Review a la Dunya: East

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Review a la Dunya: East

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By Wishal Raheel

There are two kinds of people in this world: those who like Chinese food and those who love it. I belong to the latter. So when East, a Thai and Chinese restaurant, opened its doors I was obviously attracted to it.

The ambience

The restaurant has a magnificent interior which stands out in the ocean of Chinese restaurants that the city has. You will not only find the usual reds and blacks in the colour layout but a beautiful contrast of royal blue. The blend of colours in its almost majestic dining halls will be a treat for your eyes.

The magnificent red and black interior of the restaurant. Photo: Wishal

The blend of colours in its almost majestic dining halls will be a treat for your eyes. Photo: Wishal

Honey chicken wings

The restaurant offers a variety of Chinese and Thai soups and starters. Not being a big fan of soup, I decided to skip that part of the meal and jump straight to my starter. Being someone who drools at the slightest mention of chicken wings, I decided to try out their honey chicken wings priced at Rs 675. Without exaggeration, these were perhaps the best honey glazed wings I have had in this city, and I’ve had them all!
The biggest problem that most eateries have while preparing honey wings is balancing the sweet and spicy flavours, leaving them tasting either too sweet or too spicy. This time round, however, I was not disappointed. The batter fried wings were bathed in the most perfect sweet and tangy gravy. The texture was brilliant and with every bite came a beautiful garlicky taste complimenting the richness of the flavours in the sauce just perfectly.

Main course

The reason I loved the main course at this restaurant was owing to a very simple fact: the blend of spices was spot on. I don’t like my food to have an overpowering flavour of just one major ingredient, resulting in other flavours simply losing their charm.

Sweet and sour chicken

My standard order at a Chinese restaurant is never complete without this very common dish. I’ve had horrible versions of this dish ranging from soggy chicken cubes to ketchupy gravies. And ordering it at a new place always makes me a little uneasy (I take my food very seriously).
The sweet and sour chicken I got here was easily one of the top 5 in the city. Priced at Rs 875, the flavours were perfectly balanced. The chicken was crisp but not too hard - just the way it’s supposed to be. The gravy didn’t have chunks of chicken and vegetables floating in it, rather it coated the chicken and vegetables richly. Normally I’m not a fan of pineapples in my food but this time I didn’t seem to mind, perhaps because of the explosion of flavours in my mouth that my brain was too busy appreciating.

The sweet and sour chicken I got here was easily one of the top 5 in the city. Photo: Wishal

Kung Pao Chicken

I usually avoid Kung Pao Chicken mainly because it has peanuts in it and I’m not a huge fan of those. However, I decided to go against the usual and order it. I feel that a lot of restaurants offer very similar tasting Kung Pao Chicken and Chicken with Cashew nuts. That wasn’t the case here though. The chunks of chicken were perfectly marinated and cooked with a generous portion of all sorts of vegetables. The flavours felt brilliant when they danced on my taste-buds. And all of that culinary experience was priced at Rs 895.

The flavours of Kung Pao Chicken felt brilliant when they danced on my taste-buds. Photo: Wishal

Crispy Beef

Beef is rather tricky to cook, particularly if stir fried chunks of beef are to be added. The problem that arises with crispy beef is almost never with the flavour and is almost always with the texture. Very often, the beef served is either not crispy or is overcooked to the extent that it is extremely chewy. I must emphasise on the perfect texture of the Crispy Beef that was served to me. The spice level was optimal although, I feel others may want it to be spicier given the fact that my optimal spice level is a little lower than what it normally is. The dish, however, was priced a little steep at Rs 995.

The texture of the Crispy Beef was perfect with an optimal spice level. Photo: Wishal

The sides

I chose basic egg fried rice and chicken chow mein, priced at Rs 565 and Rs 725 respectively. For me, the most important element of sides is the level of salt since even a slightly high amount of salt can lead to a disaster while pairing the sides with the mains. The second most important factor is the crispiness of the vegetables. Needless to say, both these requirements of mine were perfectly met.

Egg fried rice served to perfection. Photo: Wishal

Overall experience

At roughly Rs 1500 per head, this restaurant is perhaps one of the best Chinese restaurants in the city. It has easily managed to impress me far more than some of the top Chinese restaurants in Lahore. Another plus point is the location of the restaurant; even though it is located in the heart of the city, it has adequate parking space owing to the simple fact that they chose not to locate themselves on a main road. It is a definite recommendation.