Chinese
cuisine has always been popular with Karachites. It’s a cuisine which offers
something for everyone with restaurants offering Chinese food it in its
authentic form as well as with a desi twist.
One
of the many new entrants in this mushrooming market is The Lantern located at
76 Old Clifton near the Two Swords roundabout. A fairly new restaurant, the
Lantern opened its doors to diners on Monday, the 21st of January
this year with an inciting deal of 15% off during its first week.
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| The Lantern Karachi - Location |
Offering both outdoor and indoor seating, The Lantern is housed in a small single story building with a seating capacity of 20 to 25 people. The interior is decorated simply but practically making use of every nook and cranny. Furnished with simple wooden furniture, the rectangular shaped dining area sports a sunny and inviting vibe mostly due to the large almost floor-length glass window overlooking the courtyard outside.
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| The Lantern Dining Area |
The
opposite wall of the room is adorned with a lush vertical hanging garden overflowing
with a plethora of the Boston fern and dracaena and a small rectangular stone
display of polished white rocks running under its length.
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| Vertical Hanging Garden |
Going over the simple yet stylishly designed menu one notices that the choice of dishes is rather limited. For soup among the two options available, we ordered individual servings of the Hot and Sour priced at Rs. 175 (exclusive of tax) each.
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| Hot and Sour Soup |
The
red colored, chili sauce infused broth garnished with a little green onion was
served piping hot. Tasting predominantly of tomato and a lot of red pepper corn
with miniscule wafer-thin pieces of chicken and egg, the soup was flavorsome
but very spicy. It was also missing the wild mushrooms that the menu described
it to contain which contributed to a lack of heartiness in the overall dish. The
serving size though was more than enough for one person.
For
the main course we ordered Beef with Black Bean Sauce and Chicken
Fried Rice priced at Rs. 525 and Rs. 325 (exclusive of tax) respectively. Garnished
with thin strips of carrot and green onion on top, a cucumber fan on the side
and pieces of red bell pepper and green capsicum, the presentation was simple
and uncluttered.
The beef prepared in chili oil sauce was cooked to perfection;
the meat was succulent, soft and a little sweet to the taste which went along
fabulously with the black beans and pieces of baby corn. The dish had almost no
gravy but paired well with the rice. The Lantern also offers this dish with
gravy so if you are not one for dry dishes, this option is for you. The helping
was generous and was almost enough for two people.
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| Beef with Black Bean Sauce and Chicken Fried Rice |
On
the other and, the Chicken Fried Rice disappointed in terms of serving size as
the quantity was suitable for one person only. When one orders sidelines such
as rice along with a main dish, it is expected that the quantity of both will
be compatible. In terms of taste, the rice with small pieces of chicken and a
garnishing of green onion, coriander and strips of carrot and green capsicum
was average at best.
For
drinks we ordered Fresh Lime and 7up priced at Rs. 83 (exclusive of tax)
from a choice of cold drinks and mineral water. For dessert, the menu offered
only one dish – the Fried Fruit Candy priced at Rs. 345 (exclusive of
tax). The confection was designed around six pieces of fruit - kiwi, apple and
banana – all fried in a light batter of sesame seeds and served with a golden
sweet syrup and crushed whole red pepper corn.
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| Fried Fruit Candy |
The
Fried Fruit Candy was by far my least favorite item of the day for several
reasons. For one, the helping was barely adequate for one person. Two, the
pricing was not in correlation with the quantity. Six small pieces of fruit are
hardly worthy of a whopping Rs. 345! Thirdly, the candy was served with small
dessert spoons which made it a struggle to cut and lift the fruit. Serving this
dessert with forks would have more appropriate especially since the fruit is
supposed to be dipped in the syrup.
The
basic shortcoming of this dish was its concept and a lack of harmony among its various
ingredients; for example the slices of cucumber made no culinary sense as their
bland flavor did not gel well with the rest of the dish. The plating also could
have done with some oomph! and color. It would have looked more enticing had
the all-pastel dessert included some bright red strawberries, oranges or even a
chocolate dip.
The
service was quick and closely supervised by the two very nervous but
enthusiastic young owners who were quite keen on getting consumer feedback.
Hit
or miss? A hit!
The
Lantern is a restaurant still in its infancy and needs to work out several teething problems such as providing better
value for money, improving the serving size and presentation of dishes, expanding
its menu especially desserts and providing detailed and engaging descriptions
of its fare in the menu. But it has one thing going in its favor - flavorsome and
good quality Chinese food. Definitely a restaurant to watch out for in the days
to come!
A
word of advice - the restaurant does not accept credit/debit cards at present
and nor is this information displayed anywhere in the premises so do have some
cash handy.
Go
for it if you:
- Find the per head cost of Rs. 700 - 1000 reasonable
Don’t
go for it if you:
- Prefer to order from a diverse and wide selection of dishes
- Have a sweet tooth
- Like a lot of privacy when eating out
Rating
- Ambiance: 4/5
- Service: 4/5
- Value: 2/5
- Presentation of Dishes: 2.5/5
- Hot and Sour Soup: 3.5/5
- Beef with Black Bean Sauce: 4/5
- Chicken Fried Rice: 2/5
- Fried Fruit Candy: 2/5
My
overall rating for The Lantern, Karachi is 3.5/5.
Have
you been there yet?
Written by Rabia J. and published in Blush Magazine on February 1,
2013.
