Luxe Retreat

Claridge's Mayfair, London

If there’s one hotel that would make a perfect, spoiling gift, it’s Claridge’s. Once the staid and stately base for royalty and dowager duchesses, it is today at a pinnacle in its 160-year history. The hotel dates back to 1812, became known as Claridges in 1854 and was entirely rebuilt in the 1890s. A long list of famous visitors include Queen Victoria, Winston Churchill, Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant. Interiors largely remain true to a 1920s Art Deco refurbishment with The Reading Room and Foyer opening onto the reception lobby, and used for snacks and meals throughout the day. Afternoon tea is an institution here. Slip into the sylvan Michelin-starred restaurant, Fera, where cooking is based on ingredients grown a Cumbrian farm. No tablecloths or fancy china here. The focus is on the food which is exquisitely presented and full of taste and texture. Underpinned by continuity and depth of service, Claridge’s is a ribbon-tied gift box of a gorgeous, glamorous hotel.

Table To Book

Hoagies

Enter Hoagies at Saba Avenue, Karachi and it feels like you have entered a cowboy pub in the southwest of the states. The wooden interiors, soft, country style playlist and to accompany the mood, a perfectly in-sync menu, courteous staff, all provide a pretty much wholesome experience. Though the food choices are limited (flat bread pizza, lettuce wraps, salad, subs, tacos, smothies and loaded fries), one can surely find a few decent, affordable and tasty options to pick from. We started our meal with loaded fries; a medium-sized box full of fries mixed with cheese, shredded beef, caramelised onions and topped with chipotle sauce and sliced jalapenos. The chips were served with mayo dip and extra chipotle sauce which had a sour and a slightly spicy kick to it. They were soft and easy to devour, which is good for those who don’t like to make a mess while eating. The well seasoned beef and crunchy onions tasted amazing with the chipotle sauce, too. Next was the Hollywood sub – this might be your favourite if you like a hot peppery flavour. We had wanted to go for something spicy which this was not, nevertheless, fresh lettuce, mayo and pepper chicken strip filling make for a good case, though the pepper was just a tad bit too strong for our liking. The bread was a strong point of the sub, though. Japaleno cheddar bread had its unique flavour and definitely enhanced the overall gustatory experience. We also tried tacos with fried chicken and salsa filling. This one was a bit disappointing because even though the crispy chicken was perfectly juicy, every bite tasted a bit dry because there was no sauce and even the salsa was merely chopped onions and tomamotoes, and had no sauciness to it. – Editorial Desk

What’s in the menu?

Donuts

A donut is a type of fried dough confectionery or dessert food. It is popular in many countries and prepared in various forms as a sweet snack that can be homemade or purchased in bakeries, supermarkets, food stalls, and franchised specialty vendors. Donuts are usually deep fried from a flour dough, and typically either ring-shaped or a number of shapes without a hole, and often filled, but can also be ball-shaped. Other types of batters can also be used, and various toppings and flavourings are used for different types, such as sugar, chocolate, or maple glazing. Donuts may also include water, leavening, eggs, milk, sugar, oil, shortening, and natural or artificial flavors. Donuts are often accompanied by coffee purchased at doughnut shops or fast food restaurants, but can also be paired with milk. While food resembling doughnuts has been found at many ancient sites, the earliest origins to the modern doughnuts are generally traced back to the olykoek ("oil(y) cake") Dutch settlers brought with them to early New York (or New Amsterdam). These doughnuts closely resembled later ones but did not yet have their current ring-sized shape. A 100g serving of donuts provide approximately 452 calories; 25g fat, 4.9g of protein, 51g of carbohydrate, 201mg of potassium, 326mg of sodium, 2mg caffiene and 19mg of cholestrol.