By We gave you our favourite picks from this year’s Karachi Eat and went to test them out for ourselves. We sampled the good, the bad, and the ugly! There was a little of everything. The internationally famed cronut made its debut at the Hobnob stall and blew us out of the water. On the other hand, simpler fare like the malai boti roll from Truck Adda left us wanting for more. We took some hits to clear through the fog for you. If you want to know which food is actually worth spending your money on, scroll down to see the must-have items we tried. The best part? You can feast on all of them in under a thousand rupees!
The Social Hub
Gol Gappay Shots
The Damage: 200 rupees
Value For Money: 4 / 5 stars
Overall Satisfaction: 3 / 5 stars
This platter of six gol gappay was a super fun twist on an old eastern classic. It’s great value for money depending on how many people are sampling it — three Mashion staffers ate these, meaning they could each sample two. If your group is larger at six people, everyone will still get to split the cost and try one shot. It had all the right flavours, but beyond being served in a cool new way, failed to radically alter our perception of the traditional gol gappa. Having said that, it more than compensated by becoming enviable content for the best Instagram-worthy pictures and boomerangs!
Awesamosas
Doritos Chaat
The Damage: 300 rupees
Value For Money: 4 / 5 stars
Overall Satisfaction: 5 / 5 stars
This was a wholly unexpected east meets west fusion. The unique combination of sev puri and crushed Doritos were brought together with salsa and sour cream instead of the traditional yoghurt and imli. It became an instant favourite. The value for money here is very subjective. It’s perfect for two people to share, or more people to sample a bite of. Depending on the size of your group, you might have to go back for seconds. Having said that, the Mashion team were immediate converts. We highly recommend!
Hobnob
Cronut
The Damage: 200 rupees
Value For Money: 3 / 4 stars
Overall Satisfaction: 4 / 5 stars
Cronuts are a cross between croissants and doughnuts — you get all the buttery layers of a croissant, married with the sweet, doughiness of a classic doughnut. This dessert has been making waves abroad for years, but it’s a hard task perfecting them. Hobnobs stab at it was successful, in our humble opinion. It embodied the spirit of Karachi Eat: bringing us something new and experimental, but completely delicious. In terms of size, it’s perfect for one person to enjoy. Two people could share it, but beyond that, you might have to buy a second for everyone to comfortably sample it.
Pantry
Spiced Chicken And Pancakes
The Damage: 300 rupees
Value For Money: 4 / 5 stars
Overall Satisfaction: 3 / 5 stars
This was the kind of experimental food we went in hoping to try. It isn’t easy pairing up a traditionally savoury food with a sweet one. It’s all about balance and cohesion — it has to make sense. We’re used to chicken and waffles, but the idea of chicken and pancakes was just new enough to entice us. The pancakes were smooth and fluffy. The chicken, on the other hand, was on the saltier side, which didn’t strike the right note against the muted sweetness of the pancakes it was sandwiched between. This was a pretty filling serving size — we’d say two to three people could easily share it.
There you have it! A break down of how to spend a thousand rupees at Karachi Eat the right way — without any tears or regrets. It’s all about opening up to new concepts and flavours!
The Ones That Didn’t Make The Cut
Hobnob
Customised Eclair
The Damage: 100 rupees
Value For Money: 4 / 5 stars
Overall Satisfaction: 3 / 5 stars
We opted for a milk chocolate, cream filled eclair. There was a variety of toppings and every customer can pick up to three, so we chose sliced almonds, butterscotch toffee bits, and shredded coconut. The size was decent for an average eclair, but the flavours failed to wow most of us. Not bad, but not great either.
Awesamosas
3 Samosas
The Damage: 250 rupees
Value For Money: 4 / 5 stars
Overall Satisfaction: 4 / 5 stars
Awesamosas kicked up the fusion with samosas stuffed with unexpected fillings. We bought a dam qeema, pizza, and Reeses samosa. Tragically, the Reeses samosa left us too soon — it literally fell off the plate onto the ground. If the other two samosas were any indication though, it would’ve been fantastic. The samosas were filed to the brim and perfectly crisp, giving us that satisfying crunch with every bite.
Sweet Greens
Red Chili Tacos
The Damage: 250 rupees
Value For Money: 3.5 / 5 stars
Overall Satisfaction: 3.5 / 5 stars
Tacos are all the rage but this one didn’t quite hit the spot. It’s not easy to get the hard shell right but beyond that, we felt there was too much going on with no real kick.
Truck Adda
Malai Boti Roll
The Damage: 150 rupees
Value For Money: 4 / 5 stars
Overall Satisfaction: 3 / 5 stars
The neon sign and live barbecue in front of this stall beckoned us in — the strong aroma of spices and cooked meat were irresistible! We chose the malai boti roll to try, which is a certified classic. The usual spicy chatni was swapped out for a mayo raita, which gave the roll a sweeter taste. While some people might enjoy this, it wasn’t really our cup of tea.
Sol
Butterbeer
The Damage: 250 rupees
Value For Money: 2 / 5 stars
Overall Satisfaction: 1 / 5 stars
This was the real tragedy of the night. Our fantasies of drinking this famous beverage from Harry Potter on a cold winter night, were dashed not too long after purchase. The opinion was unanimous: we hated it. The drink was thick like maple syrup at first, with a heady, dizzyingly overpowering scent of butter and sugar emanating from it. Beyond that thick first sip came a lighter consistency, which can only be compared to root beer. The drink itself was big and had we liked it, would’ve ben great value for money — alas, it ended up being a giant waste. Sol also wasn’t prepared with their fried chicken, which we were excited to try. Here’s to hoping they iron out these kinks on day 2 and 3!
Burger Bros
Flamin’ Chic Magnet
The Damage: 250 rupees
Value For Money: 4 / 5 stars
Overall Satisfaction: 4 / 5 stars
You’re going to have to wait an eternity to get your order placed at this stall but it’s worth the wait, particularly if you’re into Flamin Hot Cheetos. The burger consists of a juicy thigh fillet coated in Flaming Hot Cheetos, resting on a bed of lettuce and topped with jalapeño cheese sauce with extra jalapeños for that unforgettable zing! Not to mention, all sliders come in butter-fried potato buns.
No Lies Fries
Canadian Poutine With Fried Chicken
The Damage: 300 rupees
Value For Money: 4 / 5 stars
Overall Satisfaction: 4 / 5 stars
The queue here was longest, which made sense given how good these fries were. Traditional poutine is a which gravy which coats all the fries, and melts all the cheese curds. The elements were present here, but the actual gravy wasn’t enough to cover all the fries, and settled at the bottom. It also wasn’t hot enough to melt the cheese curds. Having said that, it was still delicious. Perhaps not the most authentic reincarnation of Poutine, but they still made for a delicious version of ‘loaded fries.’ The quantity was perfect, and we were all happy campers.
Peshawari Chapli Hut
Chapli Kebab
The Damage: 200 rupees
Value For Money: 4 / 5 stars
Overall Satisfaction: 4 / 5 stars
This kebab was everything it should have been — big, greasy, and perfectly spiced. We couldn’t get enough of it! At 200 rupees it was also practically a full meal, and easily could’ve filled up a single person. There were no complaints from our side with this one — it wasn’t experimental, or new, but sometimes all you need is a good classic cooked well, with no frills or fuss.
What do you think?
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