Paramount (The Middle Eastern Cuisine)
Karachi being the Hub of Pakistan one would find food of every type from local to international cuisines. But when we would map Middle Eastern food the true flavors were missing. There were places which offered Middle Eastern food but the true essence of “Authentic taste” was lost by the touches of Pakistani flavors. Middle Eastern food is not on the Spicer end of the palate but it is mild and one can taste the actual flavor of meat and not the spices. The demand was present from a very long time and finally the well awaited demand for Authentic Middle Eastern food was fulfilled.
Paramount (The Middle Eastern Cuisine) is a Canadian Food Chain. The chain opened its doors and it was warmly welcomed by the people of Karachi. The menu of Paramount is nicely elaborated with pictures of each dish. One would find it really easy to see what exactly the dish is. Starting from the starters it offers an array of Lebanese dishes ranging from Hummus, Moutabbal to Falafel, Varainab (Stuffed grape leaves), and kebbeh to Tabboule, etc. In the Main course they offer a wide range of meat dishes ranging from Kafta, Shish Tawoukh to Mix BBQ platter, Shawarma and many more items to choose from. Lastly for the Desserts they offer nice limited selection of Baklavas and Kanafa.
From the wide range of dishes order was placed for Mezza Plate in the starters which consisted of Hummus, Moutabbal and Tabboule. All three items were served in generous portions with hot fluffy pita bread coming right out of the brick stone oven. The balance of all three things was spot on just the way one gets in Middle Eastern countries. Moving on towards the main course, Mix combo platter which included four Falafel,Fattoush,Chicken and Beef shawarma shavings two Kafta Skweres,two Shish Tawoukh,two Beef Skewers, served with Tahina and Garlic sauce, one can choose between French fries or rice or can have a combination of both. All the meat items were served on pita bread which soaked the flavors of meat and one couldn’t resist having it. With the platter, Soujouk (which is basically Arabic sausages served with fries and garlic dip), and Arayees (which is pita bread filled with spiced meat) was ordered. All the components were bull’s-eye in the matter of taste, quality and quantity of the meat. The servers kept on bringing hot fluffy pita breads which were accompanying the food perfectly. Every meat item had a very unique flavor and was not dry but was perfectly succulent. It was a perfect match of flavors.
For Desserts Lebanese Kanafa and Baklavas were ordered. The Kanafa was not something exactly one gets to eat in Middle Eastern countries though the filing of cheese and cream was well balanced but it lacked the aroma and taste of rose water, saffron and sugar syrup it is something they can work on. Whereas the Baklavas were nearly the same one gets in Middle Eastern Countries and were way better than many places that offer baklavas in Karachi.
Overall it was having the authentic Middle Eastern Food in your own home town without spending on a large sum of money over tickets and visa. It’s a must try place for all those people who love pure Middle Eastern Food. It is slightly on the heavier side of the pocket but for some good Arabic food one can go a little bit out of budget (AT TIMES).