Food Review: Online Eateries- I

These are some of the food reviews I have done during my time at MAG The Weekly, Jang. I am pleased to share them with you. I have divided the reviews into category, the first of which is 'online eateries' that take order through their Facebook pages and deliver piping hot, fresh, home-cooked food at your doorstep within no time. I would love to know how my experiences compare with yours, do let me know in the comments section below. Happy reading!

Aghe Jee's - https://www.facebook.com/aghajeefood?fref=ts

3 stars

I had called them up for an urgent delivery in the evening to which they readily obliged and within the next few hours I had the food at my place. Craving for home cooked maghaz since a few days, I ordered brain masala with roti (PKR 200 per head). Traditionally, a homemade brain masala is made like a khakeena; sautéing a lot of onions and frying the brain along with turmeric, red chilli powder and salt amongst the most basic spices. The brain masala in question seemed to be made in the same manner only that it lacked the reddish brown colour we owe to the fried onions (it was of a natural grayish colour), wasn’t spicy and had a bit more salt than necessary.  The roti was just perfect, and is a must for anyone who misses or is craving ghar ki roti.  

Chicken Karhai (PKR 350 per 2 persons) had an amazing fragrance to it, there were some real high points considering the taste but it had a lot of oil in it! You will find the good taste and the oil problem pretty much anywhere you order the dish nevertheless this makes it quite unhealthy. The Singaporean Rice (PKR 400 per 2 persons) were a big box full of thick cut chicken and veggie sauce on a bed of plain boiled rice topped with plain boiled spaghetti and the signature Singaporean sauce which is basically mayo, tomato  and chilli ketchup. The sauce tasted exactly like the one at Karachi Foods (I am sure you know what I am talking about, everyone has had theirs) which is a good thing because their sauce is amazing too! There was some extra browned garlic here and there which really gave a kick to the overall taste, in the best possible way. Since the spaghetti already has to be plain, the rice should be at least garlic fried or some variation otherwise there is a risk to the dish becoming plain in taste. The sauce left me desiring for more as it was proportionately less.

The team at Agha Jee’s is courteous and very cooperative so these minor fixes can be easily made while placing the order. The place is worthy of a fair chance for its quality and home cooked taste.

Mashriqui Kitchen - https://www.facebook.com/MashriquiKitchen?fref=ts

3 stars

I had read people going on and on about how delicious their ‘Borani’ is so I immediately wanted to try it even though I honestly didn’t even understand what it was. I ordered two other really different dishes that I hadn’t tried yet - Sweet and Sour Caulifower (PKR 350) and BBQ Biryani (PKR 130).

I couldn’t wait to taste the Borani (PKR 170) of course, so I started with it. Its made of yogurt, eggplant and different spices of which cumin is the strongest. I eat like a kid, avoiding all the hardcore spices and veggies sometimes. But this was definitely a pleasant experience for my taste buds. I ate it with the biryani and it tasted even better!

The chicken in BBQ biryani tasted much like the BBQ chicken which is good, but for someone who likes masaledar biryani, I found it to be a bit dry and non spicy. By the rest, it should be well received especially considering the low price. The winner, however, remained the sweet and sour cauliflower. The bits of black peper were a bit too big, but the dish tasted like your regular Chinese sweet and sour with pepper and chilli flakes to add the hotness I love, plus it’s vegetable based which made me feel even better about having it. Kudos!

Syna's Kitchenette - https://www.facebook.com/pages/Synas-Kitchenette/462937520491552?fref=ts

3 stars 

Syna's Facebook page boasts of a lot of really good looking dishes, I decided to order Chicken Karahi and Chowmein (PKR 850 each per 3 persons), the latter was accompanied by their special chilli sauce. What I was amazed by is that usually online eateries take an order at least a day before the actual delivery, but my order arrived mere hours after placing it.

I started off with the chowmein; they were quite plain in colour and didn’t taste like the Chinese version of the dish. It had a homemade touch to it, which is what the eatery offers and if that’s what you’re looking for then you’re in luck! There were few vegetables and ample of chicken, all properly cooked, though I do feel the taste could have been a bit more enhanced through some salt/pepper and garlic. Since I love spice, towards the end I decided to add in the chili sauce. It was super spicy and a treat for all the spice lovers out there!

Later on, I decided to taste the karahi as well which had too much of oil in it, a lot of chicken pieces and little masala, something I wanted more of and was left craving for. This dish gave me the exact dish that I would get at a restaurant but with the satisfaction of it having been made fresh and clean at home. It had big chunks of tomato in its masala, just like it is supposed to, and tasted really good.

With all its ups and downs, Syna’s Kitchenette is definitely a place for some good food and worth trying!

*Not all pictures match the actual dishes.