RAWALPINDI: The lanes of Kartarpura, Shamsabad and Saddar have over the years developed into food streets of sorts and that too, with their separate specialities. The many shops in the first street serve more traditional foods including nihari, siri paya and halwa puri, the second is crowded with shops specialising in meat dishes from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan and the third is famous for its chat, desi burgers and gol guppay.

Though the ‘food streets’ in Shamsabad and Saddar were established by the civic bodies of the city and cantonment areas, the shops in these streets sprung up haphazardly, much like the very unplanned food street in Kartarpura.

Kashmiri Bazaar and Bhabara Bazaar also have many shops and vendors selling traditional foods, but these shops are nestled in between shops of clothes, utensils and goldsmiths and are not situated next to one another.

From Murree Road to Banni Chowk, the main street of Kartarpura is lined with shops offering traditional foods from the sub-continent from nihari to chickpeas, naan to parathas and barbequed meat to fried fish and is full of people from morning to late at night.

“There used to be just two or three shops offering traditional foods and over the years, more and more shops opened in the area so that the street has become a food street now,” said Mohammad Shahid, the owner of a restaurant in the market.

He said the area was popular for traditional foods and that it is convenient for visitors to the city as they can find all desi dishes in one place.

“I also prefer to come to Kartarpura because you can find all the items of a traditional breakfast including nihari, siri paya, lassi and other milk-based drinks. They also have paratha, naan cholay and naan stuffed with chicken, meat or potatoes,” said Naeem Ahmed, a resident of Chaklala Scheme-III.

He said most people come to the street for Sunday brunch because of the many options available.

“My brother does not like nihari and he likes having halwa puri or chicken stuffed naan instead while the rest of the family likes nihari. We come to this street so we do not have to compromise,” he said.

The Shamsabad food street near the Cricket Stadium is popular for its meat dishes and one can find meat-based food from around the country in one place. Most visitors to the Nawaz Sharif Public Park and the Rawalpindi Art Council make a stop at this street as well.

“There are so many options here in this street. From Afghan pulao to patta tikka to seekh kababs, you can find everything here. I come here with my colleagues and friends,” said Antiqueur Rehman, an employee of a private firm who was having lunch with his colleagues. He said most office parties are held in this food street in the afternoons.

“This area is easily accessible and is convenient as people want to avoid the traffic in the downtown areas of the city,” he said.

The food street in Saddar is more popular for desi snacks. This lane on Bank Road is a must-stop for visitors to the main bazaar after they shop for ready-made clothes, shoes and accessories.

The many shops and road side vendors offer channa chat, dahi bhalay, burgers, shawarmas, paratha rolls, coffee, tea, juices and roast chicken among other things. The bakery on the food street offers one of the best pizzas and ice-creams and the two old shops of chapli kabab and BBQ near the Ciros Cinema have been local favourites for a long time.

“This street is my favourite stop while shopping. You can find all kinds of burgers in Saddar. Some years ago, orange and carrot juice shops, Kashmiri tea and gajjar ka halwa at Hatti Chowk were the main attraction. Slowly, people started to make lobia, channa, chat, dahi bhalay and paratha rolls,” said Shahmir Malik, who was sitting on one of the many roadside chairs on the food street, waiting for his pizza from the local bakery.

Published in Dawn, December 4th, 2017