Back to the Motherland: Pakistan

Eid Fit!

After almost 5 years, I got the chance to visit the motherland once again and it was such an amazing adventure. I touched down in the city where my mother grew up in, Lahore, Pakistan, on August 12th 2019. Any family I have left in Pakistan are based in Lahore and the Maliks have been in Lahore since 1910! I actually got the chance to see the house that my great grandfather was born in and then generations after him were too (like my mom!). I was there for two weeks but it was so action-packed and fun-filled that it flew by! It was actually so crazy that I landed at 4 am on Eid-Al Adha, stayed up until the Qurbani (the ritual animal sacrifice of a livestock animal during Eid al-Adha), took a quick nap and then BEATED my face, put on THIS killer outfit from Maria B. and had such a fun Eid. There really is such a difference in spending Eid in Muslim country. It was a really enriching experience to see the Qurbani first hand right in front of the house. It was so fun to have so much family around for the holiday and the whole city was quiet for a 3 day holiday! Then Independence Day was right after and the festivities never stopped.

Pakistan Independence Day!

Overall, this trip reminded me of my roots, to appreciate the culture more but also reminded me of how lucky I am to have what I have. It was difficult for me to find a way to break up this blog as it wasn’t a typical trip of mine where I made an itinerary, did research of where to go and found ways to really explore the city; my family over there planned everything and really did the most for us- shoutout to them, love you guys so much! Anyways, I decided to break this up into 2 sections: Food and things to do. If you ever find yourself in Lahore, I totally recommend all these places! So let’s dive in.

Food:

First off, I must have gained a bajillion pounds on this trip because my family kept feeding me and taking me out to eat at the best restaurants in Lahore. I seriously recommend each one of these restaurants. I mean Lahore has some of the best food I’ve ever had, you really can’t go wrong, but these are some of the top restaurants in the city.

  • Yum: Starting off with my favorite restaurant, Yum! It has the best Chinese food I’ve ever had. The level of spice is so perfect, the fish crackers taste amazing with the hot and sour soup and honestly you can’t go wrong with any dish you choose. 
  • Cosa Nostra: Cosa Nostra has an amazing comfort food menu. From pizzas to burgers to pasta, it has so much good mood food. I believe their funghi burger is definitely the best burger in Lahore and I crave one so badly as I write this. The service here was also impeccable, our waitress was there for everything we needed. Cosa Nostra also has a lot of different drinks and desserts.
  • English Tea House: I went to breakfast here, and it was so cute. The eggs benedict was the best I had ever had, and the turkey bacon on it was so so so good. I am now also craving this. 
  • Bundu Khan: If you want the best desi barbeque in Lahore, you have to go to Bundu Khan! The presentation alone made my mouth drool and the taste was so crisp. To top it off, their gulab jaman was one of the softest I ever had. This place is a must stop!
  • La Atrium: Came here for brunch, it was buffet style. It is another very classy place but so many different food options that varied in cuisine made it a little overwhelming! But the aesthetic is really nice and if you go, go for high tea time instead.
  • The Poet: This restaurant is pretty new and I was super impressed by it. The cuisine is Desi and while the food was really good, the charm of the restaurant came from its location and service. You get a free professional photo taken of you, a free ride to and from Minar-e-Pakistan and it’s right by these fountains that dance like the ones in Dubai. It’s such a fun time.
  • Monal: Rooftop restaurant!! You know your girl can’t resist a rooftop restaurant. This was a buffet style restaurant that had some Chinese food, some italian food and other cuisines mixed (Lahore seems to love mixing cuisines). Again, the food was so so good.
  • The Pantry: This restaurant is located in Packages Mall, so if you find yourself there- definitely head over. Burgers, pizzas, and pasta, I mean what else do you need?
  • Awesamosa: This was one of my favorites! It’s a more South Indian cuisine style restaurant that has such different yet unique but super tasty samosas. I had some butter chicken samosas and wow where they AWESOME. Okay, I’m now craving these too. 
  • Nandos: Yes, there is a Nandos in Lahore and it was really good!
  • KFC: Y’all, the KFC in Lahore hit different, please do yourself a favor and have a Zinger Burger there. 
  • Gloria Jeans Coffee: Gloria Jeans has become super popular in Lahore and after having their coffee I can see why. They also have amazing desserts.
  • The Hot Spot: BEST DESSERT PLACE!
  • Shezan: Shezan is like high tea central for Lahore. You get all the pastries and high tea snacks you need. It’s a place where you pick up food and take home to eat. You can’t go wrong with any of the food but my favorite since I was a kid, are the beef patties. A MUST!
  • Cafe Aylanto: Last but certainly not least, is “the nobu of Lahore” as my dear aunt put it, Cafe Aylanto. I was super fortunate that my parents threw me a surprise dinner party here. It’s like a typical fancy smancy restaurant that while is rather expensive, the food is worth the money. I felt like I was Blair Waldorf sitting in the hottest restaurant of New York. Lahore’s elite was here but when you come from the US, you are the elite.

I promise you, any restaurant you go to in Lahore will have really amazing food. Going to high tea is also a really popular thing to do, so for the full experience go to one! I miss all the food. 

Things to do:

If you are looking to see “old” Lahore, take a tour of the Androon Sher/Walled City! It was so enjoyable. We went from Masjid Wazir Khan to the streets of the city to Badshahi Masjid to Lahore Fort. Our tour guide was so helpful, spoke good English and Urdu and we got to ride in a rickshaw. My family is located in more of the suburbs of Lahore, so it was such an awakening experience to see what Lahore used to be and where my mom grew up. You feel the energy of the streets with every step, kids running around with no care in the world and they aren’t afraid of anything, people bargaining for the best prices and the smell of street food going through your nostrils. You know the marketplace in Aladdin? Well that is almost exactly what it is like. I had a lot of fun seeing that part of Lahore and I think you would too.

Also, the new malls in Lahore are so beautiful and you need to go: Packages Mall and Emporium Mall. Also, side note, if you are looking for some stylish Pakistani clothes some of my favorite designers are Maria B, Sobia Nazir, Elan, Zaha and Sapphire. I love these stores and they really do have such different things for you to choose from. Recently Sapphire has been a real favorite of mine. Shopping in Lahore is so much fun especially when you don’t go to big brand name places. I can’t bargain for the life of me, but watching my grandma do it is such a rush. 

The charm about Lahore is that the city is very active later in the day like after noon and is alive until like 3-4 in the morning. So just go out any chance you get, the coffee shops are so lively, the shopping never ends and the people are so fun. I miss the vibes.
More Pics:
I just took so many pics so here’s another photo section.

This blog post was long over due but with school starting back up again in September, I got so busy and lost track of time. I have some stuff planned though for the next couple of weeks so stay tuned!! This may include Rolling Loud things, Halloween fun and Fall festivities. Subscribe below if you haven’t already so you don’t miss a thing. I might also make a vlog of Pakistan who knows?! Thank you to all coming back and reading. Much love to you all.

-TRR

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