Butlers Chocolate Cafe

New cafe opening on Zamzama with a chocolatey twist.

On Facebook Here
Menu Here

Butlers Chocolate Cafe - Opening 17th December 09

Maintenance Issues

Dear All,

I am in the process of shifting KhaoPiyo.com to a new server. Kindly bear with us if you experience any problems during the next few days as I work out the kinks.

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Huzefa Lotia
KhaoPiyo.com

Simple Dimple Khao Suey Palace (Review)

Delivery Only (Defence/Clifton)
Daily 12pm-11:20pm
(92-21) 3530-4236
(92-21) 3537-9940

SDKP Customer Care:
0333-2132414

Ratings (Out of 10):

Ambiance: N/A
Food: 7
Service: 7
Value for Money: 7
Overall: 7

Cost: ~ Rs. 900 for 3 people

Order: 1 Chicken Khaosuey, 1 Prawn on Toast, 1 Grizzly Summer (Sandwich), 1 Thai Curry Chicken, 1 Egg Fried Rice, 1 Thai Sweet Chilli Dip.

Review:

Right after seeing their menu, one feels like ordering their food. Everything sounds delicious. They have a facebook group and a nicely done commercial (really catchy tune!). As mentioned in an earlier post, their passion for food is evident, from the effort gone into their setup.

So anyway, the order was simple. I called them up and they took the order very efficiently. They were able to understand where my house was easily. Ok so far so good. The anticipation for food begins.

Food arrived in good time (didn't time them but it was well under an hour). The rider was neat/tidy/clean and brought the food up in the SDKP delivery box bag thing (it looks kinda big and awkward to carry, so one has to appreciate the rider's efforts). The food was packed nicely in good quality plastic containers packed properly into a sealed brown paper bag. No leaks or any other mess. However, I was disappointed to find that the 10% discount on orders before 8:30PM (for dinner; 12:30PM for lunch) was only a launch promotion and has been discontinued.

Now on to the food! The chicken khaosuey had a good flavor and great color; however the crispy condiments appeared to be missing. Would have been perfect with a packet of slims and perhaps a sprinkling of lemon on top.

Next, the prawn on toast was amazing. Up there with the best I've tried so far. Thin toast with just the right amount of prawn topping with sesame coating. The thai sweet chilli dip went perfect with it. The prawn on toast DID come with the thai sweet chilli dip contrary to what I was told on the phone. So I ended up ordering a second tiny helping of thai sweet chilli dip for Rs. 20. Not too happy about that.

Then the Grizzly Summer. Overall, it was a good sandwich. Fresh bread and decent amount of flavorful hunter beef(though I would have liked a bit more, I've seen places that only put a few specs). The wasabi mayo was the main thing that set it apart from any other hunter beef sandwich. For those of you who may not have tried wasabi before, wasabi is a green paste of horseradish which has a quick and strong hit of spice; too much to take for some, but others really enjoy it. You would expect wasabi mayo to be slighly tame compared to wasabi, but that was not the case. To be fair, if the sandwich had too much hunter beef, it would affect the impact of the wasabi mayo.

Thai Curry (Chicken/Green) and the egg fried rice was last. The Thai Curry had the rich flavor that one would expect. However, I found that it was too thin. I would have really loved it if it were thicker. The egg fried rice was better than average, not too oily; I would have ordered coconut rice instead though if they had it on their menu. Much better option than fried rice for thai curry.

Quantities overall were quite small, at the end I was wanting for more, not only because it was good but also because I didn't get enough. The prices appeared very low when I was ordering but it quickly piled up to Rs. 900; now that's very low compared to eating out. Its also low compared to delivering from an establishment of similar category; but when you add the quantity of food and a few more diners to the equation, the value goes down.

Overall, I felt that the food yummy and the service was A grade. SDKP is a new and refreshing addition to the home delivery scene in Karachi, I would definitely order from this restaurant again. I urge all readers to give them a shot, I am sure that they will only improve with time. Please post your experiences with this restaurant (please note that comments are moderated).

Reviewer: Huzefa Lotia (hzl@khaopiyo.com)

Simple Dimple Khao Suey Palace

What's not to like about their name? I have yet to try them out but inshallah I will soon and a review will follow.

I am generally not for home cooked style food home delivery because thats what you get at home no? But there is definitely a market for it. That said the menu appears to be much more sophisticated than the average home menu, so there's still hope for me.

I am not a big noodle fan either, but I feel that that's about to change.

Here is their description from their FB Group:

‘Simple Dimple Khao-Suey Palace’

CALL FOR DELIVERY:
0213-5304236
0213-5379940

A concept derived from the comfort of cooking on a Sunday afternoon, the warmth of the kitchen in winter, the irresistible smell of spices to a hungry man.. Simple Dimple Khao-Suey Palace’ is an idea close to the heart and home.

SDKP also offers cold sandwiches and a wide range of exotic Noodle dishes. These recipes are inspired by the variety of noodles cooked by families in Asia; including our own desi noodles, which are often remembered as a childhood favourite. Since SDKP is inspired by the home kitchen and the family dinner table, we also serve some authentic ‘khati daal’ and ‘qeema’ – an all time comfort food.

Khao-Suey itself originated in the Shan state of Burma, the recipe made its way to Eastern India along with the Burmese refugees during world war two. The dish mainly comprises of noodles, spicy meat and coconut curry, and is garnished with a variety of condiments ranging from garlic, red chillies, and lemon. Khao-Suey, loved by all, is a combination of cultures, a recipe; altered and rendered by every family over years, this is our core offering.SDKP offers its own very special Khao-Suey, which will; we assure, touch the tastebuds and the heart in a way no other has.

Cumin, coconut, chillies and crisps… slow summer afternoon or busy Saturday night, ‘Simple Dimple Khao-Suey Palace’ ; as the name implies is an exciting, delicious and healthy solution for foodies looking to eat well. Hope you enjoy our cooking on your table, and call back for more!

They even made the effort to create a commercial, so you can tell they are passionate about it. Passion really comes through in food.



Here is their menu:

Zeenan Snacks

Ghazi Salahuddin Road, Mohammad Ali Society
Opposite Kaybees Snacks (Food Street),
Karachi, Pakistan.
Tel: (92-21) 3453-2321

Cuisine: Snacks, Western, Variety

Ratings (Out of 10):

Ambiance: 6
Food: 8
Service: 6
Value for Money: 8
Overall: 7

Cost: ~ Rs. 650 for 4 people

Order: 2 Beef Cheese Burgers, 2 Grilled Chicken Cheese Sandwiches and 4 Cold Drinks

Review:

I would like to add a disclaimer that I have been going to this restaurant for many years so the review may be a little biased. Alongside that remains the fact that the place has outlived many restaurants in the area in its 30+ years of existance.

Parking is generally crazy, but somehow the cars all manage to find a space within walking distance. There is a family room and some general seating downstairs, but I have almost always eaten in the car. The service is quick and to the point, though its super crowded, it might be a hassle to find your waiter. If you're into eating amidst the hustle and bustle of MA Society, this place is great especially with its corner position.

I normally have a staple order; a grilled chicken cheese sandwich and a beef cheese burger. If you're eating in pairs, then the ideal combo is to have half of each. Its really filling. They are both delicious. The grilled chicken cheese sandwich is slightly spiced chicken covered generously with cheese grilled to perfection (though it has become slightly oily in the last two or three years its still better compared to some other placed with similar offerings). The beef cheese burger is one of the juiciest ground beef patty burgers I have eaten in Karachi, topped with the same delicious cheese and extremely fresh bread its great. The fries are quite good as well. Coleslaw is just okay. I have always had the drinks chilled from this place. Never tried the desserts here because I'm normally full after the burger/sandwich.

Overall I would like to recommend this place to anyone visiting MA Society. Excellent cheap meal to have with friends or family. They have a large variety of options and I have often seen people order BBQ or Desi food here without complaints. Please do comment if you've been here and have something to add to the review.

Reviewer: Huzefa Lotia (hzl@khaopiyo.com)


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Eid Ul Azha Mubarak

Dear Readers!

Wishing you a very very joyous Eid ul Azha.

Enjoy eating all the various dishes this eid is famous for!

Warm Wishes
KhaoPiyo.com

Hardee's in Pakistan

There's been a lot of talk these days about the opening of Hardee's in Lahore.

Hardee's on Wikipedia

CARPINTERIA, CALIF. - The corporate parent of the Hardee's hamburger chain signed franchise deals to open 25 restaurants in Pakistan.

Under the agreements with CKE Restaurants, the California owner of Hardee's, MDS Foods will open 15 restaurants in Lahore over the next five years, and Global Food will open 10 Hardee's in Karachi over the next four years. There are now 184 Hardee's in nine Middle Eastern countries.

The fast-food chain was founded in Greenville, N.C., in 1960. In 2001, CKE moved its headquarters out of Rocky Mount, but Boddie-Noell Enterprises, the largest Hardee's franchisee, is still based there.

I have heard good things about it so far. Can't wait for it to open in Karachi. I hope its not overpriced and bad. That would be a real let down.

Yuan Tong

Off Tariq Road, (Lane of Shoe Planet)
173P, Block 2, PECHS,
Karachi, Pakistan.
Tel: (92-21) 3454-2934, 3454-6625
(Also referred to as: Yuang Tung, Yuan Tung, Yong Tong)

Cuisine: Chinese

Ratings (Out of 10):

Ambiance: 6
Food: 8
Service: 5
Value for Money: 7
Overall: 7

Cost: Rs. 2300/- for 4 people (5 people could have eaten in the same amount, we had plenty leftover)

Order: 1 Soup and Prawn Crackers, 2 Appetizers, 2 Main Courses, 1 Fried Rice and 5 Cold Drinks

Review:

This restaurant is one of the oldest chinese restaurants still operational in Karachi. It has maintained itself over the years. There is generally a crowd on weekdays and the restaurant is packed on weekends. The exterior or decor is nothing out of the ordinary. Generally all the non-5 star chinese places look the same. Cleanliness is well maintained though especially considering the restaurant's age. The aquarium outside is quite an attraction for the young ones, though kids are getting pretty high-tech these days, so dunno at what age the amusement stops. Another interesting thing I found on my table was that the edges could be folded or brought up to make the tables round or square, however you like it.

The menu has a decent variety. Everything may not be available at all times, but most of it is. I've been there quite a few times. This time however, I tried to order something a little different while still trying to keep it it mainstream for the others in my party.

The corn soup was good as usual, the serving is enough for 4-5 people. Having it with crackers with a bit of the hot red chilli sauce give it the edge. The prawn crackers were done perfectly, crispy and not very oily. There were a lot of options for the soups, but last time I was a bit disappointed with the hot and sour.

Our appetizers were prawn on toast and Crab Foo Yong (Crab Omelete). The prawn on toast was an ample helping. Its a good prawn on toast but different from what you might get elsewhere. The toast is thicker and so is the coating. Its fried well but can be a bit oily for peoples taste. Please remember that its incomplete without the oily red chilli sweet sauce that you have to ask for separately (they might charge for this but it goes well with almost all the food). The Crab Foo Yong just had strands of crab not enough for one to get a taste of it. If you didn't know it was Crab Foo Yong, you'd mistake it for any other Foo Yong. It was a well made omelette though, very fluffy and easy on the veggies.

For the main course (most likely you'll be starting to feel full by the time you get there), we ordered chicken with lime and chillies and dry beef chillies with a side of fried rice. The chicken was good, a little on the sweet side (rather than bitter/lemony that some people like). Also unlike some other places the chicken was not pre-fried in batter, it was regular chicken. The dry beef chillies was awesome as usual. The is also slightly on the sweet side but the chillies brought back the balance. On other occasions, I've had the prawn with garlic sauce and the sizzling chicken manchurian and have never gone wrong with those two. That said there's a world of chinese dishes to be explored here.

A plus point was that the cold drinks were served chilled. Didn't bother with the dessert, they only had two items chilled pineapple and ice-cream/kulfi.

The service was nothing special. Not comparable to something you'd find at a 5 star or some of the swanky places on Zamzama... one might describe it as lacking 'shashkey'. But reasonably quick and effiicient; what counts when one is hungry. However, if they were a bit communicative, one might experiment more.

Overall, its a place where you can go to get good chinese any day. If there's 5 people going, its around 450/- per head which is very reasonable considering some of the other Chinese options in the city. If you're going for the food and a good family atmosphere; this is the place. If you've got space for dessert after, there's Sunshine and Rehmet e Shireen on the main road that you can checkout.

Reviewer: Huzefa Lotia (hzl@khaopiyo.com)


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Thai Express

Marine Arcade No. 5, (Next to Anjarwallas Bakery)
Block 3, Clifton
Karachi, Pakistan.
Tel: (92-21) 3586-2713, 3586-2714

Cuisine: Thai

Ratings (Out of 10):

Ambiance: 7
Food: 5
Service: 7
Value for Money: 6
Overall: 6.5

Cost: Rs. 2400/- for 4 people: 2 Soups, 2 Appetizers (in addition to 1 Complementary Salad), 3 Main Courses and 4 Drinks (2 Special, 2 Regular)

Review:

The restaurant is conveniently located near Bilawal Chowrangi with a plenty of parking available. The outside of the restaurant is simple, clean and a tasteful. The interior is done in similar style. The wood furniture and minimal thai style decorative pieces add a warm touch to the place. The seems to have been designed with the 'Express' them in mind. A great setting for a quick business lunch. Improvement could have been done in the music department.

The restaurant was not crowded, rather bordering on empty. It was a weeknight, but I don't think thats any excuse.

The menu wasn't too complicated. Two kinds of soups plus more noodle soups, about half a dozen choices in each of chicken, beef, fish, prawn and noodles. Just about right for an express restaurant.

Our appetizers were Chicken Satay and Prawn on Toast. The Chicken Satay was lacking in marination and flavor and the peanut sauce seemed a bit too thick. The Prawn on Toast was one of the best I've had. Not too thick with a generous topping of prawn and sesame. Portions were rather small, the four of us got one piece each. We got a papaya salad on the house, but it was really lacking in that zing which I've had in other papaya salads.

We didn't try the clear soup but the Tom Kha with the Chicken and the Prawn didn't disappoint. I don't know whether it was our luck, but the prawns were of good size in general.

The main course was Crispy Beef with Tamarind Sauce, Green Curry Chicken and Prawn with Basil, Baby Corn, Lime Leaves and Mushrooms. The crispy beef could have been crispier. The tamarind in the dish didn't come out very strong, depending on your taste that can be a good or a bad thing. But for one thing, that caused it to lose a certain distinctiveness. The green curry chicken was standard, no more no less. The stir-fry prawn turned out to be more curryish than stir fry, plenty of sauce to go with the plain rice (which I might add was done perfect, came hot and fluffy as soon as we wanted it). I suppose that stretches the quantity of the dish.

The usual choice in desserts and drinks. Didn't try the desserts. The choices weren't anything exotic but they were quite tempting. The drinks were the usual cold and hot drinks, grape juice in the seasonal juice category (we tried it and it was pretty good) and a lonely Pinacolada which could have used the company of some other minty or lemony drinks.

Service didn't let us down at any time. I would like to see how they manage when there's a crowd though.

Overall, it was a pleasant place to dine out. Food was hit and miss. Pricing, not too cheap but certainly not in the most expensive category either. I would expect the prices to be a bit lower for an express restaurant (around the Rs 495 that you're paying for the lunch deal). But definitely a positive addition to the restaurant scene in Karachi.

My recommendations to the restaurant are:
- Introduce quantity variations for lunch/dinner; you generally have larger groups coming in for dinner sharing dishes. Regular/Large for appetizers and Single Bowl/Family Bowl for Soups is a good option to have for dinner.
- Satay and papaya salads need work.
- Kids menu, we didn't have any kids with us but if we're bringing them to a thai restaurant they should try the thai food, get a taste for it. You do realize that kids often have a huge say on where the family eats right?
- Experiment with some new drink options that compliment the food.

I hope they evolve into a better restaurant. I would encourage you to visit and give your feedback to improve the place.

Reviewer: Huzefa Lotia (hzl@khaopiyo.com)

Pizza Hut - 3 New Desi Treats

Hi everyone,

Just posting to announce the launch of 3 new deals at Pizza Hut. 3 very desi sounding flavors; Chatkila Chaat, Chicken Achari and Chicken and Veg Delight (last one not too desi sounding). Haven't tried them out yet. Post your comments to let me know your thoughts!

Well guys, 111-241-241 is the number for Pizza Hut home delivery.

New Hennys Locations

New Hennys Branches Opened:

II Chundrigar Rd (Behind Muhammadi House): 3207-1796

Park Towers: 3425-3954

FTC: 3563-1075

Click on the title for menu and other details.

Beach Luxury Ramadan Deal - 2009

KFC Ramzan Deal for VISA Debit Card Holders

Hot n Spicy

Hot n Spicy needs no introduction. Check the full menu on their website!

http://www.hot-nspicy.com

Restaurant-3 : Shop No, 6,7 Lane No 3 Stadium Commercial Area Khayabane-e Shamsheer Phase V DHA Karachi.

Restaurant-2 : Plot No. 18-C, Khayaban-e-Rahat, Phase VI ,DHA,Opp, SKBZ Schoo, Karachi.

Main Restaurant-1: 18 -C, Lane No. 3, Stadium Commercial Area, Khayaban-e-Shamsheer, Phase V DHA, Karachi.

Phone # 021-5843930 / 5347335 / 5347279 / 5347328

Cell # 0300-2223079

Dominos Pizza

Pizza Hut - The Revival

Pizza Hut has come up with a completely new menu. Some impressive looking items on the menu.

- 2 pages of appetizers

- Shawarma, Behari Chicken and Karhai Chicken Pizzas

- Some great looking desserts

I tried the Shawarma Pizza and the Behari Chicken Pizzas and I thought they were okay. Don't go expecting too much of the authentic local flavour, it tastes more like signature pizza than the exotic pizza toppings.

I am actually quite a fan of the sandwiches. I love their Philly Steak Sandwich.

Its positive that they've added orange juice to the menu, even though its just Nestle Orange juice its a start. I would love to see places start adding chocolate milk to the menus.

One thing missing is the combo's and the deals. So the bill can really add up fast these days. But honestly its still pretty good value for money.

I would recommend a visit for those who haven't been there in a while!

One Potato Two Potato

OPTP short for One Potato Two Potato has now been around for 10+ years in Pakistan. Starting out in a unique location in Khadda Market, DHA, Karachi  near ex-Deltons and AMI's paan shop, it's come a long way since them. With several branches it's now synoymous with gourmet fries. 

There's several other good items on the menu, like their burgers and hot dogs. Though slightly pricey in my opinion, there's quality (and quantity) to match. 

They have a pretty snazzy website too. Check the menu out at:

http://1potato2potato.biz/

Interested in contributing to Khaopiyo.com?

As some of you regular visitors might have noticed, there was quite a break from posting the last few months.

To improve on the regularity of posting, I am open to people contributing to this blog. Please email me your post at hzl@khaopiyo.com.

By default I will post with acknowledgement to the sender, however if you want to remain anonymous please mention it in your email.

Please no plagerism or sending of material without owners consent.

Arizona Express

Arizona Express is the newest outlet of the Arizona Grill chain. Designed to cater to fast food lovers, the place has a limited menu (but sufficient variety) and prices to match the type of service.

I tried the Buffalo Chicken Burger and Express Burger (Bill came to around Rs. 475 for both). Pretty good, I would recommend you give it a try. Havent tried the desserts yet, but they looked delicious.

(021) 581-0630/1

Tip: To save a bit, when ordering delivery just get the burgers, the combo is a bit too pricey in my opinion.

Chairman Mao has now started Sushi also

Good news for Sushi lovers! Another player on the field now; Chairman Mao.

Check out details on their website! Updated Menu and prices on there as well!

http://chairmanmao.com.pk/