Hanifia, New Town, Karachi

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـانِ الرَّحِيمِ 

There are a few names that come to mind when one thinks of vintage Karachi cuisine/food. And one of those names is Hanifia.

Although it has opened up its branches in other, newer parts of the city, the original branch (pictured above) is still next to Binori Town masjid on main Bahadur Yar Jung Road in New Town.

A Google maps screenshot for you to get a better idea about its location.

So why did we find ourselves out of our comfort zone and a little farther away inside the city on one recent night, parked in front of the above shops in New Town, Karachi?

As you can see, this is dhaba style outdoor eating in its truest, most old school sense.

Truth be told, after Ramadan ended, we were reminiscing one night about an Arab dish called "Mandi" that we had eaten and enjoyed immensely in Saudi Arabia on a recent umrah trip, and ended up discussing where we can get it in Karachi.

Turns out Hanifia does a very good Mandi, in both chicken and mutton. And has been doing so for years!

As the above photo shows, they grill the meat in three kinds of spicy marinades: red, green and white masala.

They have other foods on offer as well, most of which are available in their other branches.

They have regular BBQ and fast food fare available too.

The other items that I love at Hanifia, are its burgers - filled with fried Hunter chicken and Hunter beef meat variety, - which are rather spicy and unique in flavor (and that is why my favorite).

You won't get a burger tasting like Hanifia's anywhere else, especially since it is accompanied by their signature tangy, orange-colored sauce, and comes with a soft layer of cottage cheese in its midst.

However, the Mandi that we were craving (menu above) is available only in their original New Town outlet, not in any others.



The seating arrangement is anything but classy.

Don't expect any frills here. We went upstairs to the bare-bones "family room" above the outlet. It had an AC. :)

Mutton Mandi in lal (red) masala - Rs 900.

This is a lamb portion that is similar to the one you get when you order Mutton Ribs at BBQ Tonite. But as you can see, the price is almost half.

 
Chicken Mandi in hara (green) masala - Rs 700

This is not a stainless steel plate in the above photos. It is a large thali or platter.

The saffron pulao (pilaf) rice that the meat was sitting on, was long-grained basmati, and very aromatic and delicious.

The meat marinated in the hara masala was much spicier than the one with lal masala. You can see the signature orange sauce of Hanifia in the background. 

Each portion is enough for two hungry adults. Yeah, so we had leftovers. Heartily enjoyed the next day for lunch!


 
Halfway through the mutton Mandi. You can see the ribs.

Halfway through the Chicken Mandi. You can easily spot the hara masala (green spice marinade) in the meat.

Verdict: The piping hot grilled meats were extremely tender, and the fragrant, long-grained saffron rice was oozing with the meaty drippings. Go at it with your hands (remember to use just three fingers, though).

Suffice to say, the experience was memorable and so worth the extra mile! This Mandi is to be had. You can't miss this rare delicacy, especially at this price.

So in case you are ever craving dhaba style, delicious and fresh food, then this is the place to dine. The traffic is dense and chaotic nearby, but there is an ironic sense of peace around the New Town mosque as well. 

FYI All the eateries and shops shut down for prayer breaks, as all the laborers staffing them head off to pray, so you might have to wait a bit if you arrive just before or during prayer times. Or you can just pray with them and eat afterwards. :)

There are also numerous ice cream and cake shops around this outlet of Hanifia for those who crave dessert. 

Steak Escape, Badar Commercial Area, Defence phase 5

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ

Another foreign franchise has recently opened its doors in Karachi.

Ohio-originated Steak Escape recently launched its first outlet in Badar commercial area, DHA phase 5. 

The outlet is a stone's throw away from Bundoo Khan and Student Biryani. 

The well-lit eatery has two floors: a ground level and a basement. 

The signature logo and worldwide locations of Steak Escape are displayed boldly outside the outlet.

A burger or 6-inch Philly Cheesesteak sandwich will cost you ~Rs 450. If you want fries and (bottomless) drink along with it, the price will go up to Rs 600.

Click on the above photograph and enlarge it to see the menu. Else, click here to take a look at the whole menu on their international website, or visit their local Facebook page. A local website is also reportedly coming soon.

An added bonus: you can watch your meat being cooked and your sandwich being assembled in front of your eyes.

Two foot long sandwiches ready to be served.

A burger ready to be served, along with a foreground shot of relishes, sauces and other ingredients.

A better look at the ammo. Subway much? :)

The basement is spacious and well-lit.

There are booths and table-chair combos.

 A play area for the children.

Their logo in bold letters.

Don't appreciate photographs of people (and non-locals at that) on the walls, but the other pictures are good.

Mushroom Swiss burger with grilled chicken.

A closeup shot of the insides of a Triple Cheese beef sandwich, with egg (Rs 50 more).

Lemon chicken tenders and fries.

Frankly speaking, I didn't find the Swiss burger and the chicken tenders anything to write home about. My kids concur.
The Triple Cheese philly sandwich however, was delicious, albeit rather heavy due to its cheese and egg content.
I didn't like their bread as much, perhaps because I am used to the whole-wheat variety at Subway, after eating which white-flour bread (refined carbs) don't appeal so much any more.

The staff assembling food in front of your eyes. Note the gloves and shower cap like hair coverings? Appreciate the high hygiene standards.

The industrial kitchen is sparkling and spotless nowadays, since the eatery is still new.

Verdict: If you like all-American food, typically personified by big burgers and fries, you'll probably enjoy Steak Escape.

To me, dining here seemed to be a combination of Subway and Fatburger. I do try to educate my children about what food is healthy and what is not, however, whenever we have food like this.

As long as one is consciously aware that expensive junk food eating should be kept limited to the occasional occurrence and not developed into a frequently indulged habit, a philly cheesesteak or old school cheeseburger never killed anyone.

Try it out, even just to know that you can now easily have the burgers that are served across the Atlantic, right here in Karachi, but only via the better, halal route that employs the local workforce and supports the local economy.

Burger King, Nishat Commercial, Defence phase 6

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ

Similar to the hype surrounding the launch of Hardees and Fatburger, Burger King has also finally opened it's doors to Pakistani customers with the simultaneous inauguration of 3 of it's outlets recently in Karachi. 

One of these branches is based in the Nishat Commercial area of DHA phase 6, a stone's throw away from the crossing of 3 major double-roads: Khayaban-e-Shujaat, Khayaban-e-Shahbaz and and the diagonal Khayaban-e-Nishat. 

It is right opposite a prominent supermarket; hard to miss:

Burgers from abroad arrive with a bang in Karachi, for some reason, with boys (of all ages) turning into salivating burger junkies as soon as they hear of a new joint about to hit K-town. :)

You should see the crowd of boys always standing outside Burger Shack as proof (a review of which is due, yes I know).

So, on the readily accepted request that I wouldn't stand with hubby this time in the long queue outside with the kids, we found ourselves outside this outlet of Burger King 2 days after it's reported launch (5th october 2013). 

As you can see, mostly men throng the long queue while the women and children are allowed to take up seats in the outlet, conveying their orders to them via cell phones. Feminism, anyone? ;)

A life-size wall mural announcing the arrival of the King of Burgers all over Pakistan. 

The furnishing and layout of the outlet reminded us eerily of the one at Hardees. 

Excuse my children's water bottle spoiling the photo above. :)

 

The walls, couches and chairs have the same color theme: red, orange, white and beige - with a few more colors thrown in here, there and every where. 

All in all a nice layout for a junk food outlet. 

Thankfully there is enough space in this Nishat commercial outlet of BK to maintain privacy and prevent that feeling of "too-close-for-comfort". Not cramped at all. 

There are booths next to the windows (we were able to get one), as well as smaller round tables.

Spotlights and other kinds of lights. Nice lighting overall, except that our "city of lights" is usually without these said lights due to frequent power outages. 

Our business franchises should therefore go easy on the large number of lights in their outlets. 

The coveted tray that you lay your hands on after a wait of around 45 minutes (nowadays), starting from the time you arrive till the time you take your first bite. 

The Mini Whopper (without fries and drink), Rs 270 + tax

 

It was full of this dark sauce, which looks like BBQ sauce. It probably was.

The children liked it, but after they had pulled out all the veggies. 

The famous Whopper (single patty) with fries and drink ~ Rs 440 + tax

I liked the fresh and soft, sesame-seed-sprinkled bun.

The patty was thin and tender, crisply charred on the outside. 

The vegetables comprising of sliced tomatoes, onions and iceberg lettuce were fresh and crisp as well.

All in all a very tasty meal, alhamdulillah.

Hershey's Sundae - Rs 200 (from a subsequent takeaway visit)

This dessert was decadently indulgent and rich! Any chocaholic's dream come true. Have it if you are willing to ingest the extra calories. :)

Verdict: We think the burgers at Fatburger and Hardees are better, but we weren't expecting anything out of the ordinary. The last time I had Burger King was back in 2002, in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, so I knew what to expect. 

For now, Karachi-dwellers need to take a chill pill and can probably afford to take their sweet time in visiting Burger King (especially if they've already had it abroad), not just to join the race expecting a burger from heaven, or solely for the pleasure of telling their friends that they've had it already. 

I personally wanted to go after the initial BK hype in the city (as well as the length of the long queues outside every outlet) had diminished, but my husband wanted to go earlier. 

So enjoy your Eid barbecues next week. :) Then visit Burger King when the weather gets more pleasant, because, as I forgot to mention, they don't have any of the other burger flavors on the menu yet - they have just the whopper. They also do not have wifi yet.

Go and try Burger King once the full menu arrives for your choosing (including the chicken and fish burgers). Business timings are from noon to 2 a.m., or so the guard stationed outside the outlet told us. 

Bon appétit! 

Hardee's, North Nazimabad

Hardee's, the international restaurant chain that boasts of "Charbroiled Thickburgers", recently opened its first outlet in Karachi, located near Five Star Chowrangi in North Nazimabad, among much excited anticipation on the part of the ardent foodie dwellers of the City of Lights.

The outlet is right next to Nando's. There is ample parking space in the side lane on which it is located.

We had to wait for 2 hours in the queue outside before we were able to get inside, even though it was a weeknight.
After a 2-hour wait outside, there was a half-hour wait in the queue inside.

This is the ground floor of the spacious and extremely clean outlet. Notice the guy getting a free drink refill from the drink counter? Yes, they offer free soft drink refills right now. 

A free refill counter is also present on the even more spacious upper floor.

The seating arrangement includes sofas as well as dining chairs around tables. 

There was no dearth of places to sit in the outlet, despite the crowd thronging it!

This was a more secluded section on the upper floor. 

This floor also had a children's play area, but it was closed.

Glass doors leading into the separate portion. 

The complete menu was printed on a placard inside on the wall.

The complete burger menu (notice that there are no prices printed!)

Flip side of the menu.

 Mushroom & Swiss Burger with Cheese, with French Fries and a regular drink, for Rs 354.

A shot of the layer of mushrooms in their gravy/sauce - it made up the gooey part of this burger that added a delectable juiciness to it and also melted the slice of cheddar! 

 

Best burger I have had in ages, even though in principle I try to avoid beef. 

 I had ordered Onion Rings with this combo, but they were out of them.

Original ThickBurger with Crispy Curls and a drink, Rs 450.

These Crispy Curls, which I had for the first time, were too good...much better than fries, in my opinion.

 

My better half had this, and well, let's just say that he couldn't say a word about it until he was done with it, because he couldn't put it down until it was all gone! :) 

The 2.5 hour long wait had really made all of us very tired and.....hungry.

9 Chicken Stars (nuggets) for the kiddies. Priced at Rs 233.

Cheese Burger, also for the kids, for Rs 147. This was smaller in size than the other two.

Hardee's also offers these "Hand-Scooped Milkshakes" that looked very inviting.

Despite being full because of the ample-sized meal, we took a milkshake for the road (a drive of 50 minutes back to Defence awaited!), as we knew that it would be difficult for us to visit this Hardee's outlet again any time soon. 

The milkshake cost Rs 195 (if I remember correctly, as we bought it later on a separate receipt).

The total bill, excluding the milkshake, amounted to Rs 1370.

Verdict: I stand guilty as charged. I have never waited in a queue for 2.5 hours just to eat a burger! However, the gushing praise I had heard of Hardee's burgers made me go for it just this once, and its true - the long wait was well worth it, because you won't get burgers anywhere near like these any where in the whole city.

The burger buns were extremely fresh and soft, the meat patty was tender and succulent, and the fries/crispy curls were soft yet crisp on the outside. I must mention that the staff and waiters were extremely attentive, efficient and polite, to the extent of being servile, returning again and again to ask us and all other diners, if we needed anything. Plus, as I said before, there were free refills. :)

The only thing unpleasant about the whole trip was waiting in the long queue outside and during this time, being forced to inhale the smoke of cigarettes being incessantly puffed by the groups of teenaged boys who comprised the major part of the waiting customers. Not fun.