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April 3, 2003
Hangout haven
Ye Olde Hangout is just that – a hangout. “We are not a restaurant. We are a getaway place where you can relax and chill out,” says the menu of this little eatery tucked away in a basement venue in Jinnah Super in Islamabad. It also washes its hands off great service and excellent cuisine.
Call these disclaimers utmost humility or supreme arrogance, but what the Hangout has oodles of is ambience. Add to that an eclectic mix of decor and dining options, and you have a recipe for popularity.
What makes Hangout popular is its Arabic-teahouse-meets-English-pub-meets-European-cafe atmosphere. The main dining area is a cozy though somewhat dingy European cafe that extends in an L-shape into a curved bar. An interesting Western saloon-style doorway leads into the Shisha Bar. For those ignorant of shisha, it’s a distinctly Arab flavoured huqqa or Hubble bubble. The Shisha Bar decor is a scene from Arabian Nights with turquoise and antique gold crushed and tasselled organza drapes, cascading from the overhead wooden canopy. Low tables, high-backed benches built into the walls, tasselled bolsters and finally, the delicate aroma of flavoured shisha tobacco complete the illusion.
Shisha smoking isn’t confined to the Shisha Bar, and the cafe area offers another attraction a large TV screen. You can watch cable, choose from Hangout’s considerable collection of Hindi and English music DVDs or bring one of your own.
Around the corner at the bar, big bottles of pickles, tins of flavoured teas and jars of coffee and specialty brews lend colour to mirror-backed shelves also lined with beer mugs, coke tumblers and champagne glasses.
The walls display an eclectic collection of vintage posters: Ovaltine, Cadbury’s cocoa and the London Underground as well as tinplate advertisements of popular alcoholic beverages.
And finally the food. There’s not too much variety, but that to me is a plus point. Over-ambitious menus generally are unmanageable in the kitchen.
Starters are a combination of appetizers and snacks. The hummous (Lebanese chickpea dip) is nice and creamy although it could do with a little less garlic and a slightly larger helping. The fish fingers are great, though not traditionally fried in a breadcrumb coating. The batter is a mix of flour, Worcester sauce and Dijon mustard, I was told by Chef Hanook. The fish fingers are served with tartar sauce and beautifully presented with a vegetable carving of a fish (a cucumber sliced lengthwise, with scales and two black peppercorns for eyes). Chicken fingers are fried in the same batter but served with a very tangy and delectable salsa.
Entrees are mainly pastas and steaks. The Fettucine Alfredo comes with a creamy white sauce seasoned with parsley. The chicken and mushroom pasta could do with more flavour in the sauce though. The chef swears by his steaks, particularly Steak Diane (marinated grilled beef fillet topped with cheese and pepper sauce served with sauteed vegetables and fries), but not being a fan of steaks I gave that a pass.
You are more likely to find desserts available during dinner but ice creams are available round-the-clock. I ordered a Strawberry Ice which was enticingly described as a yogurt ice topped with fresh strawberries. I was told the ice creams were home-made. What arrived looked suspiciously Polka-esque and falooda-like: pink ice cream disappointingly devoid of fresh strawberries topped with strawberry syrup and powdered pistachio instead. Quite unappetizing, but not to be judged by its appearance, I soon discovered. It was delicious, the tartness of the yogurt-based strawberry ice cream contrasted by the sweetness of the syrup — the perfect refreshment to counter the heat of a warm spring day.
There’s quite an assortment of brewed coffees and flavoured teas and even herbal infusions to wash down a meal, or as an in-between. For Rs 50 a cup, they’re quite affordable (herbal infusions are five rupees dearer while the cappuccino is Rs 60). I tried an Apple tea that smelled divine but like all flavoured teas, didn’t taste all that fruity.
Entree prices are great too, the most expensive being the oh-so-English Fish & Chips for Rs 265. Desserts and appetizers/snacks are all under Rs 100.
The Shisha, which draws a majority of the young college students who hang out regularly and in droves at the Hangout, is Rs 165 a piece with individual mouthpieces for three people. Any additional ‘smokers’ are charged at Rs 100 per head which also pays for a separate mouthpiece.
The Hangout has an 18-and-older age restriction, particularly for shisha. Moreover, a piece of foil secured over the top of the huqqa makes adulteration of the tobacco difficult but not impossible. Hangout staff keep a strict vigil on the shisha smokers, though, to monitor that no banned substances are added to the harmless flavoured tobacco.
My visit to the Hangout was a desperate attempt to watch the Oscars on the TV screen on the day when all TV sets in the city were tuned to the Cricket World Cup. It was after I arrived that I realized my own stupidity in mistaking the 6 o’clock timing for p.m. instead of a.m. But the staff was obliging and courteous and I sat at the bar, the enjoyable meal taking the edge off my double disappointment: not watching the Oscars and India’s loss of cricket’s greatest honor to the arrogant but brilliant Aussies.
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