What makes a good desi restaurant? Here’s a little insider tip. (Little because I’m five foot four and insider because I’m desi.) Look for the vital stats: strip mall, self service and dining desis. They are all good signs. It means that the focus is on the food.
And speaking of food, the promise of melt-in-your mouth kababs (so swore a friend) and a trip to the South Bay saw us face to face with Shan restaurant. Strip mall? Check. Self service? Check. Dining desis? Check. Check. Check.
The décor is geared towards atmospherelessness so its tables, chairs and television. Let me rephrase that tables, chairs and Pakistani soap operas. Sitting within eavesdropping distance of the other tables and strategically placed in front of the TV, my elephant ears were all ready to wiggle and waggle but first to matters at hand. Khana.
Reading the menu, I realized how very out of touch I was with the word on the street. The menu entices, confuses and forces you to acknowledge border tensions. Pakistani basmati rice battles with Indian small puff balls in sugar syrup (Gulab Jamun).Mango Lassi is Shan’s special shack. Indian mango pulp blended with shan’s made yogurts sugar. The Lamb Curry however wins the award for lost in translation. Lamb Curry :Relisted by Punjabi Stalwart soldiers. Grass fed lamb cooked with butter with a hint of garlic and ginger over a bed of onions. It is brought to a simmering Pakistani wild species. Something to remember us! Huh? What? En anglais sil vous plait!
Oh and then there were the serials. Now having grown up on recorded and scratchy tapes of Dhoop Kinare, Tanhaiyan and Ankahee, I’ve always had a soft spot for Marina Khan’s antics and hunky male leads like Dr Ehmar (swoon) and the rest of the riffraff. I guess I was trying to see myself in those characters. Also I have a sneaking suspicion that my parents encouraged it so that I would understand Urdu and be able to have conversations with cousins back home. I failed miserably in both endeavors.
I am sad to note that slick K serial type décor and a penchant for long names have crept into Pakistani serials as well. Serial no. 1 ( didn’t get the name but I think this was the last episode) Basic inferred story – Young desperately-trying-to-look-cool pony tail man and older woman are in love but fate keeps them apart. After seven years she sees him with wife and child in the park, sprains her back(!) and dies in his arms. Fortunately we didn’t gag on our empty plates.
Serial no. 2- Millionaire good guy seated at huge mahogany desk dwarfed by big black leather chair, wearing white wig busy musing ( pen in mouth, far away look). Bad guy in black suit and red tie walks into office, music changes to ominous. He wears glasses and a leery expression meant to look menacing. (Think desi man, Delhi bus)and makes some deal with good guy about getting the art gallery from whitey’s daughter. Cut to constipated man sitting on art deco turquoise blue faux leather sofa presumably trying to look troubled. That or he got gas just waiting for the food to show up.
Unaware of her father’s mercenary plans, anorexic girl telling constipated man that she will sell the art gallery (presumably to set his money woes aside) and they can leave town and she’ll set up base elsewhere. (This is now sounding like my father who when I said I wanted to work in a newspaper offered to start a newspaper in order to keep me at home. Also note that he has no such resources at his disposal – no desk, leather chair or white wig.)
Consti makes some patriarchal remark about wearing the pants but is touched by her offer and he shows this not by any change in expression but by HOLDING HER HAND! What!! In a Pakistani serial!! When did this happen?? And where the hell are our kababs???
Also the women were wearing sleeveless and western clothes! Ok, I know its been a while since I’ve seen any PTV but hell the last time I saw one of these serials, the women were making statements like ” Hain mein abhi Umrica se aaiee hoon. Hain, ghar mein to mein jeans pehanti hoon par bahar nahin.” as part of the script! Also I have been told that women in Pakistan look for signs as to the leniency of the government based on how the news anchors cover their hair. So while I am still a little shaken, I think this is totally kick ass.
So roughly after two serials and a news programme, our food shows up. Home truth about desi food –its not about how creamy the saag paneer is or how spicy the chana masala is -its all about the kababs. So we ordered our staple fare of sheekh kababs, boti kababs and naan. Fortunately it all arrived together. So here’s the low down –chicken boti kabab too orangey and dry. Beef boti kabab- had a hint of lemony marinade but was very chewy. Sheekh kababs and chicken reshmi kabab were good as were the naans. Still it doesn’t come close to Shalimar. (Our yardstick to measure any desi restaurant. Another post another time)
Shan Restaurant 5251 Stevens Creek Blvd, Santa Clara CA 95051 tel: 408-260-9200. Credit cards accepted.
