english tea house

english tea house
Street 16, F-7/2 next to Rana Market, Islamabad, Pakistan
tel: 051-2609361 / 051-2609362

what was consumed: brunch! mexican omelet and breakfast panini sandwich. coffee. and chocolate banana waffles with nutella for dessert/sharing.

the ladies who dine decided to take an american holiday to visit english tea house (for me, this was a few days after i tried yum!, a delicious way to spend the days). 

many of the ladies who dine were in town, so we were quite a large group. lucky for us, the english tea house was happy to accommodate. they were also good about accommodating our requests for a/c (initially, it was SO HOT inside). so once we were seated and comfortable, we were ready to eat.

english tea house has a pretty extensive continental menu, stretching from breakfast all the way to dinner as well as high tea (like their name) which is one thing i would have liked to try (next time!) we enjoyed what we ordered and were pleasantly surprised to see actual smoked salmon being served. oh, and their hash browns are delish (hash browns are just french fries for the morning. more hash browns, please!)

friends have also commented on their delicious lattes. i will confirm; the coffee does not disappoint. so go on over, order up a latte, and enjoy!

online: https://www.facebook.com/ETHIslamabad/ or http://ethpakistan.pk/

jessie's

jessie's
f-7 markaz, 2nd floor, islamabad, pakistan
tel: +92 51 8312209

what was consumed: fries! and a mango shake. and the firestarter burger (bunless. i should've gotten the bun ...)

there is no such thing as too many burger places! i didn't get to check out all of the recommended burger places in islamabad, but i was glad to visit jessie's before my departure.

jessie's is prominently located on the second floor in F-7 markaz. if you can't see, drive around a bit. the gigantic yellow sign is hard to miss. and once you see it, get yourself upstairs and immediately order yourself a side of fries (and if you're up for it, some garlic mayonnaise dipping sauce). the fries are just the right size and are seasoned in such a way (not really sure how) that makes you go back for more. and especially when they are piping hot, there is little better. YUM. i could probably eat the fries/garlic mayo combo every day (and i wish i could!)

jessie's offers a variety of burgers, some of which may be ordered bun-less (that's how i ordered it). the burgers have a slight desi flavoring to them, which i appreciated. a quick caution: the burgers as doused in sauce (delicious sauce mind you). it's just that they can get really messy, especially if you order it bun-less (i had to eat mine with a knife and fork). delish.

and their shakes! jessie's offers a variety of different shakes (to include fresh mango shakes during mango season. also delish). some argued that the shakes were a little water-y, but they slurped them up in no time. definitely be sure to add a shake to your order.

also, while jessie's delivers, remember that all of that sauce gets everywhere by the time it gets to your house. so, just get yourself over to jessie's and enjoy in house! you'll be glad you did ... 

online: https://www.facebook.com/jessiesburgers/

yum chinese and thai

yum chinese and thai
street 16, F-7/2 next to rana market, islamabad, pakistan
tel: 0512609361 / 0512609362

what was consumed: fried spring rolls, kung pao chicken, pepper beef, chicken chow mein noodles

friends and i made a lunchtime decision to meet up for dinner. we hadn't gone out in a while and had seen the empty lot be built into what is now YUM chinese & thai. it was time to go and see the fruit of all that construction, and seeing the bustle of people upon arrival, i was convinced that this impromptu dinner date was a good decision ... and it was!

i was the first in the group to arrive. upon being seated, and soon after arrival, i was served a welcome drink (which tasted like an ice-blended gatorade) and shrimp chips (which i love). i enjoyed being seated on the balcony, looking upon the entry way at YUM (YUM is on the second floor of the building. the english tea room is downstairs). 

we opted for chinese, but i did ask about ordering thai, also on the menu. the hostess, quickly responded by saying, "oh, in the chinese restaraunt?" so, yes. an easy decision to stick to the chinese side of the menu.

we ordered some of our chinese food favorites; this is probably what i'd recommend. rice doesn't come with the meal, so you'll have to order that separately (i'd recommend ordering the garlic fried rice. love garlic fried rice with everything!). the kung pao chicken wasn't too spicy, to my disappointment, and a bit saucy for my liking. but that didn't prevent us from polishing off most of it. we definitely left with some to-go containers (there were three of us enjoying these dishes), happy taste buds, and totally filled bellies.

i'm always happy to see some of my favorite chinese dishes added to the eating options in any city i'm in, especially when they are tasty and hit the spot just as YUM did. welcome to the dining scene, YUM!

online: www.yumpakistan.pk or https://www.facebook.com/YumIslamabad/ 

meraki

meraki

jinnah super, F-7, islamabad, pakistan

tel: 051) 8487576

what was consumed: appetizer platter (for sharing), greek salad, chicken tarragon, pepper steak (with a side of tarragon cream sauce), molten chocolate cake

if you're looking for a fine dining option (that is, i think they're going for fine dining, or as fine as dining in isloo can get?), definitely check out meraki. we sort of stumbled upon it and ended up enjoying their wares during their soft opening and then again after their official opening. located in the same building as meat one (the entrance(s) are "behind" meat one. once you go, you'll see what i mean), this restaurant is, imo, a nice addition to the isloo eating scene.

per facebook recommendations, i ordered the chicken tarragon. three grilled chicken breasts smothered in a creamy, and slightly spicy, tarragon and cream sauce. the dish comes with a side of your choice (french fries for me, obvi). meraki also took to hear facebook followers' recommendations and increased the portions (3 chicken breasts, especially when it comes with a side, is a pretty substantial amount of food. just the way i like it!). 

and if you're looking for a decadent dessert, be sure to order the molten chocolate cake. once you slice into it, it starts oozing delicious chocolate. different from "chocolate" desserts i've had elsewhere, this one really is chocolatey. YUM.

meraki also has a special "black" menu, for all you fancy folk. you can get some premium stuff (e.g. filet mignon flown in from the US) and those who opted for this part of the menu, at least the steak, said it was up to par and that they would order it again (the best of all food compliments!). 

online: https://www.facebook.com/meraki.islamabad/

qiao yuan business hotel

qiao yuan business hotel
street 42, F-7/1, islamabad, pakistan
tel: 0312 9757785

what was consumed: chinese food! to include scallion pancakes, veggies, dumplings, noodles, and chicken with real szechuan pepppers.

another chinese restaurant! and perhaps one that is more authentic than others (aka not americanized - ha!). there's something about chinese food that makes it so crave-able, and it's not the MSG. so when we heard about this secret chinese restaurant, we had to try.

qiao yuan business hotel has quite a large menu. dishes, i am told, are pretty darn authentic (and super delish!). but don't be fooled - not everything there is available. thank goodness for my chinese speaking friend (who busted out some amazing chinese. note: she is neither a chinese language heritage speaker nor of chinese descent altogether. i want to be her when i grow up :) who was able to successfully communicate with the cook! otherwise, i think we would have gone through the entire menu looking for options.

we ultimately settled on a hodge podge of things: some veggies (we went from broccoli to eggplant to (finally) spinach), some noodles (not what we thought we were ordering, but delish all the same), and a spicy fried chicken dish. we couldn't figure out what all of the peppers indicated (beyond the fact that 4 peppers was likely to be spicier than 2 peppers), but were pleasantly surprised to see that one of the "4 peppers" was authentic szechuan peppers, tongue tingling and all!

so, no. you don't need my chinese speaking friend (though helpful). but if you are looking for some good chinese cookin', be sure to check out qiao yuan business hotel!

kabul restaurant

kabul restaurant
F-7, college road, jinnah market, islamabad
tel: 051-2650246

what was consumed: mantoo (beef dumplings), qorma gosht, rice (pulao), afghan naan, aubergine (eggplant) fry, and, of course, kabob (chicken and afghan).

the ladies' dining group head out to kabul restaurant, a place we had heard a lot about, but had not yet gotten a chance to visit. we were the only group of only women in the place, but this isn't too out of the ordinary. that said, def a place to go with a group. we were seated upstairs and immediate put in our order (it takes a bit of time for your meal to arrive).

what do i know about afghan dishes? not a whole lot. luckily, there were others in my group who had been to kabul before and they took care of ordering. lots of meat-heavy dishes, lots of tomato-based sauces, and all delicious. as our dishes slowly started to come out, we regularly said things like, "it might be bad for you, but dip the naan in the oil. it's DELICIOUS!" and "i could eat a plate of the mantoo by myself. maybe two plates." and no, i wasn't the only one making these comments.

the highlight of the meal is the kabobs. each serving comes with a couple of skewers, so be sure not to over order (though, that said, you could probs take leftovers home and make some pretty solid omelets in the morning). also note that the chicken pieces in the chicken kabob are separated by small pieces of fat. genius! this ensures that the chicken doesn't get too dry and, rather, is seasoned with more deliciousness. YUM.

kabul restaurant in F-7 is right next to the afghan bakery. we talk about the afghan bakery a lot as it is what people say is the preferred location to get bread. they have great baguettes and a raisin braid bread. they also sell pizza dough and some locally made yogurts and cheeses.

arz lebanon

arz lebanon
college road, F-7 markaz, islamabad
tel: 0333 3333170

what was consumed: hummous, dolmas, taboulelh, falafel, artichoke salad, grilled halloumi, etc. we basically looked at the photos in the menu and started pointing at things ... and we had great success. 

i spent two years living in kuwait. i ate a lot of "general" middle eastern cuisine and loved it all. like really really loved it. so when i get a chance to enjoy delish middle eastern cuisine, i'm all for it. friend j told me her favorite was lebanese at arz and i couldn't resist.

so, friends and i got together for one of j's last meals in town. we head to arz at a pretty late (for me - 8ish) and arz was already starting to pick up (they have both indoor and outdoor seating. sadly, we had to sit inside. and while we waited for the rest of our party to arrive, we ordered some hummous to enjoy with their warm (and delish) lebanese bread and some grape leaves.

where is the rest of our group!? ugh. so hungry.

as folks started to arrive, we kept adding to our order. some of my favorites (like falafel, taboulleh, grilled chicken) and some of others' favorites (that salad with artichokes was amazing!) and then multiples of other dishes (i mean, is there ever such thing as too much grilled halloumi? the correct answer is no). arz has a large menu; there will be new things to try and the old favorites will always be there.

i understand that arz lebanon doesn't deliver. sad day! but that won't stop me from enjoying their fare. let's go to there!!!

online: http://www.arzlebanon.pk/