The Red Emperor calls out to Chinese food lovers

New restaurant adds to the growing list of Chinese food joints.

KARACHI: There is no doubt that desis love Chinese food. While culinary experts and restaurant owners continue to experiment with other cuisines — Thai, Lebanese, Hyderabadi food and more — it’s really just a Chinese food extravaganza which keeps the customers coming. The tummy wants what it wants. And there’s good news: a new Chinese joint, Red Emperor is now open on Tauheed Commercial, DHA next to Café Flo, in a space that was previously home to the restaurant Saffron.

Restaurant owner Danial Baweja explains the christening of the restaurant.  “Red is a very Chinese colour and ‘emperor’ indicates royalty,” he says. Baweja and his wife Fiza lived in a Chinese town called Chong Qing for six months, which is where the inspiration to run an authentic Chinese joint comes from. “Our food is different and Pakistanis will develop taste buds [for it] with time.”

The setting was anything but clichéd — Chinese lamps and lanterns weren’t in sight and neither were there any dragon motifs that one would find in every other Chinese restaurant.

A small fountain in the verandah which reflected red light added to the relaxed atmosphere. “The challenge was to rethink the space and design as the location was a restaurant before,” says architect and designer Marvi  Mazhar, adding that since the Chinese food at Red Emperor is fusion style, they had to mellow down the atmosphere.

The owner says he isn’t into the traditional China Town look and has tried to give the environment an international appeal. PHOTO: PUBLICITY

The theme was primarily white and contemporary. “It’s a fusion — we’ve toyed with a contemporary Arber white,” Mazhar adds. “It was said that the space was too empty when people used to visit Saffron. So instead of putting up partitions [between tables], we’ve divided the space with bronze screens.” She feels the entire street where Red Emperor is located is picking up an urban appeal.

At the opening, guests were served chicken dumplings and mint slush. “What we are serving is authentic Hakka Chinese food which includes a blend of South Asian spices,” says Fiza explaining the menu. They will also serve a special Chinese soup called Hot Pot. “There is a gap in the market for good Chinese food. This is going to cater to families on a larger scale.”

“This is the stuff we want to bring to Karachi and also give it an international appeal,” adds Baweja. “We are not into the whole traditional China Town look either — we have no Chinese music in the background, but international music to highlight the fusion.”

“Hospitality is our natural inclination — it comes to us very easily and thus, I ventured into opening a Chinese restaurant,” he adds, revealing that his grandfather Ferozuddin Baweja brought Regent Plaza Hotel to Karachi 40 years ago.

Guest Sana Sultan says she rates the place six out of 10. “The sweet and sour chicken was too sour, dry beef with chilies lacked a bit of flavor,” she says. Surpringly, this joint also serves pizza, which Sultan says was delicious. “The Margarita Pizza was of thin, good crust and not soggy at all. The BBQ Chicken Pizza was delicious and the spices used were out of this world. Prawns had the right kind of spices, an added extra crunch played its part also the mustard sauce was good which was served with it.”

The prices range from about Rs190 for soups and starters and go up to Rs600 for large servings of seafood dishes.

Goodbye, Saffron!

When calligraphist Ruheena Malik was contacted and inquired about why she chose to close her restaurant Saffron down, she says, “I’ve rented it out for three years to this couple. The restaurant thing wasn’t for me. I’ve gone back to calligraphy. It’s my passion.”

Published in The Express Tribune, May 20^th, 2013.                    

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