Weekend grub: New wings joint Wingitt lets you make a meal out of comfort food

If you're the kind of foodie who makes a meal out of the appetisers section of the menu, the recently opened Wingitt in Karachi will let you do just that.

The brainchild of Samar Sultan and Syed Zeeshan Haider, daughter and son-in-law of masala king Sikander Sultan of Shan Foods fame, Wingitt launched at this year's Karachi Eat food festival and left customers in a finger-licking, lip-smacking state of glee.

We decided to seek similar comforts, now that Wingitt's launched its own outlet.

Where to go

Located on Lane 1 of the Bukhari Commercial area, i.e, the same stretch as Neco's and the Bina Khan salon, Wingitt is easy to find if you're familiar with the area. If not, it's best to get precise instructions because the lane numbering in Bukhari Commercial can leave one thoroughly confused. (We found out the hard way!)

When to go

Wingitt is open from 12pm to 1am everyday. Their outlet will seat just four small groups of people, so if you're a big bunch of wing eaters, perhaps it's best to call ahead to find out if there's enough room.

You can always camp out in your car and eat your wings there, but that could quickly become a sticky situation. The Wingitt chef was turning out orders quite fast on a weekday night, so the wait for a table may not be long.

Wingitt director Syed Zeeshan Haider is present 8pm onwards and guides and serves customers himself during peak hours. The joint also offers takeaway and is currently looking into delivery options.

What to eat

Wingitt's menu is limited to chicken wings and a selection of other fried sides. Its USP, however, is the wide variety of sauces it offers. Everywhere else in Karachi, you get just two:

"When we moved back from Minnesota, we started looking for a good wings place in Karachi," Wingitt director Zeeshan told Images. Back there, they had a lot of great wings joints. In Karachi, there were only two kinds: Buffalo and Barbecue. We then decided to introduce some variety with our own wings joint," Zeeshan told Images.

There's something for every spice level at Wingitt. For those who like it hot, there's the quintessential Buffalo, as well as Hot Pepper and Wasabi. There's Masala, Spicy Garlic, Sweet Thai Chili and Barbecue for milder palates, and Honey Soy, Sweet & Tangy, Honey Mustard and Cheese available as non-spicy options.

The wings are first deep-fried and then hand-tossed in a bowl, as opposed to machine-tossed in a rotating contraption, in a sauce of your choosing. "We decided to do it the old classical way to ensure our wings are fully coated," shared Zeeshan.

If you don't like to get your fingers sticky from the get-go, they'll oblige your request of serving the sauce separately (as shown above).

While customers have been raving about signature flavours like Buffalo and Barbecue, we found the Spicy Thai Chili to be their stand-out flavour. The sauce's sweetness was light and didn't sit on the palate for too long, so one can easily sample it between bites of the tangier sauces.

The rest of the sauces deserve praise for authentic flavour. The Buffalo is as piquant as anywhere else, and is served with ranch sauce to counter the strong taste, if need be. The Honey Mustard was too subtle for one person's liking, but was a hit with everyone else. The BBQ also meets expectations, though it threatens to overwhelm the palate and may cause some to reach for a change in flavour.

For variety, we also tried the mozzarella sticks from the sides menu. They arrived at a temperature that allowed for immediate devouring - which was lucky, since they smelled amazing. The herb crust on the mozzarella sticks was different from the wings batter, so it's the best choice from the selection since the rest is more chicken (in the form of nuggets or strips) or just plain ol' fries/wedges (served with a sauce of your choosing, of course).

There's only one dessert option at present, and it's a good one. The cookie cake is more like a slice of pie - it doesn't crumble, its fudge filling is dense yet it doesn't overpower with the sweetness. It's a good way to round off one's slightly glutinous meal of chicken wings.

Wingitt is also introducing boneless chicken wings this weekend and grilled chicken wings for its health-conscious customers in April, so be on the lookout for those.

Damage on the pocket

The menu has been broken down into several options, and you can choose one that matches how much you'd like to dish out for chicken wings.

In order to sample a number of sauces, it's advisable to order a four flavour platter that costs between PKR499-1199.