The idea was to have a 'quiet' spicy 'desi' meal. So after much consultation with Muhammad, my nephew, we ended up at Mirchi. He had been there with his Aitchison gang and was all praise for the place. So to M.M. Alam Road and Mirchi it was.

Just about mid-point on this now crumbling bumpy road, Mirchi is located between two other similar eateries. My daughter in a faraway land is a Bihari Kebab fanatic, and just to test out before she came home on holiday, we had to try this place. The ambience is not very exciting, but then it must be said to their credit that they have a very clean and practical place, with enough space for a reasonably large gathering.

We decided to try out Bihari kebabs, chicken 'tava' and 'magaz'. With this came 'naans', fresh from the tandoor. For sweet we opted for 'firni' in a 'thooti'. What better combination. The Bihari kebabs were exceptionally well done, and they tended to melt in the mouth. This is a rare thing for a beef dish, but if marinated well and cooked at the correct moderate temperature, beef is a far superior meat to mutton and chicken. That is why the best steaks in the world are made form the choicest beef cuts.

The Chicken Tava is also a very special dish. At the best of times it is a stand-alone dish. Though the very best of this can to be had at Chowk Hira Mandi in the shop next to the original Phajja, the trick is to use loads of yogurt with ample spices. It needs a moderate heat and is done with great expertise. The taste and preparation were exquisite. Excellent stuff.

Then came my personal favourite, that being a mutton 'magaz'. Normally we have seen chefs decimate this dish to a paste, so it is best to inform the waiter to inform the chef not to crush it into a paste, but to prepare it as solid as possible, using lots of ginger. This they did with moderate chilies. It was just fine, and made my evening. The sweet was 'firni', which had moderate sugar and had an excellent after-taste.

Let us mark this experience on the usual Michelin Scale of one to nine. For food taste it gets seven out of nine, for food quality six, for food presentation a five will do, the service gets six, the quality of the crockery and cutlery gets five, the ambience gets four and prices get six. Thus over these seven variable this eatery gets 5.6 out of nine, which is very good. My record tells me that the last time this eatery got 5.2 out of nine. So they are improving, and this is the sign of a well-managed clean eatery. Recommended. BHAIYA RIP-OFF:

The original Bhaiya 'kebabia' of D-Block Model Town made a name for himself thanks to his quality kebabs and economical prices. Over the years a number of copycats have surrounded him, and each one claims to be the original. Last week the family went there in force – ten hungry persons – and ordered eight dozen kebabs with 'naans', a soft drink each, and followed it with 'firni'.

The bill was a whooping Rs 4,000, or Rs400 per head. This is a rip-off of the highest order, and for kebabs that no longer maintain the quality of old.

DAL KA HALWA: On Saturday afternoon I went to the wedding of Uzi's daughter at The Grande on Zafar Ali Road. The wedding meal was the predictable rice and 'korma'. For sweet they had an amazing 'dal ka halwa'. Oh, it was absolutely a thrill to have a first-rate 'dal ka halwa' after ages. In our younger days weddings in the afternoon were the norm. They are coming back in vogue, for they get rid of electricity costs, as well as load-shedding, plus counter the 10.00 pm deadline. Full marks to Uzi.AMSHE