Biryani Centre, 26th Street, Defence phase 5

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ

Biryani Centre is a vintage fixture on main 26th Street in DHA phase 5, just behind the prominent petrol pump, a location that is also known as Tauheed commercial.

It now has reasonably clean and spacious dining halls for dine-in. 

Different types of fried fish have been recently added to the menu. 

Like I said, clean and spacious, with prominent menus on the walls. 

There is no air conditioning. 

And stray cats might stealthily graze your legs during the meal (which we don't really mind). 

The whole menu at a glance. Economical is the word!

Click here to get a closer look at the menu.

The recently added seafood menu items. 

Single chicken biryani - Rs 140

Fish finger, single plate - Rs 180

Puri paratha's and chapati's

Regular/single serving of chicken haleem, with accompanying garnishes- Rs 90

As you can see, the prices are easy on the wallet. The sum total of this bill equals the cost of a single-person meal at one of the foreign food franchises. 

Verdict: The food is really good, especially the fish! This is dhaba-style, no-frills desi-food dining at its traditional best.

The Pakistani culinary experience can never be complete without our quintessential, old-school, timeless favorites: biryani and haleem. 

All I can say is that I'm glad Biryani Centre (and it's lesser known fraternal twin, Haleem Centre) is still thriving after all these years, at the same location, without having been upgraded to a "classier" (and hence more expensive) eatery.

Contact numbers: +92-21-35838582, +92-21-35865137

Nursery Fish Point, Nursery, off main Shahrah-e-Faisal

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ 

Someone recently informed us about one of Karachi's well-kept culinary secrets:

a small, make-shift kiosk off main Shahrah-e-Faisal called Nursery Fish Point, that does delicious, fresh fried fish at affordable rates.

It is located in the side lane off main Shahrah-e-Faisal just in front of the prominent HBL (Habib Bank Limited) building that is almost directly opposite Hotel Faran, which is located right across from it on the other side of the main double road. Hard to miss.

A few street lights illuminate three stalls that discreetly start doing business soon after sundown every day, five days a week. 

The chicken soup selling stall is visible in the picture above.

And this is the main fish-selling stall that does good business. 

The third, Haleem stall (titled "Tasty Haleem") is visible to its right. 

Ad-hoc, make-shift roadside seating arrangements are present around these three kiosks. 

Very few vehicles pass along these dimly-lit lanes at night.

The masala-marinated boneless fish fillets are visible in the large tray above.

You can avail these fillets without masala too, if you want them mild in taste, by specifying this to the seller before they are fried. We opted for masala-less fish for our children.

One-fourth (quarter) kilogram of Finger Fish (a single plate) costs Rs 150

Both White Pomfret and Black Pomfret are available, priced at around Rs 600-700 per kilogram. One kilo yields 2-3 fish. 

They also have Mushka. 

The kiosk is boldly titled "Nursery Fish Point" in Urdu.

Chicken Soup with boiled egg topping - Rs 25

It is hard to believe that such a satisfying bowl of chicken soup can cost so less. Alhamdulillah! I preferred it without the boiled egg.

Single plate of Finger Fish (sans masala) (1/4 kg, or quarter kilogram) - Rs 150

Double plate of Finger Fish - Rs 300

You can see the masala sprinkled on top of the fillets.
The fish was fresh, tasty and really tender. 

Chapati's -Rs 10 each

Chicken Haleem, Rs 35

This was the best haleem I have had in a long time! It had the sticky-strand texture that is reminiscent of haleem's prepared on slow fires in days of yore, without the help of any modern-day short-cuts, such as blenders and food processors. 

Verdict: This is quintessential Karachi street-food dining at its best! Need more be said? Its winter! Go grab that piping hot soup, fish and haleem during the current breezy, chilly Karachi winter nights, before the sweltering summer sets in. :)

Biryani of the Seas (BOTS), Clifton

 Biryani of the Seas is an eatery located in Clifton that is rapidly growing in popularity for the unique specialty that it offers: seafood prepared fresh, Chinese, continental and desi (IndoPak) style.

This particular outlet of BOTS is located in a side lane near Clifton Bridge, right opposite PSO House that is located behind Glass Towers.

There is another outlet in the city, located in Karachi Administration Employees Co-operative Housing Society, the details of which you can access at the BOTS Facebook page. 

In addition to other menu details, you can also view innumerable photos of their food, which will probably make your mouth water if you are hungry.

The outlet offers only ad-hoc roadside seating for dine-in, for now, or you can eat sitting in your car. The other outlet of BOTS in Karachi offers indoor, restaurant style dining.

Customers can purchase a wide variety of frozen seafood from here (check the left side of the menu).

As the rest of the menu shows, a range of desi and Chinese-style cooked seafood is on offer for both dine-in and takeaway orders.

The prices are reasonable, considering the good quality of seafood that you can get from BOTS.

Contact details are visible at the bottom of the menu.

A single serving of Prawn Nihari, priced at only Rs 150.

The nihari was spicy, as expected, and quite delicious. The serving size was more than satisfactory for its price.

Fried Fish (English style), with French Fries and tartar sauce, for Rs 300.

The two fillets were huge in size and mildly spiced (not desi masala); the fries were crisp and fresh. Very good value for money - a great meal!

We have since then been regularly eating at BOTS. We usually order two kinds of fish fillets, pictured below:

 Dhaka Fish Finger - Rs 180, and Red Fish Finger - Rs 150, served side by side on one plate.
The Dhaka Fish Finger is mildly spiced, whereas the Red Fish Finger is, as the name suggests, hot and spicy.
The fried fish at BOTS is always served fresh, straight out of the wok, and is tender to the core.

The fish always comes accompanied by spicy tamarind chutney and another red condiment that lends a wonderful and tangy taste to the main sea food spread.

Goan Shrimp Curry -  Rs 500

I had heard rave reviews of this curry, so I decided to try it. It did not disappoint, either in taste or quantity. Unique ingredients (I am still guessing what they are) lend a peculiar zest, taste and aroma to this spicy and somewhat tangy concoction that can be accompanied equally well with either hot naan, or rice.

Verdict: If you like seafood at affordable rates, especially that which is cooked Chinese-style, you will definitely love the food offered by Biryani of the Seas. We once tried their prawn biryani as well, and although it was a bit on the spicy side, it was really good!

Jan's Broast, Clifton

I have memories of eating fried chicken during my childhood at the extremely crowded Jan's Broast outlet in main Saddar, Karachi.

Clifton now also has a big, brightly lit outlet of Jan's Broast near Hanging Gardens Apartments.

Lots of light bulbs adorn this eatery at night.
I think this extravagant usage of electricity is preposterous, considering the grave energy crisis in our city.

The restaurant has self-service like KFC/McDonald's.

The menu comprises of fast food and barbecue items, with chicken broast ruling the roost. If you peer closely at the above picture, you'll be able to read the items.
Their fried fish is actually quite good.

This outlet is airy and spacious.

This branch of Jan's also has a family-only room next to the staircase on one side. 

This is the outdoor seating area, situated under the canopy of light bulbs.

Club Sandwich for Rs 150

French Fries

This was a peculiar item. Called Grilled Chicken Vegi Steak, at first it looked mysteriously like half of a Chicken Tikka.
When I tore off the upper pieces of barbecued chicken, the inside unleashed steamed potatoes and peas. Interesting. If only the chicken had been grilled as stated, and not barbecued, it would have been quite perfect.
Its price was Rs 215.

Puri paratha's. 

Verdict: Jan's is a popular outlet that does thriving business. Broast is its prime offering. The rates are quite reasonable.

Roasters Gourmet Coffee House and Grill, Zamzama, Defence Phase 5

Roasters Gourmet Coffee House and Grill is situated on the first floor above Baan Thai, on 15th Street that runs parallel to main Zamzama Boulevard in Defence, phase 5, Karachi.
It also has an outlet on main Sindhi Muslim in the vicinity of Bundoo Khan and Nando's.  

The restaurant occupies the entire floor above Baan Thai and Fuchsia.

A variety of coffees are on offer, both hot and cold.  

It is a "Gourmet Coffee House", after all.

The restaurant is spacious but smoking is encouraged here, so you might want to know that in advance, in case you think there will be a non-smoking section (because there isn't one). 

However, if you visit it for lunch on weekdays, there is less chance of your passively inhaling smoke.

The bar inside the restaurant 

The obligatory wall-mounted plasma television. To give due credit, what I really appreciate about Pakistani restaurants is that they almost always have sports on.
So no one would complain, for example, if the channel was blaring something that you might not want to watch during dinner.

Roasters at night. Dimly lit and more "smoky". 

Breakfast menu - these items are available only till noon, not round the clock. 

Soup and Salads

Burgers and sandwiches on the menu - sorry for the blurred picture.  

Steaks and other main entrees. Expect to dish out Rs 600+ for a steak or other meaty dish.

Gourmet Coffees

Dessert menu

This winter, they had this deal going on, where you could get two hot chocolates for the price of one (plus tax, of course).

Hazelnut Hot Chocolate - Rs 175 plus tax. This was thick and rich!
It was the best I have ever had, hands down (and this winter I had it at Cafe Ciao and Butlers, in addition to other, less "elite" places, but each time it was quite bland, runny, or too sweet in comparison).

Fish & Chips (with mashes potatoes instead of fries, on request) - Rs 550 plus tax.
The fish fillets were piping hot and very lightly-spiced. I really liked this dish, because it had cole slaw, steamed vegetables and a lovely red chili sauce to go with the fish.
It was also more than enough for one person. I was stuffed, even though my kids partook in it as well. So a thumbs-up for the quantity.

Ouch. Yeah, Roasters is a bit steep. :)
Or maybe not for some people, considering how it is thronging day and night. This bill was for my lunch with my kids on a weekday (when Roasters is a bit more family friendly).

Chocolate Malt Cake - Rs 295 plus tax
On a night visit, we had desserts and hot chocolate again.
This cake was sumptuously soft and rich. The vanilla ice cream was nothing to write home about, though - it reminded me of the Polka vanilla ice cream cups we had as children during the eighties. I prefer creamy white vanilla ice cream any day.

Hot Apple Pie a la Mode - Rs 285 plus tax
The apple pie was mediocre. But it was served warm. You'd think the slice would be a bit bigger? :)

Verdict: Well, Roasters has great food and coffee at steep rates. You will probably get to spot many branded clothes and bags on display (think Dior and Chanel), with pumps to boot (pun intended). On the winter night I went there, the matching hat-and-jacket sets did for a moment make me feel as if I was sitting at a diner in NYC and not in Karachi - where more than half the city's population hasn't enough to get by. 

Outside Roasters, one is inundated by beggars. In fact, what I have noticed is that this is because the trio of Fuchsia,  Baan Thai and Roasters ensconced tightly together on this corner of Zamzama attracts a more "loaded" clientele.

I prefer going to Roasters with a girlfriend or two and/or my kids, on weekday mornings or afternoons. Whenever I have gone at night, there has been too much noise and smoke for me to thoroughly enjoy myself.

But that is just me. :)