Meal #32: Pakistan

The journey to The Khyber Pass Pakistani Restaurant was just as hazardous as if we’d tried to cross the famous mountain pass of its namesake. Initially we planned to go to a Kashmiri restaurant, however Café Kashmir (our original destination) closed four years ago, it is now a funky Chapel Street bar. Seeing as the only other Kashmiri restaurant in Australia is in Darwin, we decided we would skip straight to Pakistan. We arrived at our destination (375 Springvale Rd, Glen Waverley) only to find a car yard! A quick call to Telstra Direct and we got a new address…in Vermont South! Moral of the story: don’t trust the internet for up-to-date information on restaurant addresses!!!

The Khyber Pass
Pakistani Restaurant
3/272 Morack Rd, Vermont South
Open 6 Nights (Tuesday – Sunday)

The Khyber Pass is the only Pakistani restaurant in Melbourne, and is a friendly, family-run establishment. It is so family-oriented that there is a special room with couches and a TV for family members to lounge in and eat their meals. Furthermore, the kitchen was being used by the owner’s sister to cook food for a party the next day! Nevertheless, we were all entertained by the three small children as they ran around the place (although not in the main dinning area). All this being said, the restaurant is not attached to a dwelling and is a testament to the traditional Pakistani family.

The décor of the eating area is like that expected from a traditional Pakistani home (although some of the decorations were of a grander scale), giving diners the feeling that they have been invited to eat in the owner’s dinning room.


This week’s pursuers of the Pakistani palate were Nick, Sai, Rami, Caroline, Ruvinda, Renuka, Sylvester, Danesh and Debs (not to be confused with Deb!).

Entrée:
Somosas – Vegetables wrapped in pastry and deep fried
Shamee Kebabs – Savoury minced steak pattied pan fried in ghee
Vegetables Pakoras – Fresh vegetables dipped in batter and deep fried in ghee
Naggra Bhaji – Made with potatoes - served with a curried sauce

Mains:

MILD
Beef Mittakhatta – Prime lean beef pan fried with mushrooms, garlic and herbs (fresh cream optional)
Lamb Peshawri – Lamb in creamy lentil sauce, garnished with fried onion

MEDIUM
Murgh Multani – Chicken pieces cooked in a multani style sauce

HOT
Beef Tornado – This dish is popular for those who like it hot
Chicken Lahori – A variation of our Chicken Multani

GOURMET DISHES
Jinga Subzi – Prawns and vegetables
Shahi Sag Gosht – Lamb and spinach in a garlic & onion sauce

VEGETABLE DISHES
Alloo Mattar – Potatoes and peas

Sides:

Papadams
Khyber Pass Pillou – Lightly spice rice with coriander, cinnamon, cummin & cooked onion
Saffron Rice – Pillou rice with saffron, nuts and sultanas

Drinks:

Salty Lassi

Dessert:

Mango Mousse – Homemade
Kulfi – Pakistani ice-cream

Entrée:

All together we tried all but one of the entrées that The Khyber Pass had to offer. We enjoyed them all, from the spicy somosas to the naggra bhaji which was reminiscent of a spicy falafel drowned in dhal. The entrée was definitely a highlight of the meal.

Mains:

We had a nice selection of mains. Firstly, however, it must be noted that the Beef Tornado was a big disappointment – not nearly as spicy as was expected/hoped. Further, although the meat was very tender, the sauce had a strong burnt flavour. Thankfully this was the only dish that marred our meal (although it was still enjoyed by some diners and was completely finished by the end of the night).

According to the menu the Murgh Multani and Chicken Lahori are variations of the same dish – you could have fooled us as the former was sour, while the latter was sweet! Also, the Multani seemed spicier than the Lahori (which is not what the menu would lead you to expect) making us question if the waiter had correctly identified the two dishes when serving them to the table.

Speaking of sweet dishes, most of the Pakistani dishes were quite sweet, including the Beef Mittakhatta, Lamb Peshawri and Shahi Sag Gosht. The focus on sweetness really made this cuisine stand out from the other sub-continental meals we have tried.

Both rices nicely complemented the dishes, although there was much speculation whether the bright fluorescent orange saffron rice was due to food dyes and not saffron…

Dessert:


The Mango Mousse was nice, but would be more accurately described as Mango "Cream", while the Kulfi had a strong flowery flavour due to the use of cardamom.

Overall:

As the only Pakistani restaurant in Melbourne The Kyber Pass must be visited, however don’t expect your average dining experience. The front of house is run entirely by the owner, who at times seems to disappear completely into the kitchen. Nevertheless, the friendly family atmosphere of the restaurant meant that the children where more than happy to be messengers between the customers and staff. Due to the family focus of the establishment diners can expect a relaxed and laidback meal, and with mains costing on average $11-12, it is also very relaxing on the hip pocket...