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).

Sheikh Abdul Ghaffar Kabab House, near Tariq Road

Sheikh Abdul Ghaffar Kabab House is beginning to gain more and more recognition and respect in the Karachi eating-out 'hall of fame'.

Recommended to me by someone in my family whose friends took them out to try this place, I decided to one day act upon their repeated requests to try it out at least once.

 Boasting a loyal clientele that it has garnered solely by the virtue of word-of-mouth, having no other major marketing strategy, "SAG" is located in a quiet side lane near Tariq Road, just a bit off the main signal crossing on which the prominent Naheed Supermarket is located:

There is a huge masjid right next to this obscurely situated, multistory kabab house, called Riyaz Masjid. This means you have the choice to pop in next door to pray if the isha salah happens to start while you wait for your dinner to arrive at your table.

A long queue of customers with takeaway orders is visible on the street downstairs.

Yummy meats being prepared live under the open sky.

Scrumptious but fattening: piping hot, deep-fried puri paratha's being taken out of the wok.

A dark doorway amid the outdoor barbecue stations beckons families who want to dine in.

This is one side of the first floor, where families opt to sit. Ground floor is reserved for men-only groups of diners.



The staircase leading upstairs.

This is our favorite floor: the spacious, open-air rooftop floor, reserved only for families.

This floor is the most airy and spacious.

The entire menu is visible on a wall placard in the middle of the floor.
I was thrilled to find on offer, for once, dhaga kababs made of mutton! This is because I am not a huge fan of beef.

The simple but holistic barbecue menu. The prices are extremely reasonable!

Green chutney and raw onion salad. The chutney was very mild.

Chicken Reshmi Kababs - Rs 160

Mutton dhaga kababs - Rs 180

Beef Bihari boti - Rs 120

 

Puri paratha's - Rs 30 per (4-quarter) piece

Zafrani Kheer - Rs 30

Suji Halwa - Rs 25

The whole bill. No taxes. Can you believe it? The portions were so generous that we had to get one seekh of Chicken rehsmi kababs and one seekh of Mutton dhaga kababs packed to be taken home.

Verdict: Barbecue doesn't get any better than this. Really, Abdul Ghaffar Kabab house is akin to Bundoo Khan in its impeccable flavor and quality of food.  Each and everything we ordered, including the desi desserts, were absolutely out of this world!

If you haven't yet visited this place, I would say that you must, because you obviously have no idea what you're missing. :) I know that most Pakistani's living abroad would kill to have a meal like this even once a year!

Please click here to view the location of Abdul Ghaffar Kabab House on Google Maps.

Yuan Tung Chinese Restaurant, PECHS

Located in a side lane off main Tariq Road in PECHS Block 2 is a quaint, vintage Chinese Restaurant housed in a bungalow, known as Yuan Tung. 

The entrance to the side lane in which this restaurant is located, is directly opposite the huge, distinguishable English Boot House outlet located on main Tariq Road.

The placard outside the restaurant bears its name. 

I suppose the real, "authentic" Chinese restaurants also print their names in the native language! 

The entrance to the restaurant. Notice the Chinese-style architecture.

The address and phone number is printed on the menu.

Most of the main a la carte entrees are priced between Rs 300 and Rs 600. They serve 2~3 people.

Notice how the menu is also printed in Chinese, side by side?

We ordered item #16: Chicken Chillies with Vegetable. 

The Chow Mien and Chinese Rice menu. They also have some egg dish called Foo Yoong.

Beef, prawn and fish entrees. Notice the standardization of the prices of all. 

  

This part of their menu lists the more special/exotic type of dishes offered by the restaurant. Squid?! :) Eeek.

The ambience is a mix of traditional Pakistani, combined with the typical red-lighted Chinese decor. 

The red-and-white checkered tablecloths remind one of an American diner. 

Yuan Tung Hot & Sour Soup, priced at Rs 360

The quantity is enough for 3~4 people!

Chicken Chillies with Vegetable for Rs 360.

The vegetables were tender yet crispy-crunchy; just right!

Prawn Fried Rice priced at Rs 380

Chicken and Prawn Chow Mien, priced at Rs 420

This was out of this world!

All entree's were more than enough for two hungry adults, each. We had to have leftovers parceled. 

 

The bill. Rs 100 was charged for two soft drinks @ Rs 50 each.

  

The total bill was reasonable compared to the extremely good quality and quantity of all the food! We love dining at Yuan Tung. In fact, it is an old family favorite.

There is another Chinese restaurant right across the road, called Little China. It is also housed in a similar bungalow.

Verdict: As I said, the absolutely unparalleled, authentic Chinese taste of all the dishes we have had to date at Yuan Tung make it a family favorite, especially during winter, when we often crave hot soup in a cozy environment.

The restaurant is very family friendly and has a high turnover i.e. if you arrive after 9 p.m, you might have to wait for a table.