Kayani's, Fort

I still remember the first time I had been to Kayani's a couple of years back. The decor was very different from the restaurants I had been to till then. It had an old world charm to it. Why isn't the waiter handing me a menu - I wondered till I was informed by my parents that the menu was secured under the glass top of the table. What? After the process of doing a double take was over, I scanned the menu. It did seem like it was printed sometime in the last century. I need not have bothered for my parents knew exactly what to order - chicken & mutton patties, the famous Irani tea and of course, the Mawa cakes & Cherry Custard to end the meal on a sweet note, well, several sweet notes. I have been a fan of the eatery ever since - though it has mostly been takeaways.

A visit had been overdue since last year so I decided to go this weekend. The menus under the glass tabletops are new now and seem to have a lot more items on offer since I last sat down there for a meal. Chicken Patties and Mawa cakes were on my takeaway list so I looked at the menu closely. Kebabs, Kheema Ghotala, Mutton Salli, Fish & Chips - the list was pretty exhaustive. But I wanted to have something lighter so I ordered Masala soda along with a plate of chicken sandwiches, Akuri on toast and Cherry Custard. The waiter promptly informed me that they didn't have Masala soda. I didn't want to go for the run-of-the-mill Coke, Pepsi, Mirinda etc. So a cuppa Irani tea it was.

The chicken sandwiches weren't anything to write home about. A hint of butter, and perhaps mayonnaise, with chicken mince that seemed halfway between being grilled and steamed. I am unlikely to order this item again in future.

Chicken Sandwich

 But the Akuri on toast more than made up for it. It looked like simple egg bhurji on buttered toast but I suspect that they must have added some secret ingredient to it to make it so tasty. You HAVE TO try it if you ever visit this place. The Cherry Custard was yummy as usual.

Akuri On Toast

Cherry Custard

So if you are on the lookout for something different to eat in a setting that looks as if it has been transported here from another era, go to Kayani's. I am definitely going there again - gotta try the Fish & Chips next time!