Paramount Restaurant – A Heaven of Middle Eastern Cuisine

Karachi being the metropolitan hub of Pakistan, is also home to numerous varieties of international cuisines. However, if we map the places that offer Middle Eastern food, we realize that the true essence and authentic taste seems to be amiss as it is diluted with Pakistani spices. Middle Eastern food is not on the spicier end of the palate since it focuses on keeping the natural taste of meat intact.

For quite a while now, foodies had been longing for the taste of authentic Middle Eastern cuisine in Karachi. The long wait is now finally over and the wish of food lovers finally fulfilled with the launch of Paramount Restaurant.

Paramount Restaurant is a Canadian food chain, which recently opened its doors in Karachi and was warmly welcomed by the locals.

The menu of Paramount Restaurant is nicely elaborated with pictures of each dish alongside its name and description. Beginning with the starters, the menu offers an array of Lebanese dishes ranging from Hummus, Moutabbal to Falafel, Varainab (i.e. stuffed grape leaves) and Kebbeh to Tabbouleh, etc. The main course boosts a wide range of meat dishes ranging from Kafta and Shish Tawouk to Mix BBQ Platter, Shawarma and many more items to choose from. Lastly for the desserts, they have a limited but good selection of Baklavas and Kinafe.

For the appetizer, we chose the Mezza Plate which consisted of Hummus, Moutabbal and Tabbouleh.

All three items were served in generous portions with hot, fluffy pita bread coming right out of the brick stone oven. The taste was well balanced, just the way it would be in the Middle East.

Moving on towards the main course, we picked the Mix BBQ Platter, which included  Falafel, Fattoush, Chicken and Beef Shawarma shavings, two Kafta Skewers, two Shish Tawoukh, two Beef Skewers, served with Tahina and Garlic sauce. One can choose between French fries and rice or can have a combination of both to be served. All the meat items were served on pita bread which soaked the flavors of meat, making it absolutely irresistible.

Alongside the platter, Sujuk (which is basically Arabic sausage served with fries and garlic dip), and Arayess (which is pita bread filled with spicy meat) were also ordered.

Every meat item had a very unique flavor, was perfectly succulent and not dry at all. To say the least, the taste, quality and quantity of the meat was all very appetizing. The servers kept the supply of pita breads coming thorough out our meal.

 

For dessert, Lebanese Kinafe and Baklavas were ordered. Though the Kinafe had a well balanced filling of cheese and cream, it lacked the aroma and taste of rosewater, saffron and sugar syrup. This is perhaps an area that the team at Paramount Restaurant can work on. On the other hand, the Baklavas were nearly perfect and very much faithful to the Middle Eastern taste.

Overall Paramount Restaurant is a must try for all those people who love pure Middle Eastern food. It is slightly on the expensive side but for good Arabic food one can occasionally go a little over the budget!