My two history professor friends wanted to take me to the Walled City for some spicy fresh hot ‘tawa’ food. As is the wont of foreign-educated professors, they have read about all the places and fooling them is no easy task.

We were all sitting in the DHA area and so I ventured: “Let me take you to a true ‘tawa’ place and I will instruct the chef to follow my instruction and use genuine butter.” They fell for it and so we drove into DHA-5 and stopped outside an eatery named Tawa and Tandoor. This is located just behind the new Jalal Sons Bakery. As I knew the original Mr Jalal, I can vouch he was a gentleman of the highest order who provided my little girls with free birthday cakes almost 35 years ago. But they were different days and now his sons, and no discredit to them, have a corporate edge that costs a lot.

The exterior of Tawa and Tandoor is rather dull brown and not very inviting. But in we went and orders were on me. They have a wide range of ‘tawa’ food and after much discussion our order was Chicken Boneless Tawa Masala, Beef Seekh Kebabs, Tawa Maghaz Masala and, just as a trial, a quarter ‘sajji’. For naans, we asked for ‘Khameri Roti’ and ‘Kalonji Naan’. There was the fresh vegetable salad and fresh ‘dahi’ -- by fresh they mean packaged yogurt.

The order came after 25 minutes, which is a lot when it comes to restaurant food, but as this place makes fresh food, it has to be tolerated. By the time the food came, the ‘sajji’ was laid before us as a starter. All three of us enjoyed the quarter mutton leg piece, cooked slowly to utter perfection. Then came the parade of food. Showing off is part and parcel of ‘eating out’ and what better than a procession of serving men.

My first choice was the ‘maghaz’, which I had sought with low spices but high on ginger and greens, and also not to break them into minced form. They obliged and the result was superb. The Tawa Chicken was also done well and the beef ‘seekh kebabs’ were juicy. In days of old if you enjoyed a drink -- lassi naturally -- they would do them twice to end up a drier product. The breads were piping hot and amazing. The service was polite and the place very clean. Thank you Ayesha Mumtaz.

Let me judge this ‘eating out’ experience on the Michelin Scale of one to nine. For food quality it gets a healthy seven, for taste another seven is a fair assessment, for service a six, for cleanliness six, for range of menu six (very impressive), for price five (no cheap walkover!), for quality of crockery and cutlery another seven (shukar hai!) and for ambience just five (they need to lift up on brighter cooler colours). The parking area is plentiful so another seven is in order. This averages out to 6.2 out of nine, which is very good for a new eatery. Recommended… and hope they brighten up soon.

MARCO POLO: My brother-in-law is a stickler for food quality and cleanliness and low fat and low spices. I have always joked that by the time his conditions are met, the food must taste terrible. But he keeps winning every time I challenge him. Though he prefers home-cooked food on weekdays, but on a Saturday the couple ventures out to remain in touch. That is when I manage to tag along.

Last week, he wanted to go to PC’s Marco Polo. This is one place that has always served quality food, and their new chef is making waves these days in Lahore’s culinary world. The buffet has a range to pick from, and so his order was ‘baked fish’ with steamed vegetables for himself. My sister went for boneless chicken ‘masala’ with fresh hot ‘tandoor roti’. Great stuff. The sweets were also excellent. A bit stiff on the pocket, but still remains a great place. Yes, try their baked fish and you will not be disappointed.

Published in Dawn, May 1st, 2016