The Lahore-Islamabad Motorway or the M2 is a preferred and safer route for commuters who want a hassle-free drive between the two cities. Traffic rules are strictly implemented -- senior bureaucrats, politicians, celebrities and other influentials get challan-ed for overspeeding or other violations, and the news appears regularly in the media.

But, taking this route comes with its share of drawbacks. For one, it is around 100 kilometres longer than the old G.T. Road stretch between Lahore and Islamabad. There are several other deterrents too. The monotonous landscape is largely uninteresting and makes drivers sleepy, the Salt Range stretch is too steep causing vehicles to heat up, and the toll rate too high which keeps getting revised upwards. While the first three issues are mostly structural and cannot be fixed, the increase in toll is justified on grounds that the motorway is not generating enough revenue.

Another trade-off of travelling on the M2 is the unavailability of quality and affordable food options. Frequent commuters complain of expensive and substandard food and limited options available at service areas. International chains on the M2, which generally enjoy a higher degree of trust, do not cater to everyone’s tastes.

On the G.T. Road, the situation is entirely different: One can pull up at any popular eatery and eat to one’s heart’s content.

Here’s good news for M2 travellers. Several popular local restaurants have opened their outlets close to exits. Billboards carrying names of Ziarat Namkeen Hotel Pindi Bhattian and New Quetta Sitara Namkeen Hotel direct foodies to their outlets. Travellers can now exit from any of the interchanges, have delicious and affordable food there, and get back on the motorway.

"I exit from Pindi Bhattian Interchange and take Bhalwal Road to reach any one of the two Baloch hotels situated at a close distance. It takes hardly five minutes to get there," says Mazhar Iqbal, a regular commuter.

These restaurants can be identified from a distance because they are surrounded by scores of trucks parked in different alignments.

Iqbal’s favourite motorway dish is Mutton Rosh which comprises a mutton joint dipped in clear broth and served with complimentary daal (lentil) and a side of mixed vegetable curry. Another temptation for him and the truck drivers is the availability of karak chai (strong tea) to which the teabag tea offered at M2 service areas is no match.

Similarly, Shehryar Restaurant, located on Talagang Road near Balkassar Interchange offers mouthwatering barbeque and curries. This spot suits those people whose destination or starting point is Peshawar or a city beyond that. For them it falls half way and a convenient resting area. On the other hand, people travelling from Lahore to Islamabad prefer not to stop here as this is quite close to their destination.

"I exit from the Salam Interchange and take Bhalwal Road to reach Skyways Hotel," Zahid Chaudhry tells TNS. He is a trader who travels between Islamabad and Lahore frequently. This restaurant, he says, was constructed soon after M2 was inaugurated because the service areas were under the control of Daewoo and they did not want competition.

Sometimes Chaudhry takes the Kallar Kahar exit and stops at the restaurant set up by the Tourism Development Corporation Punjab (TDCP) amid hills. A lot of people stop here for food and views of the lake from the top.

Of late, the area near Salam Interchange has become home to different restaurants -- many of which had the popular Jhal Chakian ki Daal on their menu. Jhal Chakian is around 15 kilometres from Sargodha and it would take people an hour or so to reach there. To facilitate M2 travellers and tap into this market, outlets have been set up right next to the interchange. This daal is a mixture of different lentils, cooked in desi ghee and served with parathas and pickles.

Muhammad Ali, an attendant at a barbeque point on M2, defends his business and says that the tenants charge exorbitant rent. "This leaves us with little or no profit".

He points out that due to the low customer turnout, it takes them time to cook fresh food. "Customers don’t like this as they are pressed for time, and so they walk away with fast food."

Chaudhry says the M2 management does not allow advertisements of their food joints on the way so people come to know about these joints through word-of-mouth. In the past, people used to take exit from the M2 and search for CNG stations in the adjoining cities and discovering these restaurants came as a pleasant surprise.