Skip to main content

The Melt - The Shake Shack of Pakistan. Or is it?

Hanging out with my friend, and trying out new food is the perfect way for the devil to prepare for re-entering society. We wanted to see for ourselves whether the establishment deserved the bashing it’s been getting lately, so off we went to The Melt. Happy to report, it’s more of a mountain out of a molehill situation. 

The place while emulating the quick service, wavy fries, and smash patty style burger is basically where it stops being Shake Shackish, just to let you guys know, I’m not a fan of Shake Shack, and neither is Sadia. I found this local burger to have more flavor than the international brand. The burgers were made and served in 4 minutes, and that definitely is impressive. 

The Melt was recommended, a double patty burger served with raclette cheese, and I forget the name of the second burger, but it was London-something burger, both beef. They do have chicken options and sides. The menu has the prices listed in AED, which I didn’t understand, but unka menu, unki marzi. The fire extinguishers are covered with the Pakistani flag, so that’s a nice patriotic touch, but the open kitchen, loud exhaust and high ceilings with no music makes for a very loud ambiance, which could result in a headache for some. 

The ingredients are fresh, everything including the bun is made in-house and the beef patty is heavily seasoned with pepper, which caused every other flavor to be masked. Halfway through, the bottom bun started falling apart, and that’s a big no for me. I preferred the London burger over the melt, just because there wasn’t as much going on in it. 

The price point was fair for the food. 2 drinks, 2 burgers, one of which was a combo with fries was a setback of 1490 rupees (I think. Please check kar lena price, LA), so two meals within 1500 rupees is reasonable. Also keep in mind this is a soft launch. The Melt has yet to officially start operations. We gave it a 6.5-7 out of 10. 

There are also dessert options by Sugaries, which seemed tempting but Sadia and I were full. I did try the brownie sample offered and liked it. It was a bakery brownies, slightly softer, but nice. If they can get their burger bun and pepper situation under control the place definitely has potential to give other similar joints a run for their money.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Forty4 Obsessed

What can I say? I love Forty4. And why wouldn’t I when the team, from Aman to the chefs, are willing to go out of their way to recreate an item no longer available on their menu? I had been craving Kampong rice from Forty4 and mentioned it to Aman the last se last time I visited.  When I called to make reservations the other day, Aman was kind enough to call me back because he remembered my craving! He then went to trouble to check with the kitchen and then texted me a confirmation that one of my favorite yummies will be ready for me! And that’s not all. Once I was served my requested dinner, he came by to ask if it was the same as I remembered it. And yes, it was!  I had already been told jasmine rice is no longer stocked, which had originally been used, and I was perfectly happy just the same. I mean, puri zindagi wohi chaawal khaye hain na? Ab ziada hi-fi honay ki zaroorat nahin hai, ‘kay? Although I was tempted to polish off my entire meal, there was an event I w...

Amazing Thai - For the Love of Ramen

Disclaimer: A friend sent me this ramen to try, so I didn't pay for it, but my opinion is as honest as it always is. Okay, I have to admit. I'm a sucker for packaged, unhealthy, and sinfully delicious ramen. So when my friend Omer, husband of the very famous Eman's Cakes (A blog is up on that already, by the way) told me he wanted to send over authentic Thai ramen to me, imported from Thailand, was I going to say no? Of course not! What arrived at my doorstep was this: Of course, there was no sign of English anywhere on this, but packaged ramen aren't that hard to follow through with. So out came the ramen itself into the bowl, along with the shrimp flavored powder, the spicy sauce that makes everything come together and a guesstimate of the water I wanted. What I ended up after nuking it for 2 minutes was this: This was soupy, spicy, not particularly strong in shrimp taste, probably because I added way too much water, but that's how I like it, 2 me...

Getting Fancy at Pan'Ris

My friends and I were invited to Pan’Ris for dinner this evening, and minus a few issues which if addressed, can be a great new addition to the Aylanto-classed eateries.  We chose to sit out on the deck, as the weather is as we all know, beautiful during the evening. It’s a lovely place, with a staircase handy leading off it to the main entrance. I have to say, the place is beautifully done.  The order comprised of a Seafood Chowder, Red Snapper with Saffron Sauce, Grilled Lobster, Dijon Steak with a baked potato, and the Smoked Turkey Spaghetti which was originally in a creamy sauce, but they were kind enough to switch it a marinara sauce, as per my friend’s request. For dessert, we ordered the Bread and Butter Pudding and a Blueberry Cheesecake. Our server was polite, efficient at order taking and attentive without being obstructive. We were informed our food would arrive within 20-25 minutes.  The chowder arrived within 10-15 minutes, and during that i...