Written by: Noor Ul Ain
Posted on: February 12, 2019 | 
| 中文
Tomato Chutney from Desi Rasoi
Last weekend visitors flocked to Jilani Park, also known as the Race Course Park, to attend the annual return of Lahore Eat. This was the fourth installation of the event, which is the brainchild of CKO Event Architecture. We visited the festivities on the second day, and spent over thirty minutes trying to find parking in the mad jumble of vehicles. While CKO managed to set up three-days of fun, music and food, the management really failed in terms of crowd control, and organizing seating and parking spaces. It took over an hour just to get inside the premises of the festival, battling traffic jams and long queues. Compared to Coke Fest, Lahore Eat 2019 was poorer in terms of organization and management.
The food stalls, that were limited in number, offered comparatively less variety than is usually expected from food festivals. However, on the bright side, this offered a chance to discover newer and relatively unknown businesses that may not have had the spotlight otherwise. One such stall was the Queen of Thokar that offered an interesting take on street food, primarily comprising of home-made sauces and cured meats. The hunter beef pieces that they were handing out simply dissolved in your mouth, leaving behind the subtle taste of spices and the familiar kick of lemon. We tried their Greek Chicken Slouvaki, and the Kale, Apple and Pineapple Smoothie. The Slouvaki, wrapped in soft warm bread, consisted of the classic pairing of fresh vegetables with mildly marinated chicken, dripping in a moist sauce. It demanded an encore. The Smoothie refreshed us with the perfect blend of winter fruits and greens.
For a turn towards some local food, we tried the Raj Kachori at Bombay Chowpatty. It was crispy and saucy in the right proportions. While it delivered in taste, it was a challenge to eat with the cutlery they had provided, and would have been more convenient for having at the restaurant. Next up, the trusted kitchens of Cosa Nostra served us with some warm and loaded French Fries, dipped in ranch sauce and jalapenos. The fries were mildly salted, paired with a sauce that offered some heat and texture to the mix.
Speaking of texture, one of my personal favourite finds was a tomato chutney by Desi Rasoi - a family-run stall of home cooked food. The tomato chutney, which the owners were kind enough to offer without the order of the main Thaali, had its roots in Hyderabadi cuisine. It crackled with the fusion of sweet and sour tastes, the rustic aroma of kalonji and the low heat of full red chillis. Although offered as a side in the thaali, at least for me, it was a complete and wholesome treat.
A small posh looking stall, titled Godere, also caught our eye. With a black and white theme, it offered a colourful range of foods and mocktails in its menu. Despite the fact that the wait for their Green Pesto Panini was uncomfortably long, it absolutely delivered on taste. The Panini was rich in taste, and soft to bite into, with a fulfilling quantity. The warm melted cheese pulled away in strings with each bite.
After this spread of savoury foods, we ventured towards some sweet dishes’ stalls. The Pop Bars— popsicles made from 100% fresh fruit and frozen into moulds— seemed to be a crowd favourite, with one in every other person’s hand. We tried the Pineapple Mint and Strawberry Lime, and the Raspberry and Blackberry Popsicles. Each provided a juicy fusion of fresh fruit that textured the popsicles with fruit grains and seeds, making the taste even more authentic. However, Pop Bars did not measure up to our previous experiences of having frozen fruit popsicles from other places in the city. These popsicles largely tasted of ice, and less of the fruit they were made of.
Despite this small bump, the food at Lahore Eat was worth the time and money, which hardly cost more than PKR 350 per dish. CKO management had attempted to provide other means of entertainment such as a live cooking show and a children’s singing contest. The entrance ticket was a mere PKR 300, which also provided you the chance to enjoy live music by different artists. The low ticket cost made the festival accessible to a wider cross section of people, and hence it attracted larger numbers. The musician for the second day was Bilal Khan, whose soulful voice provided the perfect closure to a rich day, only tainted by the woes of terrible traffic and impossible parking.
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