“One who has not seen Lahore shall consider himself to be not born yet” – this is the mantra which is whispered in the ear of every Punjabi child since birth. This must have made you wonder “Why? What makes Lahore Lahore?” Well, this city is the representation of our true roots. It is a matter of pride for us. It is teemed with rich cultural heritage sites. Its streets are always filled with aromas of spices. Zeal and unbeatable love for food is what makes Lahoris the “Zinda Dilan e Lahore”. But wait a second, Multan, the city of Sufism which is notable for Shohan-Halwa as well, is not any less. In the morning, the smell of Parathas being cooked in Desi Ghee is unbeatable. It can even make a Lahori fall in love with Multan.

The whole food enthusiasm doubles its way through Ramazan, not just in Lahore or Multan but across the country. The whole year round, we wait for the holy month as it not only purifies us but brings the family members close. Out of 365 days of the year, only in the 30 days of Ramazan, there are no ifs and buts coming from anyone when its time to sit together, prepare and share our Sehri and Iftaari meals. Speaking of Sehri meals, this Ramazan for Sehri we decided to go out and have something Lahori in Multan. We opted Lahori Chatkharah – the place where Lahore’s “Josh” and Multan’s exquisiteness come together. While how they serve in the Thalis (platter) doubles the charm of dining in.

Sehri deals: Talking about its Sehri deals, they serve platters. Their prices are quite reasonable and stand between 300-450. This is usually the price of their Thali in the normal days as well. They serve Sehri between 12:00 am to 3:30 am.

What we had: As soon as we entered the restaurant, we felt as if we were standing at the Lakshmi Chowk, Lahore. It made us feel at home. Though they have an option of the English breakfast as well, we decided to go with desi. We ordered channay, qeema, kabab, halwa, aloo paratha, achari paratha, dahi, omelette, lassi and chai.

  

We were in awe at the sight of our platters. Everything was so traditional. We absolutely loved how they served “Shakkar”. Let me tell you that not even local dhabas in Multan provide anything like “Shakkar”. Only Lahori Chatkarah provide food-lovers with the ultimate love in the form of “Shakkar”. After coming out of the whole Shakkar excitement, I came to see Halwa, Yogurt, Channa curry, omelette, Kabab, daal etc. on the table as well. Let me just say that we loved everything. However, we were a bit disappointed with the Parathas. They were not up to the mark and were a little dry. They need to work on that. Had there been “lachaay dar paratha” on the platters, their deals would have been more perfect.

Rating:-  Overall, we will give their Sehri deals 4/5. One mark is deducted owing to the parathas and the absence of the Makhan (butter).

A girl whose first and last love is food. She is on a mission to taste each and everything edible around her.