ISLAMABAD: The latest entrant to Islamabad’s burgeoning restaurant scene opened its doors on the first day of Ramazan and has been pulling in crowds every night since. Centrally-located in the F-6 Super Market, Baau’z boasts three storeys of space with an open dining area on the rooftop.

The contemporary facade may be reminiscent of a Times Square bar, the name comes from the Punjabi word ‘baoo’ or mister.

“In Rawalpindi, my father was called Bau Jee by everyone, so I decided to call our new restaurant Baau’z,” Atif Riaz, part of the duo who owns the restaurant, tells Dawn.

The latest eatery in F-6 is a boon for Ramazan buffet lovers

The eatery is a joint venture with Shahid Abassi, who previously owned the Blue Moon restaurant in F-7.

The two can be seen actively serving the guests, bringing in cold glasses of mint margarita from the kitchen during the busy iftar buffet.

Opening in Ramazan has allowed the restaurant to display some of its best offerings as part of the sehr and iftar buffets.

The Iftar dinner menu combines a variety of cuisines, offering everything from pakoras, assorted fruit and sandwiches to mains including Italian pastas, Thai noodles, Asian-style stir-fried beef and chicken dishes as well as a couple of Pakistani dishes served with naan.

While the menu is unimaginative, most items are flavourful. Mr Abbasi, who has 20 years of experience in the food industry, says the menu brings together favourites from different cuisines and focuses on high-quality ingredients and good cooking techniques.

On the buffet table, there is plenty to reward those who have spent the day fasting.

The sandwiches and pakoras are fresh and the slushie-style mint margarita refreshes after a day of abstinence.

The salads, however, are built largely on iceberg lettuce and could use a larger variety of more flavourful greens. The sweet and sour Thai dressing, though, has been skilfully put together and works well with the sweetness of yellow and orange peppers.

On the buffet table, the Chicken Roulade sits in a pool of bubbling white sauce, inviting the diner’s attention.

The dish takes pounded chicken, wrapped around a garlicky mushroom and spinach stuffing, and drowns it in a creamy mushroom sauce making a filling entree.

The Asian dishes on the menu are also done well. The delicious Spicy Thai Noodles made with stir-fried flat wide noodles combine a tangy kick of lemon with the bite of red chillies.

The traditional Beef Chilli Dry is a safe choice on a buffet menu, but is cooked well.

The caramelised exterior of the beef is crispy and slightly sweet and works well with the bitter spice of the green chillis.

But the star offering is the Beef Medallion, which takes thinly sliced beef tenderloin and rolls them up with olives, mushrooms and turkey bacon before grilling them.

The result is a dish that serves up different textures. The exterior of the beef is well-done and charred while the interior is red and dripping with juices.

Charmingly garnished and well-presented, only the sauce falls wanting of flavour.

Sadly, after a satisfying meal, the desserts are a bit of a disappointment.

A large bowl of yellow custard and kitschy over-garnished dessert cups with jelly, cream and fruit take one back to the way family restaurants were in the 1990s and are only attractive for the restaurant’s youngest guests.

Amina Malik, a patron, told Dawn that the buffet, priced at around Rs 1,600 per person, offered value for money. “Other places such as Tuscany Courtyard are priced well over Rs 2,000 per person,” she said.

Another guest, Zainab Fatima, said the name had made her sceptical about what the restaurant would offer, but she has been pleasantly surprised.

“The ambiance is not special, but everything we have eaten was made well,” she said.

Published in Dawn, June 5th, 2017