Lunch at Khaas

Khaas Gallery Cafe is where we often end up when I'm meeting my friends Nadya and Maha. I met them while working at The Express Tribune. (Well technically I met Nadya for the first time. I knew Maha from school but I didn't really get to know her until we started working together.)

While I was still working there (I left in August 2010 to pursue a Masters degree) we'd sometimes go to Khaas for lunch before work. That's right, before work. Because we journalist-types started work at 2:30pm. Now you might think that's awesome, no early mornings. However, it also means late nights, no social life and working on weekends.

Anyway, this time I order the Laksa: noodles, chicken and prawns in a delicious spicy coconut broth...

... recommended by Nadya.

Maha ordered the Thai Red Curry, which I used to love, but either the curry got spicier in the year that I was away or my tolerance for hot curries went down. Bottom line, I cant eat it anymore.

The Thai Red Curry is a big serving. A big round metal tray with three white bowls on it is placed in front of you, one with chicken cooked in a spicy creamy coconut curry, one full of vegetables tossed in sesame seeds and a wonderful salty Asian dressing, and one bowl of white rice. I always used to eat the entire bowl of veggies first, before even starting on the curry, because they were so good.

That's not Maha's sipping-my-iced-tea face. That's the look she gets when Nadya is giving her advice that she (and we) know she won't follow.

For dessert we shared a rich chocolate mousse. It was perfectly balanced, not too sweet and just enough of the slightly bitter aftertaste of dark chocolate.

Khaas Gallery Cafe: House 1, Street 2, F-6/3, Islamabad.