As a big fan of spicy food, I've been meaning to try the Chili Chicken from Chopal and finally got around to it today for lunch. Despite requesting it extra spicy, I didn't find the chicken itself-there were some slices of chili mixed in-to be spicy at all and I actually detected no discernible heat whatsoever despite what the vibrant red color of the chicken might suggest (the cell phone pic doesn't do it justice, as it was very visually stunning). In spite of the lack of heat, I enjoyed eating the well cooked and seasoned chicken, and liked the different flavor components of the 3 condiments it came with. The spicy pickled veggies/vinegar sauce helped add some heat, and I was intrigued by a chili sauce that had a very forward sweet/fruity (raspberry?) flavor which was totally unexpected.





My next visit will be for some chicken Balochi, which the menu describes as being "extra hot and spicy." As a side note, the restaurant was completely empty around 12:30 when I picked up my food.

We walked in to Usmania tonight after not having been for about a year and were stunned by a specials board that included quesadillas and burger and fries. We almost turned around but were really in the mood for chapli kabob so we went in. The place was nearly empty. They handed us two menus, one with the South Asian food and a second that said Usmania Burgers and Burritos! WTF? We ordered our usual dishes - chapli kabob, chicken boti and malai chicken. None of it was quite up to par in terms of spices. I have to say we left very disappointed and will be going to Khan's next time.