• **Vintage**
• **Koel Cafe**
• **Meat the Cheese**
• **Cosmopolitan**

Going on a food tour across the city has always been a dream of mine (#idreamsmall), and the dream finally came true last weekend when I was given the opportunity to attend foodpanda’s Good Food Tour Karachi.

Scheduled to board the bus at 6pm, I conveniently skipped my second lunch to make space for all the goodness that was about to come my way. I was quite happy to be joined with a group of excited foodies and bloggers.

With Karachi’s lively and active traffic, we slowly and steadily made our way to the first stop - Vintage at SMCHS. Right before getting off at Vintage, we were all given our cute little foodpanda bags which included napkins, water, badges, and menu for the evening.

This is what they looked like:

And without further ado, we decided to get diggin'!

Vintage

Menu

• Strawberry and quinoa salad

• Mushroom bruschetta

• Open-faced sandwich

First to arrive was strawberry and quinoa salad, which arrived pleasantly fresh and crunchy. I couldn't find a lot of quinoa in my bowl though..

Up next was the mushroom bruschetta that many on the table approved of. The open-faced chicken sandwiches and chicken skewers (not mentioned in the menu) were just mediocre, and I think both of these dishes could have been better. My favourite from this restaurant was the salad.

Koel Cafe

Menu

• Artichoke and spinach dip

• Tamarind sherbet

Way ahead of the game, both the appetizer and drink from Koel not only looked beautiful, but also tasted wonderful.

The artichoke and spinach dip was served to us, piping hot right out of the oven with a slightly crusty top. It was as creamy as it could be without being too heavy. I would describe it as the Nutella of savoury dips - perfect comfort food.

The selection of the tamarind drink couldn’t have been better given the hot weather. What made the experience even better was the presence of Rasikh Ismail, the owner of Koel Cafe, who made sure everything was perfect. He was kind enough to open his art gallery for us to explore - but that’s a discussion for another day on its own.

Meat the Cheese

Menu

• Lasagna On A Roll

• Deep Fried Pride

• Tender Loving Loin

• The Finest Cut

• Crack Pot Pie

The main entrees of the night were to be served to us at the hugely popular Meat the Cheese, so you can imagine how everyone was super excited, especially because of all the theatrics surrounding their menu. It was my first time visiting the place too, and I was anticipating a ton of good food and also, a great deal of drama.

First came the Crack Pot Pie - which they define as “an upside down pizza”. It had a nice cheesy crust with a filling of chicken, pizza sauce, and some vegetables inside.

The Lasagne on a Roll had the fillings rolled into the lasagna sheet, served in a pool of white sauce and topped with, of course, a whole lotta cheese. The meat filling tasted like it was made in pizza sauce.

Next came Deep Fried Pride, which was deep fried parmesan crusted fillet stuffed with three kinds of cheeses, served with more cheese sauce. I really liked the parmesan crust on the chicken, and the filling inside was really buttery. Could have done with a bit more cheese, but I am a cheese addict hence the demands.

The star of the table was the tenderloin steak served with pan seared baby potatoes, sauteed vegetables, pepper sauce and blue cheese sauce.

Last came what we were all waiting for - The Finest Cut, which involved dramatic plating right in front of us and instagrammable visuals. This dish scores 11/10 for the theatrics.

The meat cut was seared on a hot plate, covered in butter sauce to cook it right there, and topped with cherry tomatoes, rocket, and parmesan shavings. While the dish could have had a bit more seasoning for my taste, I did quite enjoy the drama though! #ilivefordrama.

Cosmopolitan

Menu

• The lotus drama

• Gelato (Swiss chocolate and raspberry cheesecake)

• Monster shakes

• Sundaes

Desserts are absolutely essential to end any meal on the right note, and to do just that the party headed to Cosmopolitan. The menu was loaded with their signature gelatos and sundaes which were a hit with everyone on the table.

Overall, food tours are a great idea if done right. With only a few glitches, foodpanda pulled it off quite well. I am actually secretly hoping food tours become an actual thing here - it’s the only way to cover a large number of restaurants sprouting in Karachi in a single day and have a delectable meal with all the stars of the city.

This content was produced in paid partnership with foodpanda.