in a few months and the first thing I order at any restaurant nowadays is a salad, just so I can feel all “healthy” and “fit”. Forget what follows, please. 

To accompany this nourishing starter, we also asked for Truffled Eggs & Gruyere (tee-he-he).

These two arrived on the table pretty soon and after many years, I understood the “art of plating”. Every time my chef brother visits us from Houston, he’s always complaining about the lack of culinary training most of the restauranteurs in this city have. However, as soon as our appetizers arrived, I knew this place was led by a chef and not just a ‘good cook’ or a businessman.

Kale & Beetroot Salad

As beautiful as it looked, the salad was absolutely delectable! There was some char-grilled sort of taste in those Kale leaves which blended in perfectly with the Beetroot, bits of Ricotta cheese and fresh figs. I could do this for a healthy meal, err day!

Don’t even get me started on the Truffled Eggs because i don’t have words to describe my happiness about having this meal in Karachi let alone trying to explain how I felt eating this wonderful variation of eggs. OMG, it was SO DAMN GOOD! Starting from breaking into it with my fork, the perfectly runny yolks that made their way through every layer of fine Gruyere cheese and rye toast, to the truffle sauce that topped this chunk of heaven was definitely love at first bite.

Truffled Eggs & Gruyere

Next up was their super fresh bread basket that totally ended my no-carb game because it was so fresh and so soft!! Nevertheless, I was consistent with my health regime and sipped on the very refreshing ABC juice (Apple Beetroot Carrot - if ya already didn’t know). Loved how well balanced the natural flavors were.

The french music that was playing in the background added to the already soothing ambience, reminded me of a french song I loved while I was in college - Les Champs-Elysées by Joe Dassin. Such a jazzy feel.

The mains arrived and again, the food was an absolute pleasure to look at. It was the kind of presentation that made you want to imagine every flavor you are about to experience.

Croque Madam

Croque Madam - definitely topping my list. I’m so glad that Côte Rôtie actually went out of the box to bring something unique to the table. Typically served with ham, this variation of Croque Monsieur was substituted with turkey and surprises you with a mustard-meets-wasabi kind of flavor in every bite. Loved the melted, quality shredded cheese over the fresh butter bread. Since I’m more into savory than sweet, the cherry in “with a cherry on top” has always been an egg for me, so this was a winner for sure! The flavors that burst through every layer was nothing less than a treat!

French Omlette with Gruyere Cheese

I bit into the French Omelette with Gruyere Cheese and wondered why and how everybody else in the city promotes their eggs when they taste nothing like this one! It was so simple, and you could tell that the chef focused on nothing but the essence of every flavor that made up the dish. A treat for the eyes and tastebuds - a rare encounter nowadays.

Scrambled Eggs with Salmon

Another item on the table was the Scrambled eggs with Salmon & Cream Cheese on toast and was definitely as good as it looked! I haven’t yet acquired the taste for salmon so I only took a bite of those rich, fluffy eggs and since scrambled eggs are my weakness, that was a party in my mouth!

Even though all of us had slipped into major food coma, after that eggs-tremely heavy meal we couldn’t have gone without a healthy dessert. You see how I always sandwich my diet in the middle somewhere?

Nora’s Got Sweet Tooth granola with homemade strawberry jam & vanilla yogurt was such a nice blend of sweet flavors. You can easily tell the top quality of all the ingredients used and it also gave me the energy I needed to get up to go home! This Nora lady has really good granola, by the way!

Nora's Got Sweet Tooth granola with vanilla yogurt and homemade jam

I wish I could say that this was the end so I could conclude this in another over dramatic paragraph, BUT, it was just so good that I had to go back next Sunday! 

Since my father has an extremely fine taste palette and knows his food as much he knows his kids, I really wanted to take him there. 

We sat inside this time and the ambience inside was even more beautiful than the last. The community table is a concept very new to Karachi so it was great to see it enter the scene. I knew there was a trained chef behind the scenes, and you could see the owner completely involved in the kitchen and also peaking out the little window to see his customers from time to time! Very cute!

Besides reordering some of the stuff from my last visit, we gave the Bresaola - Mozzarella - Pickled Chili sandwich a shot and boy oh boy, I couldn’t believe (again) that I was sitting within the boundaries of a bistro in Karachi having such good quality air dried meat. The discussion on the table for the longest time was if this meat could even be from here - it was delicious.

Bresaola - Mozzarella - Pickled Chili Sandwich

 

Like always, my dad always asks the management to suggest their best pick and his recommendation was the French Burger. Pretty risky to suggest a burger to us because we are always on a mission, any where around the world, to find the best burger in every city. This was some fine quality meat, marinated in a splendid manner, cooked to Medium perfection and served between a high-quality bun. The next time I crave a burger in this city, I’m heading straight to Côte Rôtie to satisfy my burger brain! Melt-in-the-mouth would be an understatement… to say the least.

French Burger

We ended with their Chocolate Tart and for the first time in months, I couldn’t care less about the calories I was about to consume because that pure block of chocolate with an oreo crust only promised real cocoa flavors. I gobbled down the strawberry it came with, because it’s fruit - you know… healthy and all!

Chocolate Tart

As you can tell, I had a pret-tay awesome experience at Côte Rôtie. You can feel the appreciation and passion for food in the air of that little place and I would go out of my way to acknowledge the rare places that offer top quality cuisine. 

Merci, Côte Rôtie. You made my day(s)!

Chop Chop Wok : Treats in a bowl!

It’s been quite long and as I’ve mentioned before, my life is extremely dramatic, thus while I decided to take a six month long “detoxing-from-the-world” sort of break… actually let’s skip the tale… I ended up getting engaged – to the best person ever (…who might get palpitations at the lack of focus on health and nutrition in this blog).

Anyhow, after my summer trip to the US, nothing in Karachi really motivated me to continue with the blogging and the food scene was failing to offer anything exotic or unique to my spoilt palate.

However, Ramadan/Ramzan (whichever one helps you sleep at night) kicked off with social media being flooded with attractive yellow and black promotional posts of a new restaurant making way that introduced itself as Chop Chop Wok.

Early Promotions. Courtesy: Chop Chop Wok

Courtesy: Chop Chop Wok

I thought the name was great, especially if they were planning to offer Oriental/ Asian cuisine. Thank God, by the way! Even though I’m all about them burgers, this city went a bit manic with burger joints. Besides that, we were in dire need of a different eatery that fell between the commercial million desi Chinese places and Noodle House!

Packed in a concise (read: tiny) area amidst the hustle bustle of Khadda Market, Chop Chop Wok sports a minimalistic layout with 5 tables and an open kitchen. I think the ‘Wokers’ were trying to work around a take-out concept but we eager beavers like to eat where the party’s at – and so, the waiting time is hardly ever less than 45 mins! (Imagine – aunties were actually hosting ‘kitty’ lunches in this limited space)

I managed to win a place after four months and five attempts!

We waited roughly twenty minutes before being seated and a super courteous server came to assist us three ladies! He skimmed through the menu with us and recommended their limited edition Wasabi Prawns with Salsa for starters, which we ordered along with their Spicy BBQ Wings.

 Chop Chop Wok has a stress-free menu with “make-your-own” options along with their specials. This is exactly how much a restaurant should offer, makes it super easy to decide what one wants. The place itself was so aromatic that I wanted to try everything on the menu and as I scanned the other tables, every dish looked alluring. Unfortunately, I can’t continue with my habitual over ordering anymore or I’m going to make a wok-looking bride myself.

 For mains, I asked our attendant to tap in the best of the best on his iPad which, according to him, was their Jasmine Rice blended with Pan Asian flavor combined with Chicken. My personal preference is always Beef, however, this guy told me to trust him and so I did! My only request was to top it with a fried egg because the table next to us had me drooling!

My mom chose Thai flavored Rice Noodles mixed with Fish, and my cousin went for Oriental style rice noodles with Chicken.

First up were the Wasabi Prawns. Deep fried to perfection and coated with a flavorful Wasabi sauce, these prawns that are sprinkled with tangy salsa are easily one of the best I’ve had in Karachi and I’m being honest – not dramatic!

Wasabi Prawns with Salsa

 The Spicy BBQ Wings were VERY spicy indeed, but for a person who can’t tolerate spices, I was licking the sauce off of my fingers that was very generous in quantity. Loved the wings. Plus, the extremely cool and refreshing Fresh Mint Lemonade helped me devour every bite.

Side Note: This city needs a place dedicated to wings!

Spicy BBQ Wings

Fresh Mint Lemonade

After these two beauties, I was really looking forward to the main course!

My Rice Bowl came looking as pretty as I had imagined it to be and the zestful aroma of flavors was just so appetizing, I couldn’t even wait for the other mains to arrive! I dunked my fork and the steam that waved up from between the rice kernels revealed how freshly the meal was prepared.

Jasmine Rice + Pan Asian Flavor + Chicken + Fried Egg

You know, I’m not exaggerating but I honestly don’t know how to describe the deliciousness of my fierce rice bowl. The spices made my nose run and the hot temperature kept burning my tongue but I couldn’t stop. It was so, so good.

THIS is comfort, oriental food. When you’re strolling down the mall or you just want to eat something “easy and light” but still out of this damn world – this is it.

The Rice Noodles with Thai sauce and Fish were tangy and again, very spicy! Every ingredient in this dish makes its way to your brain and down your spine – that intense but oh my God, that delightful to the taste buds. Even though the level of spice was way beyond my tolerance, I wanted to try it over and over again.

Rice Noodles + Thai Sauce + Fish

The Rice Noodles cooked in Oriental Sauce with Chicken were my favorite after my Rice Bowl. They’ve got that oriental taste spot-on, the kind that has a great after taste and makes you wonder why you don’t have such food every single day of your life.

Rice Noodles + Oriental Sauce + Chicken

It’s not just the kick of flavor that wins the game. In Pan Asian cuisine, every dish is a result of many different kinds of ingredients combined from meat to herbs to vegetables – blending them in complete sync and consistency with the right amount of sauces is what makes it “just right”.

Chop Chop Wok has it on point, for sure.

We ordered their only dessert - Fried Ice-cream, and I would have loved to break into that crispy looking shell if I wasn’t lactose intolerant. Boohoo!

Fried Ice-cream

But, the ladies with me couldn’t help but inhale the entire thing wondering what the shell was made out of – had to be PRETTY good if two women who had recently signed up to controlling their diets were at it!

Chop Chop Wok is a wonderful addition to the Karachi restaurant scene – it delivers more than it promises and excels in the cuisine they offer (I wish I tried their Chili Prawn with Calamari). I hope they grow into a bigger place, or just even maintain what they’ve started because they’ve got it right.

Thank you Chop Chop Wok – not only did you bring to us a different culinary delight but it’s because of you I’m writing again!

Favorite Moment: After I ate my bowl clean, the waiter smiles and inquires about his recommendation “Toh phir? Kaisa?” <3 <3

Houston Diairies : Down House - The memorable restaurant!

Between my last blog and this, I’ve had a roller coaster of life-changing events. I’m not whom I started out to write as, which is a good thing because now I can be adventurous and dramatic like the way I had wanted to be.

Let’s just say, “it’s not that my standards are too high, it’s just that my father has set an amazing example for how a man should treat me”.

Fast-forwarding the mind boggling fiasco, my aunt and elder brother called me straight down to Texas for some change of air! The landing announcement to Houston after 14-something hours was as soothing as hugging my mom after four months, but I’m not going to lie – Qatar Airways made my journey absolutely wonderful!

Besides the limitless pampering by the entire family, I was treated to the finest of restaurants and cuisines. Grateful for being a part of a line of food-lovers, and I’m even luckier to have a chef brother!

On my second night in town, we decided to have dinner at Down House, a restaurant that my brother works in as a line cook. I obviously chose the day he was on duty, so I could take the customer advantage of sending sarcastic compliments to my darling chef. Hah!

Situated on Yale Street, Houston, Down House has a very casual and comfortable feel to it. We walked into a softly lit pub decorated with vintage, yet classy furniture and were greeted by an extremely welcoming staff member. The weather was absolutely beautiful so we chose to sit outside.

The menus were already placed on the table, which our friendly server skimmed through with us. While we contemplated over what to order, I requested the server to inform “Chef Fahd” inside, of my arrival. Everything in the restaurant’s concise menu sounded particularly simple and appetizing and it actually became hard to choose!

 For starters, we ordered the Mushroom on Toast and Lettuce Wraps.

I bit into the Mushroom on Toast with a burst of flavors filling my mouth from goat cheese to egg to the salty kick of soy sauce. What a well-blended display of mushrooms, I tell you. I don’t know if we were exceptionally hungry or what it was, because we gobbled down the generous serving within the first two minutes.

Mushroom on Toast

The lettuce wraps were DIY that were served with lettuce, grilled chicken, fried onions, cilantro and a Down House made sweet chili sauce. I smiled when the lettuce wraps came to our table because the first thing that caught my eye were the fried onions. Used in almost all Eastern dishes, freshly fried onions aka “tali hui pyaz” is a daily feature in every Pakistani home kitchen. I successfully assembled a non-breaking wrap for myself and thoroughly enjoyed the different flavors that were enclosed in a crisp leaf of lettuce.

Lettuce Wrap

 Majority of the reviews about Down House raved about the Kimchi Burger, which is exactly what my uncle and I decided to order for ourselves.

I’ve often pondered over what I would do if I ever reached a point where I would have to choose between burgers or a life partner. This Kimchi Burger has given me my answer. A burger topped with an egg is already a treat; now imagine world-class kimchi layered between that and the melted slice of cheese. Boy, that was one heck of a party in my mouth I tell you. Every ingredient found its way to tickle my palette and the perfectly cooked patty made this brilliantly executed dish simply marvelous! Full points!

Kimchi Burger

 My sister-in-law, the chef’s other half, ordered the Bistro Steak which came with a complementing sauce of Cilantro Raita! Hurray, more eastern variety!

Raita, FYI:

 I absolutely loved this fusion surprise. Typically, the idea of steak is very sophisticated and is normally served with peppercorn or mushroom sauce, but this cilantro raita made it minty cool and totally fantastic to the tongue! Also, the medium steak was cooked perfectly.

Bistro Steak

My aunt went for the Chicken Fried Portobello. Sometimes you really don’t need meat, interestingly cooked vegetables can be just as tasteful and filling. Non-greasy, fresh, hot, crisp and delicious batter, with creamy and melt-in-the-mouth mashed potatoes on the side. Great choice.

Chicken Fried Portobello

Everything was served in pretty decent portions and I was so stuffed that I was expecting to see Homer Simpson opposite me if I stood in front of the mirror.

But what a meal it was, enjoyed every bit of it. I even sat there and expressed my dream to live in Houston so I could out here and hang out every single day! I get overexcited about things, okay?

Bummed that my brother was too busy in the kitchen and couldn’t come out to even say hello, I declined the dessert offer. Whad’ya know, the door opened and my sweetheart of a brother walked out with a plate of a beautiful brownie dessert topped with a candle. An early birthday surprise!!!!! Eek, I was shrieking like a little girl when everyone sang to me including Chef Fahd – I felt so special. I could tell he was a fidgeting to get back inside to work but there was no way I would let the chef get away without a selfie!

Chef Fahd - My bro <3

We devoured in the moist and unbelievably tasty, and hot brownie. So glad we got to have a dessert, I would have definitely missed out on it! Perfect way to conclude our meals.

Super sweet servers wished me a very happy birthday and we headed out home. Down House has to be one of my favorite restaurant experiences. Great food, wonderful ambience, efficient service and ofcourse awesome chefs ;)

Here’s a secret note that I asked to be delivered to Chef Fahd:

Thank you, God for all the amazing food and reminding me that love is all around me!

PS: Instagram @hangrywords