Experience Feng Shui at Gon Pacci

Prawn Salsa

Gon Pacci lives up to its name by providing a flavourful dining experience in  an environment that calms and is peaceful to senses. 

Braised Lamb Shank

Feng Shui is an ancient Chinese lifestyle referring to a peaceful, serene and calm environment and space. This is exactly what felt  as I entered Gon Pacci, the new eatery at Shahbaz Commercial DHA, Karachi which is designed on Feng Shui.

Gon Pacci  just opened last week only, and the staff is already busy.  With a 100 people seating capacity spread over two complete floors, and an exciting menu; no wonder they are already booked for parties and events beside busy lunch and dinner hours.

 

I was totally intrigued  by its interiors and the finger foods served at its launch party. Could not resist going back for a detailed lunch and tête-à-tête with the owners and chef the following Sunday. The menu presents a great selection of meat, seafood, poultry, pasta and vegetable dishes all cooked using low salt and minimum spices- indeed reflect Feng Shui. Talking to the owners and chef, they explained the cuisine at Gon Pacci a fusion of several cooking traditions that includes French, Italian, Japanese, Thai and more. So we analysed this very creative menu that contained enough to choose from appetizers, main course, drinks and deserts.  

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Tamarind Cooler Sprinkled with Roasted Cumin

 

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Beef Roulette

My lunch kicked off with a very refreshing and spicy Tamarind Cooler. I had this before at other restaurants but this one stands out because it is thicker, just the right level of tanginess and sprinkled with roasted cumin (zeera) that gave it an awesome crunch and toasty lavour. For appetizers, I dared to try their Sushi Salad, let me confess I am not a Sushi lover at all. However, the smoky flavour of red snapper with sticky rice mingled with wasabi sauce and the crunchy rocket and iceberg salads won me over.

Sushi Twist Salad

Beef Roulette

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We waited our main course eagerly to arrive, and to surprise us we were served this rare to find braised lamb shank. This mouth watering piece of meat is cooked in its own juices that not only sealed the flavours but like perfect braised meat was fork tender and had a unique taste, very satisfying with the mashed potatoes. 

The next hit with us was the chicken legs seasoned with herbs perfectly slow cooked and submerged in its own fat creating a palatable confit jus, served with vegetables. Unlike the signature salty taste of confit, this has just about the right level of salt and mingled with veggies created a delightful dish. I have completely wiped off this plate. The seafood entre that we ordered was an interesting and very beautifully plated fillet of red snapper all wrapped in potato slices and then pan seared topped with leek fondue sauce. The subtly sweet and delicate taste of leeks, pleased the tastebuds very well with red snapper. This is a great side dish and a good choice for people looking for small meals.

Chicken Confit

Potato Wrapped Red Snapper

 

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Chicken and Tofu Burger

I can be labeled as a burger addict, to satisfy my global hunt for that perfect burger, I ordered one at Gon Pacci as well. The chicken and tofu patty totally confused me. For a quarter pounder of 100% meat addict, this is not the fix I would want. Why mix the two for the sake of creativity, when the result does not create anything significant tasting!! I suggested the Executive Chef to try out only with Tofu to please vegans. He was one pleasant person to listen to suggestions and customer satisfaction is what is top priority for the team.

Crab Lollipop

Chocolate Cake

 

Shahnawaz and Taimur the two very young owners with their love of food, and the growing culinary market in Karachi ventured into opening this place. Without much background of restaurant industry, this can be a big risk. Nevertheless, they did a fabulous job of hiring a great kitchen crew with an equally competent and experienced captain the Executive Chef who has experience of working in some top restaurants of the area. Since I stayed past the lunchtime and was fortunate to get hold of Jalal the very friendly Executive Chef as he entered balancing bags of grocery for an evening party. He proudly mentioned he is very particular about picking the ingredients himself including produce from the market ensuring they are fresh and of prime quality. With this great team at work, the restaurant is bound to make its mark on  customers and have a long way to go.

Gon Pacci is open from 12:00am-12:pm for lunch and dinners and in a few weeks time they will be launching breakfast opening from 8:00am. The prices are reasonable keeping in mind the prime quality of dishes served here, for a 3-course meal the cost per person would be approximately 1200 and around 1600 for five-course meal.

Gon Pacci lives up to its name by providing a flavourful dining experience in  an environment that calms and is peaceful to senses.

Review: Farah Kamal

Photography: Farah Kamal and Shahrukh Mughal

GON PACCI 10/C,Khayaban-e-Shahbaz Phase 6, D.H.A  

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