Restaurant review: The fine dining experience at Signature

The master-chef of Masoom’s fame is back with a four-courser recipe and a delightful ambience.

ISLAMABAD:

Escaping Tuesday’s inferno, The Express Tribune sat down with the proprietors of Signature by Masoom’s for an exclusive sampling. Centrally located in F-7/1, the restaurant offers a unique fine dining experience, its menu a savoury compilation of continental food and South Indian dishes.

Designed by architect Omar Ali Alvi, the interior is a blend of contemporary chic and South Asian motifs. Works by Guljee, Chitra Pritam, Moazzam Ali, to name a few, grace the walls and are on sale. A large piano sits by the entrance. Massom Alam, owner and executive chef who runs Signature with a team of partners, explains that live music plays every evening.

“It’s been a month since we launched,” said Alam, “and we started planning last year. Our theme is ‘fine dining.’ We offer quality continental food and South Indian cuisine to compliment our continental dishes.”

A tour of the premises revealed that Signature is as spacious as it is elegant: the upstairs section includes terrace dining, a private dining area that can accommodate up to 13 people and the chef’s table with a prefixed menu. The Chef’s Table is set to launch soon and a Corporate Menu will be introduced by the end of May; this is ideal for corporate clientele who prefer a ‘lighter’ menu in order to avoid the lethargy that follows a heavy meal.

“I will also prepare all the courses for the chef’s table myself,” said Alam, a talented multi-tasker. Alam is a chef, trained at Sea World San Antonio, Texas. “I got all my training there. I’ve also worked in Brussels, Luxemburg and Lugarno.” This is an impressive resume.

Their Rib-eye, Red Snapper, Slow Roasted Lamb, and Braised Chicken are extremely popular. The exclusive food-tasting for the Tribune featured succulent chicken wings, empanadas, an artisan salad, freshly baked bread and nachos, chocolate timbale, and pecan pie with a dollop of ice-cream. The portions, too, were perfect.

“People are always in such a hurry to eat. This isn’t desi food and neither is it the sort of food you eat at home. We want clients to be able to relax and enjoy their food and the ambiance, which is why we don’t do huge portions that leave people feeling exhausted. They should be able to try everything from appetizers to dessert,” said Alam.

One of the partners present at the sampling, who did not wish to be named, also mentioned that Signature caters as well, tailoring to the customer’s needs and the occasion’s requirements; they can prepare anything from Chinese to Mediterranean cuisine.

“We also do a lot of occasions and fortnightly events. We’re planning on having couples evenings and jazz nights,” said one of Alam’s partners. She believes that these special events will be perfect for attracting younger clients as well, not just 30-plus customers and foreigners.

There’s something almost faustian in the way this culinary newcomer has signed off on bringing an element of art, music and sophistication to dining-it’s the sort of place that’s redolent of jazz clubs and cafes of old; our very own Rick’s Café; it’s easy to imagine it brimming with the beau monde of society if it continues to play its cards right.

Some simple advice for other Islamabad restaurant owners: beware, beware.



Published in The Express Tribune, May 24^th, 2011.