The Pakistani way!

festival

Doesn’t the aroma of freshly prepared delicious food just tantalize your taste buds? All you want to do is just devour those dishes. And what better way to enjoy food then to attend food festivals that are held time and again in various restaurants! To put it in simpler words, food festivals are a platform to cheer and enjoy food; and celebrate the diverse tastes and cuisines of a particular area.

The origin of food festivals can be traced back to thousands of years celebrating the harvest time. However, in the recent times many food festivals are mainly organized throughout the world to celebrate diverse cultures and its cuisines.

Wondering why we are talking about food festivals? Well, in the bid to celebrate Independence Day and the special cuisines that our provinces have to offer, some restaurants recently organized food festivals. Read on to find out more about the two festivals that were celebrated...

The cultural touch:

We all know that recently the Pakistan Food Festival was celebrated from 8th till 21st of August 2016 at the Asia Live Restaurant, Avari Towers Hotel, Karachi. The festival was all about the taste of history, heritage and heavenly food. In accordance with Independence Day, the whole restaurant was decorated with a classical Provincial-theme. The ambiance of the restaurant seemed to revive history and the huge variety of delicious foods, bringing the charm of provincial taste of customary cuisines was, of course, the highlight for all the foodies of Karachi. Not only this, there was a stunning display of artworks by folk artists, sufi mystic medleys, and hand-made jewellery as well. The live music being played by a local artist made the whole atmosphere lively and energetic. She was singing traditional songs from all the provinces and it was surely a treat!

Now coming back to the mouthwatering food that they had to offer! There were local dishes representing all the four provinces of our country that were being served in the buffet as part of the Pakistan Food Festival. The four live stations were preparing over 40 ethnic dishes right in front of the guests who were there to enjoy the different local specialties from our provinces. The four live stations represented Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) and Balochistan. The lip smacking dishes from each of the provinces that were out of this world included Makai di roti tey sarson da saag, makhan laga k from Punjab; Sindh’s famous Harisa and Shab Daig; Dumpukht  gosht from KPK; Baloch lamb leg, Batair (quail) tikka, and barbeque from Balochistan.

Delight for foodies:

Another hotel that celebrated Independence Day by organizing a week-long festival ‘Taste of Pakistan’ was none other than Mövenpick Hotel, Karachi. It was organized in one of the theme restaurant ‘The Pakistani’ to celebrate the Pakistani heritage and cuisine. The festival started on 6th August and continued till 14th of August.

The restaurant provided an ambiance showing the historic monuments and culture of Pakistan to make the guests feel the true essence of the country. The menu was specially prepared keeping in mind the four provinces of Pakistan - highlighting the provincial dishes such as Jhinga Masala, Bonnair Peer Machli, Mingora Daal and Makhan Tay Choozay to name a few.

It was definitely worth a visit to explore the authentic local flavours. The cosy environment, coupled with exquisite local specialties and live musical entertainment, was designed to provide the guests a relaxed ambiance. Guests experienced the transformation of ordinary staple food into signature gourmet dishes by the expert Chef Munir, mastering the skills of bringing out local flavours through generous use of spices and herbs.

All in all, both the food festivals were a success as the ambiance and food were absolutely amazing!