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| Mezze Platter |
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| Daal Soup |
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| Seafood Chowder |
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| Chili Prawns |
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| Bhagarey Jhingay |
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| Saffron Rice |
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| Jalapeno Chicken |
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| Grilled Snapper in a Lemon Butter Garlic Sauce |
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| Outdoor seating arrangement |
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The entrance
(for more photos, please click here) |
Last week I got invited to a new-menu-launch lunch at Saffron, an eatery offering Mediterranean cuisine, now introducing Hyderabadi Food in collaboration with Nano's Hangout. The inspiration behind this new menu was to introduce Hyderabadi Cuisine, simply, providing a Hyderabadi alternative to the Mediterranean Greek dish. The owner, who also happens to be a dealer in antiques (the beautiful interior of the restaurant was the proof) besides being a calligrapher, said, that from now on they will only be serving dinner to make sure that they serve quality food to the customers rather than cramming their restaurant with customers and not focusing on the quality of the food as everything gets down to the quality of the food and the customers' satisfaction.
Upon arrival, we were served with Mezze platter with the usual assortments, carrot and apple juice, and Chicken Shamia (from Nano's Hangout). Mezze platter was one of the best I had, and the Chicken Shamia were too delicious a desi dish to be served at a fine-dining restaurant! The starters were followed by Seafood Chowder and Daal soup, with Seafood Chowder being deliciously creamy, pieces of fish and prawns very succulent and full of flavor. Soup was followed by Chili prawns and bagharey jhingay, with Chili Prawns being exceptionally scrumptious with the prawns being cooked to perfection! It was a burst of flavors. The side dishes served to us were Mashed Potatoes, Saffron Rice, and Stir Fried Vegetables with Bhagaray Baigan and Chicken Pasanday as mains. The bhagaray baigan, without a doubt were the best dish served on the table that day, making me take two helpings with saffron rice -- infinitely yummy! The Chicken Pasanday were the breast cut of chicken cooked in a rich gravy, with taste very close to chicken qorma. Hyderabadi Fish and Grilled Snapper in a Lemon Butter Garlic sauce were next -- the grilled snapper was beautiful with the perfect amount of tanginess and garlic flavor, with the fillet of fish being succulent and not dry. In beef, we were served with Beef Stroganoff and Beef Nargisi Koftay followed by Aloo Bhonday or in other words, Bata Wada. For dessert, we had Khubani ka meetha and Saffron Special Cake with both of them being a delight to the palate after such spicy strong flavors. All in all it was a very good meet-up, loved the idea of serving two different cuisines simultaneously, the interior was beautifully adorned with antiques, the lighting was not too dim nor too bright. A place, one should definitely try out.
Saffron Address: D-82, Block 4, Cliffton, Karachi, Pakistan-75600.
Contact Details: (021) 35876090
