If my dear GC friend Naveed Nasir ever returned from ‘flowery’ San Francisco to see his old house in Gulberg T-Block today, he would be in for a spicy shock, for this once quiet residential space bears the name of the restaurant ‘Spice Bazaar’.

Last Monday in the company of two friends I landed at this eatery just off MM Alam Road in Gulberg. The house had been radically transformed and in place of the old comfortable residence stood a ‘sort of posh’ restaurant. This place has sitting space for 375 people but the parking outside can cater for not more than ten cars. But then what are road edges for and the neighbours also fear the vicious spread of commercialisation in all our residential quarters.

We found a nice table and went through the menu card. It was strictly ‘desi’ Pakistani food, with ample barbeque and meat preparations, almost all prepared in ‘desi ghee’ and, to my amazement, a few in olive oil. The description of ‘organic’ origin of almost everything made me think, for if true then this is a very special place in culinary Lahore.

Given the spread of the place and its specialised dishes, it made me wonder as to the size of the kitchen. I managed to talk my way into them showing me this place, for parts of it were an open kitchen. But I soon realised that the basement cold rooms and specialised areas of production represented a very professionally designed slick organisation with ample staff. I must commend them on their cleanliness.

Back in my seat the ladies wanted a mutton hand-chopped ‘keema’ with green chillies and an organic chicken ‘karahi’. With these a variety of ‘naans’ and ‘rotis’ came and the usual plain yogurt. It is the simplicity of ‘desi’ food that makes it so delightful, for in this age of burgers and pizzas it stands out. The order took about 25 minutes in preparation and was served with great taste. For some reason they added a ‘complimentary’ mint drink with crushed ice, which was slightly above average.

The ‘keema’ was just delightful and the ‘karahi’ was different from what you get in the bazaar, for the chicken quality stood out and the ‘masalla’ that comes with it was well prepared. I must commend them for the quality of the ingredients. It was after a very long time that I have enjoyed a good ‘desi’ meal.

Let me analyse this eating out experience on the Michelin Scale of one to nine. For food quality it gets seven out of nine, for taste a well-deserved eight, for cleanliness another eight, for quality of service a seven is fine, for the variety available on the menu a seven is just fine, for the quality of the crockery and cutlery a seven is deserved, for parking ease a five is all I can give, for prices it gets five for they are quite steep. Prices should be deserved. Lastly, the ambience is classy, yet simple and deserves a seven out of nine.

These marking all average out to an Eating-Out Score of 6.8 out of nine in nine variables. This score would be much higher if the car parking valet service existed and the entrance was not so unimpressive. Plus the high prices worked against the value of the total product. Once these factors are improved this eatery will be among the finest in Lahore. After four months will revisit and let’s see if they have improved. Highly recommended for a quality family meal.

SLAMVICH: While on a brief visit to Karachi, I asked LUMS student Ali Ghias and his IBA sister Maham to find me a high quality sandwich. I had enjoyed the Lahore Gymkhana club sandwich and teased them over the Lahore-Karachi food rivalry. Maham suggested buying sandwiches from a place in DHA6 named Slamvich.

Six different types of sandwiches were ordered, all prepared in slightly butter-fried toasts and filled with a variety of roast beefs, roast chicken and cheese with Jalapeno came all separately packed and amply described. I must confess I have not tasted a better sandwich in Lahore, let alone anywhere else. Our port city food has a lot going for it and the variety is staggering. Now back in Lahore let’s see what I can find. For once IBA rules: OK

Published in Dawn, August 1st, 2019