Karachi Eats: Gardenia at Port Grand

Port Grand has quite a few eateries that I often walk past and wonder 'I wonder how their food is' but never really to dare to venture in there, especially when they're empty! Gardenia was lucky to catch me at a weak time. I was craving Khao Suey like the deserts miss the rain. Gardenia was serving it. I walked in....

Golden Khao Suey

Isn't that beautiful? After my initial cravings for Khao Suey were satisfied, I was a little bit less impressed. The curry was rich but lacking that extra zing. I wanted more crispy bits served separately - putting them in the bowl makes them soggy in a few minutes. Priced at Rs 350 a bowl, there should have been more chicken and noodles with that curry.

On the upside, this is the only commercial khao suey I've had that's served with boiled egg - like we do at home! Regardless, khao suey is a welcome addition to Port Grand cuisine.

However, the other food served at Gardenia is best avoided. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Crumbed chicken breast

tWhat a disappointing plate of food. The crumbed chicken breast was pretty much just a film of chicken with lots of crumbs. The dipping sauce seemed to be soya sauce. The side salad had an odd slice of deep fried eggplant. The whole thing really confused the kids and myself. Crumbed chicken is so easy to get right and this was all wrong...

Masala Dossa

I know and love my South Indian food. The dossa was not crisp enough - it was stretchy and chewy. It's a dossa, not a naan. And do you see the size of the serving of the chutneys? TOO LITTLE

The service at Gardenia was also rather slow and we were the only people there! Thumbs up for the khao suey on a winter evening by the sea. For anything else on the menu, please don;t do it.