nostalgia

nostalgia

Beverly Center, Nazimuddin Road, Islamabad, Pakistan

tel: +92 51 846902

what was consumed: lakshmi chowk tawa chicken, pushur baya, chicken achari, mehmoodabadi sabzi, naans, and mango lassis (mango season ftw!)

welcome to the dining scene, nostalgia! i'd read about nostalgia while out of the country, so was happy to try upon my return. and in just a short time, i understand nostalgia has taken the islamabad food scene by storm.

one of the complaints that i'd heard (or heard that there were complaints about) is that desi food wasn't available when going out. i.e., if you want to eat desi food, you go talk to your mom. but what about people like me? or transplants from other places/people who are separated (by distance) from their families? or people who just want to eat desi food all the time, in or out? no matter the reason, i'm glad to see nostalgia out there to feed desi cravings. 

friends and i were anxious to try nostalgia after hearing so much about it. pakistani friends have commented that they enjoyed nostalgia and that it offers unique desi dishes that even they had not heard about or tried before! we're not entirely sure what we ordered (and i'm not entirely sure i remember from looking at the photos). but we definitely left there feeling happy and filled with delicious desi treats.

each of the four ladies in our party picked a dish, to include a variety of flavors, meats, and places of origin. there were a few pieces of bread with each dish, but we definitely appreciated the additional orders of garlic naan (so good!). all of the dishes were similar to other desi dishes i'd had, but with just a little something else. maybe it's the addition of a different spice, a different nut, something. we spent a few minutes trying to figure it out, only to be overwhelmed by our hunger that we quickly moved to chatting about how delicious the food was. what a delicious meal!

and that wraps up my posts from pakistan. it's been an incredible dining year. thanks, islamabad, for your delicious treats! 

online: https://www.facebook.com/nostalgia.isb/

 

street burger

street burger
beverly center basement, islamabad, pakistan
tel: 0321-5181818

what was consumed: jalapeno poppers, strawberry shake, halloumi and pomegranate salad, jalapeno cheese burger (with black bun!), triple fried fries, onion rings

the beverly center is turning in to one of my go to places for places to eat and a bit of shopping (what's up polly and other stories!). the ladies who dine, and i, were looking for our next dining adventure. after i had saw a review online and after one of my staff mentioned this new great burger place, i knew that street burger was it.

as there was going to be a large-ish number of us, i called to make a reservation. this was a good thing in that street burger, inside, seats about ... 20. this was an unnecessary thing in that we, unlike other pakistanis, enough eating around 7 (i.e., there wasn't really a crowd until we were just about ready to go. works for us!). anyway, a couple of us got there first and we ordered a few appetizers while we waited.

so, street burger is more fast food than it is sit down restaurant. we didn't really know this and sort of sat at our table until one of the servers, from whom we tried to order, told us that he was a food runner and that we should order/pay at the counter. okie doke!

i went half-sies on a meal - salad + hamburger + fries + onion rings (this was after the strawberry shake and cheese-stuffed jalapeno "pepper" appetizer). the salad was a bit heavy on the dressing (i like my salads lightly dressed), but it was a pretty tasty cross between french and honey mustard. and of course, the leafy greens, fruit, and CHEESE were delish. loved the thick-cut fries that were crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, and lightly salted with thick chunks of salt. the burger was well cooked, and there was definitely enough jalapeno and cheese for each bite - yes! and the onion rings. whatever batter they are using and whatever methods they're using, i'm all for it. i want to go back and just order multiple orders of onion rings. light, crispy, well seasoned, and super delish.

street burger, though, is pricier than most other restaurants. that said, as is the case in lots of countries i've lived, western food is more expensive than "local" cuisine. but if you've got a hankering for a burger, be sure to put street burger on your list!

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

khoka khola

khoka khola
suite 17, beverly center, blue area, islamabad, pakistan
tel: 0321) 5176394

what was consumed: everything! seriously, everything. all the naans, all the appetizers, all the main dishes, and even the dessert! khoka khola has a super small menu, one that rotates based on what the chef(s) want to make. hope, though, that they have chicken briyani and butter chicken - i think they're my favorites.

people kept mentioning that islamabad has a rising young hipster crowd, filled with young pakistanis who want more (and better) for where they live (i'm glad to see that this mentality is alive and well in islamabad as it is in lots of places around the world). as a result, enter places like khoka khola. HURRAY! taking the advice of some folks who've been in islamabad for a lot longer than me, a bunch of us head to khoka khola to try their eats for ourselves.

because of our large group, we made reservations (big party or small, i recommend you call and give the folks at khoka khola a call and make some ressies. they don't have a lot of seating (at least for now - who knows what is in their future!) and you'll definitely want to be enjoying all of the delicious food they have to offer). and so, upon arrival, the khoka khola folks were waiting for us and had our table ready. we then, almost immediately, agreed to order one of everything on the menu. for realz.

naan with cheese, naan with meat, naan with pickles, bowls of papri chaat as appetizers. then plate after plate of entrees, to include chicken briyani, butter chicken, thali, daal, tikka ... while we knew that we ordered the menu, the amount of food that we ordered was a bit overwhelming. i'm glad we ordered all of it, though, because we were famished and definitely put a huge dent in all of the food.

so, what'd i think? delish. and as each of the mains came out, we were introduced to the person who was the mastermind behind it (not sure if they did this for all of the tables or just for ours which was very obviously a table of foreigners. either way). some of the dishes were spicy (like the daal), lots of creamy (like the butter chicken), and definitely lots of flavor (all of them!). i prefer the papri chaat as my appetizer and i could eat their briyani and butter chicken all day, every day. YUM.

i also appreciated that the guy who runs the place (the owner, i presume) visited all of the tables to explain the menu, check in with the diners, and make sure that everyone was enjoying their meal. while some say that this is a sales technique to sell more dishes, i like the seemingly personal touch as i felt he was invested in my food happiness. and yes, as a result of his recommendation, we did try the kulfa (a desi ice cream) that really was pretty darn delicious.

so ... when are we going?

online: https://www.facebook.com/khokakholacafe/, http://www.khokakhola.com/