Want To Eat Good Chinese in Karachi? Try These 3 Places

Everyone wants to have the best food when it comes to choosing a restaurant to dine out, either for any special occasion or on a random weekend. There are some days when you start craving for Chinese food intensely, especially for piping hot Chinese soup in the cold winter nights. When it comes to choosing a Chinese restaurant, food quality is likely to be the top consideration. But  price, decor, service also matter; my top picks for eating Chinese in Karachi are TAO, Ginsoy and Chairman Mao.

TAO

Recently my husband and I tried a new restaurant offering pan Asian cuisine in Karachi with the name of TAO. Located at the Boat Basin, Tao is a casual dining restaurant offering a wide range of traditional and contemporary dishes in a relaxed and cozy space with elegant and refined ambiance. Their menu offers shareable portions from the sushi selection to classic dishes drawn from Malay, Japanese, Thai and Chinese cuisines.

Credits: Tao

I ordered chicken corn soup which was just like the usual soup you get elsewhere; I didn’t like it much as it had a  bad odour of chicken. My husband ordered dynamite prawns from the starters; they were deep fried, coated in a yummy spiced mayonnaise and served with thinly sliced cabbage. They were simply delicious and this is one of the most popular dishes at TAO. From the main course we ordered Schezwan chicken which was also very tasty, it had a savory hot and spicy flavor with a touch of sweetness. Schezwan chicken was served with steamed rice. The drink we tried was mint ginger lemonade, it was very refreshing and was totally complimenting with the food we ordered. It would cost you Rs. 1200 – 1500 per head if you choose to eat at TAO. The customer services were good, the waiters were attentive and knowledgeable, later the manager came to take feedback as well, My overall experience at TAO was really good, I would rate it 4 out 5.

GINSOY – Extreme Chinese

Recently we went to Ginsoy – Extreme Chinese at Sindhi Muslim Society, Karachi. This restaurant is always full at whatever time you go. They sometimes refuse to write names even in the waiting list. We tried to dine in there three times before this but failed to get space; So that day luckily we got table without waiting, I would recommend everyone to make a reservation beforehand and go on the exact given time if you want to eat conveniently at Ginsoy.

We ordered hot and sour soup in the starter. The soup was served in 10 minutes in a big steel bowl, the serving was sufficient that we were done with half of our appetite after having it.  It was very spicy and had a strong flavor; I loved it as I like spicy food.

Credits: Ginsoy

In the main course we ordered Kung Pao chicken, beef chili dry, mix chowmein and vegetable rice. Kung Pao chicken was spicy, slightly sweet and was rich in flavor; it had a lot of vegetables and peanuts. The aroma of peanuts was giving it a perfect taste. Beef chili dry had a lot of green and red chilies, the juicy beef marinated in sour sauces with perfect proportion of namak mirch (read ingredients) made it delicious. Mix chowmein had beef, chicken and shrimps, although the shrimps did not taste very fresh but the overall taste wasn’t bad. Vegetable fried rice were usual but tasted good with our main course . All the dishes were served in a huge quantity.

The over friendly and courteous staff of Ginsoy made the service exceptionally good, I didn’t like the ambiance much, it is a bit dull and the seating is congested.

My overall experience at Ginsoy – Extreme Chinese was good. I would rate it 4 out of 5.

Chairman Mao

I used to hear about the great food of Chairman Mao from my husband every other week, it used to be a delivery only place for a long time, they used to deliver food to offices and homes only in the defence area, Chairman Mao then became a dining venue too at Port Grand.

So we got a chance to eat delicious Chinese food with a cool sea breeze in the most refreshing environment of Port grand. We picked to sit outdoors on the roof top of the restaurant. Ordered hot and sour soup and fried prawn balls in starter; the soup was simply delicious with perfect proportion of sauces; the golden fried prawn balls were less spicy, soft and mild in taste. In the main course we ordered chicken shashlik with egg fried rice, the hot skewered chicken with veggies in a yummy tomato sauce was delicious.

Credits: Chairman Mao

Our overall experience at Chairman Mao was very good, the service was bit slow though but meanwhile we got to enjoy the beautiful view of port and the cool sea breeze. The ambiance is very simple and standard at the roof top but inside the restaurant it’s nice and cozy.

Did I miss out on a Chinese eatery that you think should have made the list?