22 December 2009, 4:04 am
Lahoris are known for their food loving and eating. While Lahore has a great many traditional and modern restaurants, in recent years Western fast food chains, such as McDonald's, Pizza Hut, Domino's Pizza, Subway Sandwiches, Dunkin Donuts, Nando's and Kentucky Fried Chicken have appeared all over the city. Food and restaurant businesses remain open all night. The shopping markets are usually open late into the night. Lahore is Pakistan’s true food centre. The induction of quality Thai food has made it more cosmopolitan. Lahories have access not only to a large number of Pakistani dishes and Punjabi specialities, it has fast food restaurants, Western dishes, steak houses, pizzas, Japanese, Chinese, Lebanese, Afghani, Thai cooking and even Indian.
Pakistani Food can be sub-divided in two distinct styles: Mughal-style Pakistani curries and Punjabi Barbecue and Karahis. In the curry category, the best choice is available at Village, Shezan Oriental, Bellpepper, Kabana, Paradise, Ziafat etc., where you can get good quality Curries, Biryanis, Nans etc.Dum Pukht (PC) serves some Westernised curries. Most dishes are very expensive and lack the true Mughal curry taste. It seems the dishes are made for foreign customers. For the real Delhi-style taste, turn to wayside shops like Paradise Canteen (near GPO) which serves the tastiest curries, Payas, Batairs and Biryani in town. Khan Baba (Chauburji) is popular for its Pakistani dishes well-cooked in Desi Ghee.
Recently the food streets in the historic locales of Lahore (Gawalmandi, Anarkali, and Badshahi) have fascinated tourists. Food streets have undergone restorations and are cordoned off in the evenings for pedestrian traffic only; various cafés serve local delicacies under the lights and balconies of restored havelis (traditional residential dwellings).
Food Street
Some of the trendiest restaurants in Lahore are concerted on the M M Alam Road in Gulberg. Here, dozens of high-class culinary outlets, ranging from Western franchises to traditional, cultural, or theme restaurants, attract all classes of Lahore's citizens. Latest restaurants are constantly opening, and the business is extremely competitive. Many boisterous restaurants of Lahore are open late into the night.
One of Lahore's unique café restaurants is "Coocoo's Den", located in the old city just at the back the Badshahi Mosque and Lahore Fort at the edge of Lahore's red light district.
The restaurant is housed in a 300-year-old Kothi-style dwelling of a famous artist and was once a brothel. At different times in the life of this property, Hindu, Buddhist, Christian, and Muslim families have owned it. Another famous Lahore landmark is the Pak Tea House in Anarkali, long a favored haunt of intellectuals and artists.
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