There are many Chinese restaurants serving
quality food in the city, since China is one of Pakistan's best friend, we get
lots of Chinese people visiting Karachi for varies reason so obviously Chinese
cuisine is more famous than any other countries cuisine in Karachi, we have
number of classy Chinese restaurants in Karachi. Ginsoy has been around for a
long time amongst food eateries in Karachi and has become a prominent name when
it comes to choosing Chinese restaurants in Karachi. We Karachi food dairy team
was also attracted towards this Chinese restaurant in Karachi and tried their
rich culinary content.
Ginsoy is located at many places in Karachi;
they have two branches on khayaban e shahbaz phase 6 only, one in Sindhi Muslim
Society and along with one located in north nazimabad. The one we visited was
next to Espresso on main khayaban e shahbaz, Defence phase 6; it’s a nice cozy
branch with a hospitable reception.
The food ordered was in the following order:
first up in starter, we ordered Thai soup and Dynamite Prawns, Thai Soup: I’ve
had Thai soup many a times before and so this one was also up to the
expectations, I must say, the flavors inside are absolutely enriching to the
taste buds. It’s spicy, tangy and had a hint of coconut to it with big chunks
of chicken breast, not too thick like a hot and sour soup, nor rather too
watery like a chicken stock, as a suggestion, for those who like spicy soups
and are tired of having hot and sour over and over again, this is something you
should definitely go for.
Second
item for starter was Dynamite Prawns, not as such spicy, little bit sour taste,
too saucy from outside and juicy from inside. I’ve had these at ample places
and they’re usually served in a crystal glass on top of some lettuce and
covered with thousand islands, it is something we usually have at like Tao or
other Restaurants but these were different, they had a thin layer of batter
around them and the sauce was a lot different from a regular thousand island,
It seemed to me it was something of their own peri-peri kind sauce, which was
good, but it can be made better. I think prawns without the batter taste
better.
For the main course, we ordered Mongolian
Beef, Beef Chili Dry, Thai Basil Prawns, Egg fried rice, Chicken Shashlik, Red
Roast Chicken and Kung Pao Chicken.
The Mongolian Beef and Beef Chili Dry are somewhat of a “must order” at any
Chinese restaurant, so obviously we couldn’t skip out on that one and plus its
beef, so we can’t say no to beef. The beef chili dry was good nothing great,
probably something that every other place serves great; The Mongolian Beef on
the other hand was my favorite, thick gravy, nice juicy chunks of beef that
just make your palate jump up and down; it’s something you really should order
with your food.
The
Thai Basil Prawns were out of this world. Really nice, crunchy yet tender from
the inside covered in little gravy with a touch of spiciness that just makes
your cholesterol jump high. It’s something I really enjoyed; heart patients
beware! You might not want to take your hands off of this, I normally don't
have Shashlik that much but whoever cooked it did it justice, sauce was
perfect, the vegetables weren't overcooked, chicken was tender and had absorbed
the sauce properly.
The Kung Pao Chicken is actually one of my
favorites because of two things, the peanuts (peanut oil) and it's a
traditional stir fry dish, it's one of the more traditional, stir fry recipes
from the Szechwan or Sichuan cuisine that focuses more on flavors that burst in
your mouth than anything else, they nailed it perfectly. The egg fried rice
seemed a bit on the harder side though, Could've been left just slightly softer
but this actually varies by taste. Finally the Red Roast Chicken, splendidly
cut average sized chicken pieces dipped in thick red gravy (although I’m having
trouble recalling if this was spicy or not, you might want to confirm when you
visit). It’s something that goes nice with your fried rice.
Quality 8.5/10
Ginsoy has a good reputation in the market,
and has always maintained good quality food as long as I’ve known to have
visited them.
Quantity 8/10
Chinese food isn’t ordered in individuality
here in Pakistan, so as a bulk quantity customer who would take his
family/friends out to Ginsoy for Chinese, the quantity is pretty damn good.
Price 7.5/10
Nothing that will make you broke average
prices around 800 PKR per head for a reasonable amount of food and great taste.
Menu Selection 7.5/10
They recently revamped their menu and the
menu cards are aesthetically pleasing, as well as offering a great variety of
Chinese, Thai and a (few) Mongolian dishes.
Location 3.5/5
This Chinese restaurant is located on a very
narrow service lane near Espresso on main Khe-Shahbaz,Phase 6 Defence, the area
around is full of restaurants there, the parking can be hard to find even
though they have a free valet service but it’s a easy dine in spot to reach for
people on wheelchairs.
Ambience 4/5
Ginsoy has Peaceful nice homey ambiance,
they’ve made it in a way that blocks the outside traffic noise, commotion and
it’s a casual place with great lightning and a very hospitable staff at your
service all the time.
Service 4/5
Remember the wait kills your appetite but
here service time was pretty fast, we didn’t have to wait for more than 15
minutes to get our order, not just our table, on a completely unbiased review;
the tables next to us were also receiving their food on time and were satisfied
with the restaurant’s service with Spot on hygienic conditions.
Presentation 3/5
Nothing unique about the presentation at a
Chinese restaurant, it was similar to the ones elsewhere; there was nothing
wrong with it but nothing that obviously stands out. They have patented steel
bowls though, which was an interesting touch and I’ll let the people reading
this be the judge of that when you go there, Please do share your comments on
that here.
