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

Dubai Diaries: Day 2 - Busaba Eathai

The London nostalgia has been kicking in a lot lately and this time I had my sister-in-law to reminisce with. We were jumping out of excitement when we found out that Busaba Eathai had opened in Dubai and were ready to head there the very next day for lunch. We were back in JBR, which was to my advantage, because I really wanted to swing by the place during the day. Strolling down ‘The Walk’ became a tad bit fatiguing in the scorching heat but as soon as we arrived our destination, I felt like I was stepping inside Busaba Eathai at Bond Street Station.

JBR Walk

 We were the only customers there, but that may be because it’s hidden in a secluded area in the insides of JBR. Busaba has a modern, contemporary but a very simple layout with long wooden benches around large, square shared tables. The entire kitchen along with the chefs at work is visible through a glass, so you can clearly see what’s going on inside.

Busaba Eathai takes from Thai cuisine but isn’t entirely authentic, so it’s best not to expect nose dripping curries or Tom Yum Goongs. This is more of an eccentric Thai meets Western taste buds sort of cuisine.

We remembered the favorites from London, but our Brady Bunch of seven had varying palates. That’s actually the best part about Busaba, the menu is quite brief but everybody can find something that they like.

We ordered the Thai Calamari and as good as it tasted, the dish was such a pleasure to look at. It was presented with a fine texture and I loved the aftertaste.

Thai Calamari

 From the two curries, Green Chicken Curry and Red Beef Curry, the red one was a bit of a disappointment with not much flavor to offer at all but the green curry made up for it. The ingredients were so well blended together and the taste of coconut mixed spices was a real treat, especially with the delightful sticky rice to complement it. Remarkable.

Red Beef Curry

Green Chicken Curry

 The stir-fry chili prawns were delicious as always and lived up to the reputation of being in the top 5 of “what to order” at Busaba Eathai – this was the only dish we ordered second rounds of!

Stir-fry chili prawns

 My absolute favorite was the Pad Kwetio. The dish looked fantastic and was extraordinarily aromatic and the wide noodles were cooked to perfection, flavored with oriental, tangy spices. The plate was wiped clean as soon as it arrived which is why I was unable to take picture of that divine looking dish. Highly recommended.

We also ordered the Char-grilled Chicken with spicy cucumber salad and sticky rice but it was a complete miss. The chicken was quite dry and bland in flavor and didn't really do justice to the rest of the variety there. Nevertheless, the sauce it was served with was great.

Char-grilled Chicken

Even though it wasn’t required, we didn’t find it courteous to simply ignore the dessert especially when they had Sticky Rice with Mango and Coconut!! The only typical Thai item there lived up to its mark and left us extremely satisfied with our meal.

Thumbs up for the very attentive staff there and the great service we got.

Mango with sticky rice and coconut

Dubai possibly has everything you could ask for from the west and if it doesn’t, it’s probably on its way.