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9<br />
not been, Izumi is one of Dhaka’s<br />
classiest Japanese joints boasting<br />
(IMO) the best quality beef in the<br />
country. Also for those who haven’t<br />
been, the location is somewhat<br />
of a nightmare to find. It’s tucked<br />
away in a corner off Gulshan 2 and<br />
would be quite difficult to find<br />
without Facebook directions (thank<br />
god for technology). The décor<br />
is as you would expect, Japanese<br />
motifs, wooden and organic but<br />
very sophisticated and classy. The<br />
menu is again, compact. I ordered<br />
the French omelette which was<br />
too plain! The croissants however,<br />
were to die for and I’m guessing<br />
are sourced from the famed Holey<br />
Artisan Bakery. All in all, it was good<br />
but left me wanting something more.<br />
That brings me to the champ,<br />
numero uno; can we get a drum roll<br />
please! This is also my most recent<br />
brunch experience so one that is<br />
quite fresh in this Swiss cheese I<br />
call a memory. Over the weekend<br />
the family and I took a trip down<br />
to Chows to sample their Terrace<br />
Brunch. For the uninitiated Chows,<br />
is a delightful new eatery located in<br />
Banani road 19A, which has made<br />
quite the splash with their authentic<br />
Chinese cuisine (the dumplings and<br />
cold beef are to die for but that’s a<br />
story for another day). The terrace<br />
brunch is a collaboration between<br />
the Gourmet Food Company (GFC,<br />
the latest food venture of Mishal<br />
Karim, the main man behind Chows)<br />
and head Chef George Smith (an<br />
American expat who is one of the<br />
best trained chefs in the country).<br />
Upon a little conversation, I came<br />
to understand that the GFC is a<br />
premium food delivery service<br />
in Dhaka applying the farm to<br />
table concept where the freshest<br />
ingredients are sourced directly from<br />
the producer.<br />
Onwards to the experience; firstly<br />
the premises are fantastic. The<br />
restaurant is housed in a sprawling<br />
duplex, all marble and natural<br />
light. We were led to a cosy terrace<br />
overlooking the lake. The menu is<br />
great, with an amazing variety of<br />
items to choose from. They have<br />
your traditional English breakfast<br />
style; eggs, sausage, beans, beef<br />
bacon etc, along with pancakes and a<br />
whole bunch of Gourmet pizzas. We<br />
asked for the chef’s recommendation<br />
which was a brick oven mushroom<br />
pizza, chocolate chip pancakes and<br />
freshly squeezed OJ.<br />
The pizza was in one word<br />
delicious! Perfect, crunchy, 12 inch<br />
thin crust drizzled with just the right<br />
amount of tomato sauce and basil<br />
then topped with what I understand<br />
is their own house made mozzarella,<br />
and then the perfectly charred fresh<br />
mushrooms and gruyere cheese<br />
liberally scattered on top. That pie<br />
did not last very long ‘cos we totally<br />
inhaled that thing! Next up were<br />
the pancakes. A plate of three large<br />
chocolate chip pancakes with a little<br />
cup of thick blackberry zabaglione<br />
chocolate sauce to go with it. Being<br />
a total savage I guzzled the first half<br />
without the sauce and prematurely<br />
started complaining to my wife on<br />
its lack of flavour. She calmly poured<br />
the sauce onto the plate and the<br />
resulting goodness kept my trap shut<br />
for a good five minutes (a miracle)!<br />
Last but not least was the OJ, a<br />
seemingly simple concoction but one<br />
that is very difficult to perfect and<br />
this one got pretty damn close!<br />
All in all we had a great time. The<br />
staff was very cordial, the ambience<br />
was great and it’s safe to say that I<br />
shall be back again to sample more<br />
of their wares. The Terrace Brunch<br />
menu offers a lot more and usually<br />
gets updated every week, so I look<br />
forward to my next visit. Entirely a<br />
delightful experience; what more can<br />
a hungry man desire?<br />
So if you want to try out this<br />
delightful new repast, IMHO Chows<br />
Terrace Brunch is the best place<br />
to begin, middle, and end! Keep<br />
calm and have brunch ladies and<br />
gentlemen! •<br />
WEEKEND TRIBUNE | FRIDAY, MAY 19, 2017