Lahore Diaries-Love at First Bite

After weeks of thinking about the the best way to introduce the best Halwa Puri in the world, I’ve come up disturbingly short.

You could say a lot of things about Kamran. You could say that he’s passionate about food.

Its killing me not to have a good descriptor, no creative one liner, no praise worthy enough.

Empty handed. Like an amateur beggar.

Welcome to Day 2 in Lahore.

It was early Friday morning. The food from Salt & Pepper Grill (see last post) digested overnight, it was time to start anew. The cousin drove, adamant to change my life one bite at a time. The destination? Capri Restaurant in Liberty Market.

Capri is one of the most popular breakfast destinations (if not the most popular breakfast destination) in Lahore. Its Halwa Puri, jaw droppingly, mind numbingly, finger lickingly delicious. The hot but not over-crisp puri is amazingly light, but with a taste that screams the weight of the dough, the skill of the shaper, the richness of the ghee. For folks dining in, the aalo bhaji is combined with cholay in your plate so your hand doesn’t have to wander far, for there is also achaar (mixed pickles) to distract your senses. And the Halwa (oh the halwa) while not overbearing, whispering sweet nothings in your mouth.

The Inspiration for the name: Capri Cinema right across the restaurant

The newspaper cut-out magically soaks up excess oil

It would be tragically unfair if Capri hogged all the limelight for I was with great company. Intellectual heavyweights such as Mosharraf Zaidi, Musharraf Ali Farooqui (who kickstarted my giddiness by handing me a signed copy of his novel “Between Clay & Dust’ right before we stepped in to Capri) and Dawn columnist Umair Javed, who suggested that I check out another famous Halwa Puri joint by the name of ‘Sadiq Sweets’ before I left Lahore (I did).

Then it was back to the hotel. The original plan was to visit Badshahi Mosque for Friday prayers but that plan was waylaid by an unexpected trip to the Chief Ministers house. I ended up praying there. Afterwards, we had a little one to one chat before we said our goodbyes.

The Chief Minister was very welcoming

The Halwa Puri had digested by now, which was great because it was time for lunch. As we pulled away from the Chief Ministers house, we decided to take a break from desi cuisine and try something American. Perhaps it had something to do with Musharraf Ali Farooqui’s ringing endorsement of a non-desi restaurant called Cosa Nostra. So thats where we ended up and had a good ol burger (doesn’t get any more American than that!) It was pretty good. So thanks Musharraf sahib.

Then it was back to the hotel again. Since Badshahi mosque was missed earlier, I decided to check it out before the planned (and much anticipated) evening reunion with my high-school friends who reside in the city. I stole my cousins driver for this short excursion.

I didn’t even bother to come up with a description for Badshahi mosque. There’s no point. There are no words that can capture the beauty, the magnificence, the sheer stature of this mosque. Even the pictures below don’t do any justice…

The entrance gate to the Mosque.

View from the archway of the entrance gate

It looks beautiful from every angle

The inside portion was surprisingly small

Front and Center

My driver took some parting shots before we left

Any Pakistani who hasn’t heard of the famous red light district (or what used to be the red light district) behind the Mosque must have lived under a rock. Perhaps up until the 70’s, that is where the famous courtesans resided-music, classical dance and even literature, part of the mix. An entire row of buildings (situated between the mosque and more shadier parts of town) that were once the playground of extra-curricular activities of commoners and nobles alike, have been converted to restaurants.

Ironically called ‘Food Street’.

Food Street is to the left of the sign. Sandwiched between the mosque and Diamond Market

I had sought out recommendations for Food St (of the culinary kind) and a vast majority of friends directed me towards Coocos Den-some for its food but most for its majestic views of the mosque. This history of Coocos is very fascinating, but is beyond the scope of this post. I encourage readers to Google it separately. The driver dropped me at the entrance and I walked up to Coocos, the very second building on the right. I was guided to the stairs leading to the rooftop. The waiter waiting there was a bit disappointed to see a party of ‘one’. I asked for a cup of chai (his disappointment level increased) and to be seated at the best possible location for photos. The latter request wasn’t a problem as it was early evening and it wasn’t crowded. He did ask me if I was sure if I just wanted tea. I said yes. He asked again, Milk Tea? I smiled and nodded. He vanished for 20 minutes. I helped myself to the table by the balcony and then my jaw dropped. If anything, my friends had understated the view.

Walking up to Coocos

This view is etched in to the furthest recesses of my memory.

View sans balcony

Doesn’t the wood speak volumes?

I thought this was a pretty unique water fountain

Making my way down a narrow circular stairwell with an old Lahori door to greet me at every level. Wonder what these rooms were used for?

Lights were on by the time I left.

Food Street entrance. Mosque is to the left. The Foot St sign that I posted earlier is to the right.

Then it was back to the hotel for the (sorry I lost count) time. After a brief freshening up, my two high-school friends showed up. We spent an hour chatting at the hotel and debated where to head for dinner. They convinced me to go back to Food Street, but to a different restaurant called Fort View. According to them, the food was markedly better than Coocos and that I would also get to the enjoy the night time view of the Mosque. Who was I to argue?

I wonder how many people actually opt to stay at the hotel?

View 1

View 2

View 3

There’s a reason why they call the bread Badshah (King) Naan

For the second time this day, I was in the midst of great food and even greater company. We topped dinner with Gulaab Jamans and Kashmiri Chai, walked around for a bit to digest our food while planning our sightseeing and culinary tour for the upcoming day.

Actually, the next day was so epic, that I posted a teaser blog on Facebook the day after it was done. That was roughly nine months ago. Shit, I gotta look that up now.

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Originally published at khashmi.wordpress.com on August 5, 2015.