Chop Chop Wok

Table To Book
  • 15 Dec - 21 Dec, 2018
  • Attiya Abbass
  • High Life

Location: Lane 6, Badar Commercial Area, Phase 5 Defence Housing Authority, Karachi
Average cost for 2: Rs 1800 to 2000 approx.


I remember Chop Chop Wok from their very first modest (and congested) premises, at the gastronomically-popular Khadda Market, in 2015. Influx of Pan Asian cuisine and café culture had finally embarked in Karachi at that time, but very few eateries managed to stay afloat with good business. CCW, in my opinion and experience, marked the advent of affordable sit-in noodle bars, good for groups and family. Now with three polished premises of their own, the eatery is on a good roll. I visited their outlet on Khayaban-e-Badar last week. I was well-acquainted with their menu, which offers a three-step wok menu to create a wok of your choice. The menu allows you to choose a base from egg, rice or soba noodles to jasmine or brown rice, followed by choosing a flavour from a range of flavours; Cantonese, Oriental to spice Pan Asian, to name a few. The last step is to select your protein from meat, chicken, beef, prawns or fish, along with other options. We kick-started our meal with Wasabi Prawns and Sticky BBQ Wings, which arrived piping hot within 10 minutes of the order. Swathed in mayo dressing, stacked artfully on a bed of lettuce, the crispy prawns were a steamy delight in the mouth. Packing just the right quotient of wasabi, the delicious prawns had us gulping down soothing Cucumber Mint to soothe the tongue. Our second starter of BBQ wings were clearly overshadowed by the prawns and were a bit too salty for my liking. But you can’t just have hot, gooey chicken wings lying on your table uneaten, can you? We licked them clean with the good verdicts. By this time our steaming wok bowls had arrived. For this visit I opted for a different mix, rice noodles flavoured with the dark Oriental, accented with prawns and the newly-introduced chicken katsu. Each morsel packed a punch of flavours, slurpy Oyster sauce being on the forefront, putting your taste buds to work. I forked into my friend’s bowl of Vietnamese egg noodles and chicken, finding the spice ratio to be surprisingly high on black pepper and being super delicious. Both noodle bowls had just the right consistency of being saucy and slurpy. A beautiful bowl of spice-fragrant jasmine rice with Pan Asian too packed a powerful blend of spice and flavour, which CCW classifies to be their spiciest. I was intrigued with the many ingredients infused in our dishes, most of which are not easily available locally. “Because we are serving international cuisine we need to use imported ingredients to maintain authenticity. More than half of our ingredients are imported, and are carefully sourced from various suppliers across Asia,” owner and restaurateur Salman Naqi clarified. The unexpected star of our early dinner was the Black Pepper Beef; the dark, almost-black saucy beef, with a side-line of plain rice sat unattended for a while as we dug into our noodle bowls. I was sceptic about its taste at first, because it gave off a very oyster-saucy aroma that I had too much of. We fell in love with it at first bite, the black pepper curry-cum-sauce had a slurpy sweet and spicy taste to it, making it a sublime dish to appreciate on its own. The very-happening dinner ended with bowls of gelato chocolate, which was a perfect way to soothe spice-seething tongue.



TASTE 4.5 Stars

The eatery’s stellar growth is testament to its excellent taste. All items on the menu from the salad, soups and sides to wok specials and then the wok bowls itself are so diversified in taste offerings.

AMBIENCE 4 Stars

Simple and sleek, the eatery is a sublime manifestation of communal dinning. The well-lit interior with wooden benches and chairs remind you of quaint Japanese dining booths.

SERVICE 4 Stars

My server was courteous, but the menu itself is pretty self-exemplary you won’t need the waiter’s assistance. The head chef Shabbir, personally came to us to inquire if the food served was up to the mark.

PRESENTATION 4 Stars

Ten points to the artfully stacked dish of wasabi prawns here! All noodle bowls are very Instagrammable; coiled tastefully in a black bowl brings out the many colours of the dish.

VALUE FOR MONEY 4.5 Stars

All items are priced under Rs 700. For as low as Rs 530 to 600 you can dig into a bowl of Pan Asian goodness at an upscale restaurant. The portion sizes, too, are generous.

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