Move over, parathas! Naan is the hot new desi breakfast in town
ISLAMABAD: Given the Capital Development Authority’s propensity to raze all roadside cafes and dhabas in Islamabad, there is hardly any place left where one can sit in the open and enjoy a hot meal with a piping cup of doodh patti.
Naan Stop does not only promise such an environment, it takes it to the next level with its mouth-watering menu. This establishment is a part of a new wave of entrepreneurial food ventures that have cropped up around the capital.
Here, as the name suggests, the speciality on offer is naans.
A staple of the Pakistani diet, these piping hot toasted flatbreads are best had when they are fresh out of the tandoor. Many a youth have been tempted to sample a morsel or two while fetching naan for the family dinner.
A new roadside café in F-10 offers a very filling take on the traditional flatbread
Walking in, the first thing that strikes you is the establishment’s penchant for truck art. Everything from the walls to the decorative lanterns and tea kettles, is in the traditional truck art style.
Located on Sumbal Road in F-10 Markaz, the shop’s corner location leaves ample room for patrons to sit on the roadside and enjoy their food oven fresh.
But the naan at Naan Stop are not the everyday, run-of-the-mill flatbreads that are available from your corner tandoor.
The menu includes a vast variety of naans; cheese, jalapeño, chicken, achari, garlic, and the pleasantly surprising Nutella naan. The prices range between Rs150-Rs250 apiece, which sounds quite steep.
But as the owner Usama Farooq explains, “Customers were initially sceptical about the price, but once they see how filling our naans were, they told us that the price was perfectly fine.”
“We are still in the beta-testing phase; we will be officially launching on Jan 1, that’s when we will be launching more products, such as a pizza naan.”
One of the most popular items at this outlet is the cheese naan, which ooze stringy cheese as soon as you dig in. Be warned, there is no way to eat these naan without losing a little dignity; a small price to pay for the assault on your taste buds that will ensue.