Espresso, Dolmen Mall, Clifton

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ

We are all undoubtedly familiar with the local chain of cafe's called Espresso.
Recently, it opened one of its branches in - yawn - where else? Yes, Dolmen City Mall, in Clifton.

 
I admit I've been to Espresso only a few of times up till now, mostly with family or girlfriends, but only for coffee or desserts, never breakfast.

I've been told that "no one does breakfast like Espresso". Really?
So this year, we thought we'd give their breakfast a try, as soon as the current post-Eid shopping lull commenced.
This outlet of Espresso is located a bit deep inside the belly of Dolmen City Mall, i.e. going past Liberty Books on the ground floor (which is located at a tangent across Papparoti), then turning right and walking further down the corridor.

There are no scenic ocean views, sadly, but thankfully, what this branch of Espresso lacks in windows and aerial views, it makes up in the form of natural light coming in through the high skylight above.  

That is, there is nothing above this outlet of Espresso on all the 3 floors of the mall except the distant glass panes of the gigantic skylight.

We decided to visit it as soon as the mall opens on weekdays i.e. around 10 a.m., and as you can see, we were the first ones in. We walked in on a staff meeting, actually. ;)

Truth be told, we do not enjoy eating at noisy, crowded cafes, especially if smokers are present. Whenever I've walked past this outlet of Espresso during "peak" business hours, I found it noisily thronging with people.....and cigarette smoke! [*gag*]

We opted to sit on one of the raised kiosk-type booths visible on the left (which is not such a good idea with small children, as our son stumbled on the narrow step twice!)

Overall, I like the ambiance and 'open plan' interior decor of this branch of Espresso.
It is not at all like the cramped outlets on Zamzama (is it still there?) and The Forum, and much more spacious than the one on main Khayaban-e-Shahbaz. 

My children were mesmerized by the movement of these elevators that constantly went up and down.

FYI, these elevators are located just adjacent to Espresso, and as is obvious from the above photo, are visible from within the cafe, so if you are on the second floor of Dolmen Mall, you can enter these elevators from behind GunSmoke and come directly down here.
Very few mall visitors are hitherto aware of this route of movement.  

A shot of the skylight above. Can you spot a wiper?
Yes, a man was actually standing up there, wiping away the rainwater from the glass panes, much to my children's amazement!

Here is a shot of their main attraction: the coffee drinks menu.
Prices are exclusive of 16% G.S.T (government sales tax). 

I really liked their simply designed, no-frills menu. Very neat and easy to peruse at a glance. 
All breakfast dishes on the menu at Espresso will cut you back roughly Rs 400-500.

The main entrees. I haven't tried any of these yet. 

The desserts and drinks section.

Cheese and Mushroom Omelet - Rs 425 + tax

Cheese, Pepperoni and Onion Omelette - Rs 425 + tax

Waffles with Ice Cream and Maple Syrup - Rs 320 + tax
This vanilla ice cream was just awesome!

Pancakes with Maple Syrup- Rs 295 + tax
I took this photo after my daughter had drizzled some syrup over the fluffy pancakes. You can see the darker patches on them where it was absorbed almost immediately.
Fresh pancake goodness at its warm, gooey best!

A shot of the melted mozzarella cheese oozing out from the omelet. 
The omelets were hardly spiced, to our surprise. You can see from the yellowness of the egg that it has no spices at all!
The desi in me had to generously sprinkle back pepper on top. I guess I should have had the "Pakistani" omelet? :)

Similar shot of the omelet with pepperoni. Delectably laden with cheese, but again, no spices. 
The grilled tomatoes and hash browns incited zero complains.

However, we prefer our omelets browned well in oil until they are golden (instead of yellow). We also like our bran bread (there is a choice of white or bran at the time of ordering) toasted more, until it is very crunchy on the outside.

We also had to order two more toasts to down these massive omelets with, which came quickly at no extra charge.

Tea - Rs 120 + tax.
This had to be sent to be reheated mid-meal, which the staff obliged to do immediately.
It tasted very good sweetened with those cute little brown sugar cubes.

Verdict: We were quite a satisfied lot, alhamdulillah, but I definitely like the omelets at Butler's better. The waffles at Hobnob Cafe are better than the ones here too, in my opinion.

If you like your eggs fried and spiced very rarely, you will probably enjoy the breakfast at Espresso more than I did.

Perhaps one day I will come to Espresso again, to give their main entrees a try, insha'Allah. 

Until then, overpriced breakfasts like these will probably remain the once-in-a-while, occasional treat for us.

Khausa Restaurant, main Tariq Road

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ

Located on main Tariq Road, on the left after passing by Dolmen Mall and Glamour One, Khausa Restaurant is a dimly-lit basement establishment. 

You will see a parked van with "Khausa" written in yellow boldly across its exterior, right outside the entrance to the restaurant.

Here is the restaurant's Facebook page.

These steep stairs lead directly downwards from the entrance.

 

The restaurant decor is modern and chique. 

The tables are thankfully not too close together.

There were a total of 3 wall-mounted televisions, each blaring a different channel. 

A bit too noisy for our taste.

We were courteously asked to sit in this spacious couch-booth, as we were the first customers that night.

The ceiling above displayed a nice multicolored light latticework. 

  

The wall on one side displayed a picture of the NY Times Square with "Khausa" depicted on it. Quirky!

Khau-suey is available in Prawn, Chicken, and Beef-flavored Curries

 

I tried to capture a shot of the rest of the menu, but it got blurred. 

You can view it here, if you don't wear spectacles, that is. :P

I'd really like to try the Pizza Paratha on the menu on our next visit, even if only to see just what it is! We wanted to have just the Khau Suey this time, though.

This muffin tray accompanied the 2 Khau Suey's that we ordered, with the standard condiments: chopped green onions, lemon wedges, papri, flaked red chillies, fried spaghetti stalks (where did that come from?) and chaat masala. Sadly they were out of chilli chips (Slims) or Lays crisps.

Unique idea with the muffin tray, eh? Reminiscent of other life hacks found so amply on the Internet.

The French Fries were large (like the Fat Fries at Fatburger), soft and steaming hot - literally. Breaking one into two actually released steam from the squidgy potato belly. 

We also ordered a plain ol' Chicken Sandwich (visible in the background) for the kids.

Prawn Khau Suey - Rs 350

 Chicken Khau Suey - Rs 325

 This was more spicy and had a generous sprinkling of vegetables. However, we would have preferred it with more curry.

 Here is what the Prawn Khau Suey looked like on the plate.

 A close-up shot of the quintessential Khau Suey goodness after it is combined with the condiments on one's plate.

The bill is modest. Khausa is not too heavy on the pocket.

Verdict: Overall, we were satisfied. The Prawn Khau Suey was definitely better than the Chicken one, and was more than enough to fill two adults. It did not hit the bulls' eye in being a 100% according to the taste of the original Burmese dish, but it was yummy nevertheless.

The Chicken sandwich was really nice too - very old school. One bite of it transported me back to the eighties, stirring up childhood memories of having chicken sandwiches outside Spinzer near Defence Market in phase 1 (which is near A-One now).

The Noodle House, Dolmen Mall, Clifton

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ

Amid much aplomb, The Noodle House was launched in Karachi in the past year, with its first outlet in Pearl Continental Hotel.

It is an international restaurant chain offering South Asian cuisine, which, as the name suggests, focuses mostly on different types of noodles.

Recently, its second outlet was inaugurated in Dolmen Mall Clifton. This outlet boasts amazing ocean views during the day.

It is right next to the Fatburger joint on the second floor of the mall, opposite the food court.

Here is the ocean view that is, in my opinion, one of the greatest assets of this particular branch of The Noodle House.

In one corner, there is a raised kiosk surrounded by latticed wood partitions. This offers a bit more privacy to those who wish to dine at this corner table.

The rest of the restaurant is rather similar in ambiance to Fatburger. Except for the ocean views, of course.

Chicken Pad Thai
To view the complete menu, including the prices of dishes quoted exclusive of tax, please click here.

The condiments, clockwise from top left, which accompanied the Pad Thai: shredded and salted egg, flaked red chillies, green spring onion sprigs, and chopped peanuts.
In the background, you can see the placard displaying the drinks menu, which includes coffee, specialty teas, soft drinks, and juices.

Soya Sauce
There were two kinds that were served, one was a bit sweet, the other more tangy.
I am sorry, but due to my limited knowledge of South Asian cuisine, I can not exactly remember their exotic-sounding names. [Duh. :P]

Well, this was the first time I was having Pad Thai, a dish that I have been dying to try since ages, but which I did not want to order from other places, because I wanted to try one prepared by a trained chef, with a quintessential, authentic Thai taste.

Some of those who prefer mild spices in their food might not enjoy this Pad Thai as much as I did. But I do not mind a little extra salt, and I love spices in noodles, so I can safely say that this Pad Thai was delicious!

You can see that the noodles in it were the flat (Chinese) ones, entangled with a few thinner, spaghetti-style pasta strands as well.
Drizzled with the accompanying condiments and sauces, every bite of this dish was a novel and exhilarating experience for a noodle aficionado like myself!
You can also see the egg clearly in the above shot of the noodles.
Notice how the green spring onion sprigs are chopped sideways? That is the hallmark of a professional chef!

 Dim Sum: Spinach and Vegetable Dumplings

These were green, spinach-flavored pockets of pasta (very cute to look at, by the way), stuffed with corn, chopped mushrooms and tomatoes.
Drizzled with the soya sauce, they made for a nice and very unique appetizer. Not something you have every day!
Note: salt content was very high, perhaps because of the mushrooms.

Another shot of the view.
I must admit, I went there for lunch deliberately, to enjoy noodles (one of my favorite foods) with a view of the sea (one of the best things about Karachi) in an air-conditioned environment.

My older two children, aged almost 8 and almost 6, can be rather (cough) spirited.
So I always appreciate it when the staff at a restaurant provides little children with arty activities to keep them engaged (and distracted).
They also gave them one packet of color pencils each (that I insisted on returning when we were leaving).

Nevertheless, as kids will be kids, my son still tried to climb this wooden lattice many times (*sigh*).

Chicken and Vegetable Fried Rice

This was ordered for the children, who loved it and wiped it out. It was very fresh, but nothing different from the fried rice available at any other eatery.



Another item on the kids' menu, Crispy Chicken Strips with Rice

Dim Sum: Chicken Siew Mai Dumplings

These were like the spinach and vegetable dumplings above, but stuffed with a sticky chicken and vegetable mixture.

More Dim Sum: Aromatic Spicy Chicken Dumplings 
These dumplings were stuffed with spicy chicken mince. However, they were quite salty.
Hence, I wouldn't recommend them.

Singaporean Noodles with Chicken and Prawns



The sauces that accompanied the Singaporean Noodles: a dark red, rich sauce (the name of which I do not know, but which I loved), green chillies in vinegar, ground ginger paste (without garlic), and a very hot, red chilli sauce.

The Singaporean Noodles were made with rice vermicelli noodles, another first for all of us.
The taste was very different from the Pad Thai,- much spicier and tangier, with the crunch of the ample, crispy, shredded vegetables perfectly complementing the soft tenderness of the pasta that they were intertwined with.
Spicy South Asian food at its best! 

The accompanying soya sauce added to the tastiness of the noodles when sprinkled generously over them.

Verdict: If you are a spicy-wok-fried-noodles fan, you must try the food at The Noodle House! They also offer wet, soupy noodle items.

And if the prices are making you gawk, well, although the reaction might be justifiable, I think that you can swap making one lawn outfit for yourself (if you are a Pakistani woman) or one other extra monthly expenditure (if you are a man) to take your family out for a meal here once, just for the novel experience. Or you can put off having South Asian food for many years until you are able to go on that elusive vacation to Thailand, Malaysia or Bali - the choice is yours. It is all about what you are willing to spend on, because all of us spend our money, albeit in varying ways.

FYI the serving size of the main noodle dishes is more than enough to fill up two hungry adults.

But if you do not enjoy spicy South-Asian (Thai, Malaysian, Singaporean or Indonesian) food, I do not think you'd like the cuisine at The Noodle House.

To whom it may concern, I asked the staff about it and they assured me that all the meat on offer at The Noodle House was halal, which is not surprising, considering how this restaurant chain has originated from the UAE (and is owned by the Jumeirah Group). I suppose that means I can try the duck on the menu, which is another thing that I have never eaten before. :)

I had also wanted to to order the dessert titled 'Chocolate Lava Cake with Green Tea Ice Cream', but was disappointed to be told that it was not available.

That being said, I appreciated the courteousness and timely service of the staff (including the manager, who oversaw the overall service) as well as the availability of wifi and the absence of music. 

The only sound that might cause diners intermittent 'jolts' at this outlet of The Noodle House is the shouting of the Fatburger waiters next door, when they loudly yell out customers' orders in their signature style.