Posh Restaurants v Scruffy Cafes

[Mr Xtreme]

Which do you prefer? OK, I admit I haven't been to many posh restaurants...the snootiest was probably in Pakistan, a swanky place called the Saloos in Lahore where the waiters were dressed in what looked like navy uniforms. It was empty.

Another place was a local Italian which is supposed to be upmarket which was packed full but the food cost a bomb.

I have to admit, I like eating in the cheapo places. On the way back from a world cup match at Headingley, I went to some dive in Leeds with three pals and the cost came to £13.00 total which was fantastic value. And the guys that ran the place came and sat round to have a chin-wag as it was quiet. I always like these places where the chefs are wearing their civvies with with scruffy aprons and scraggy moustaches.

Reminds me of a place called lahore Kebeb House in Brick Lane where I went with my dad as a kid. The water was served in dirty jugs with grubby fingerprints on them and there were cockroaches on the wall. But the food was fantastic. It's now one of the most highly regarded eating places in England. The big City boys all go there for their business lunches. I think the cockroaches moved out.

What's the poshest/scruffiest restaurant you've been to? And if you are a desi girl, how come you always order rice dishes so you won't have to eat with your hands like you do at home?

[X_Communist]

well, on my last visit to pak, i went with my cuzs to one of those 'thela' burger houses along the side of the roads....my bro loves those....i personally would prefer a home cooked meal

now as i was saying, so we go to this cheapo thing and its all fine until i just happen to turn my cranium sideways and see the guy cooking , sneeze all over the burgers....ugh...and no i didnt vomit or anything but i also didnt eat those burgers...

the best one that i probably liked was also a cheapo but well-groomed.......its the airport restaurant that opens after midnight....went there every night! it was teh best....its the old airport that was closed after the new one was built....

hmm..what else...aah, yes,,,being a desi girl, i dont fit in the rice category..ya happy now?....i order whatever looks good at teh moment......and yes, i will eat with my hands if req'd with no shame...does that really escalate your spirits ? i sure hope so....




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It's not how fast you were GOING, It's how fast you STOPPED!

[Anchal]

Ok got a long list

The Poshest of em all was this seafood restuarant at Darling Harbour

they have these tables set right by the harbour and light music and fairy lights waghera ....
and you just sit there talking and hearing the sound of the waves as they hit the harbour, and look far at the cat ferries, and yachts, and boats passing by ...
and if its raining they cover the whole area up with their 'plastic tents' thingies (dunno what they are called) and you dont get wet and still enjoy the harbour
The food was excellent, ofcourse all seafood and stuff
and the service was great too, friendly staff and coffee was on the house ...I ordered tea

K in Pakistan a couple of em
There is this Kublai Khan at Clifton
It was superb when it opened but now its 'so so'
but again food is excellent and so is their view of the beach ....kinda smelly though cause clifton beach stinks
eating inside was ok

Then there was Larosh (I think) ...
I liked the atmosphere ...all in the open, enjoy the breeze
but the best of the best was their ghazal program ...these guyz sit there and you can request to hear a ghazal of your choice and its fun

Avari stinks ....seriously

Cheapest is this place at Tariq Road
very cheap (in price and in gathering too) but the food is excellent and their kulfi faluda is the best

Cheapest in Aus ...NONE bloody aussies http://www3.pak.org/gupshup/smilies/hehe.gif

[NYAhmadiX]

Like Xtreme, my favorite places to eat are also modest, and mostly small local places. In Lahore there are plenty of such little places. I don’t think that there is any correlation between the price one pays and the quality of food one gets. If anything, I think there is a reverse (or negative) correlation – the cheaper the food, the tastier it is. One can easily feed a family of 6 for the price one will pay for a single person at a ritzy restaurant.

I have been to a few upscale restaurants and they totally suck – big time. They give you a salad with 6 leaves of spinach with a little dressing, and for Entrée you get a small piece of meat (looks like either half of a sick fish, a small chicken piece, or three pieces of beef) and then stupid decoration all around the food. What the hell kinda meal is that? I want my Chicken KaRahi with loads of Ginger, Onions, and lots of spices.

I don’t care for dessert much. I just want a filling satisfying tasty meal with lots of onion and wedges of lemon.

New York has some superb desi places to eat. The price is reasonable and the quality is pretty much the same (may be a notch lower) as the one you find in Lahore.

[who---me]

Avari stinks ....seriously

Agree.....Have been to khi a few times....Had to stay in Avari once for 15 days......Ate there just once......Though their japanese is good.....whats it called..."Fujiyama"??

Lahore is a pretty good all around......

Gino's...They make best Pizza anywhere in the world....

But its places like Muhamdi Nihari http://www3.pak.org/gupshup/smilies/crying.gif and the likes which take the top spot

[Mr Xtreme]

X-communist >>those 'thela' burger houses along the side of the roads....my bro loves those....

Your bro and me both..flies and pollution i can handle, but sneeze contents would probably put me off as well.

>> and yes, i will eat with my hands if req'd with no shame...

yeah, right

you must be one in a million. but if it's true (if) then yes my spirits are soaring like an eagle

Anchal,

Seafoods one of my favourites as well, but I think you get a better variety in Aus. That place in Darling Harbour sounds fantastic. I don't think there's anything compares here but if there is, will have to try it. What's the wierdest Aussie seafood? Shark? Crocs? Shock us with something really exotic http://www3.pak.org/gupshup/smilies/hehe.gif

[X_Communist]

well...your spirits should be flying...ahem..i mean..soaring right about now...

[Aleezay]

I like to eat desi style.. but it doesn't matter where i eat.. like it can b either a casual place or a posh one... m comfortable with both.. but cheapo places r more fun .. n r not stuck up like most of the high up places r...!!

n yeah i prefer rice.. but that doesn't mean i don't like eatin with my hands.. i do use em as much as i can... .. i just like rice better then roti !

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~* There's one in every crowd and they always find me. *~

[Anchal]

Something shocking hmmm

dunno bout seafood its basically the same
but very good quality
you should see the size of prawns

Other then that my fav are calamari rings and seafood sticks
octopus is Ok if you kinda ignore the eight legs and stuff and so are the mussels ...just pretend you are eating 'kufli outta mitti ka payala'

Bout Sharks stay away from them
shark meat is so awful and it stinks
yuck ..it has this stingy yuck taste to it
and no matter how many wedges of lemon you squeeze or how much tartar sauce you pour it still tastes yucky
I just had it once and left the whole meal after the first bite

Kangroos taste awesome
Ok this is gonna sound very weird but I have this abo friend right living right next to our place
And she is into bush tucker
She goes to these trees and sticks out all the worms (dunno their name but they are fat ones)
then she fries them on the BBQ and like they eat them just like that
no cleaning no nothing
then the other day she was making a Goana Stew ..and it smelled awful
dunno where she got the goana from though

But Kangroo meat is the best
havent tried any Crocs yethttp://www3.pak.org/gupshup/smilies/hehe.gif

I might who knows

[Anchal]

Speaking of kangaroos

We were visiting this wildlife park
The animals arent caged or anything
they just roam around and mingle with the visitors

So we reach this place that had the kangaroos
So the tour stopped and this Uncle jumped out with his bag of eatables and rushed to feed the kangaroos

So four of the Roos came over and he started feeding them
he would start at the first Roo, hand it a piece of bread and then to the second and the third and the fourth

The first Roo gulped down its bread real fast and wanted more and had its hand stretched out while uncle was still feeding the fourth Roo

So uncle hands it a piece of bread and then moves onto the other Roos
The first Roo again gupled down its bread real fast and stretched out its hand for more
Now uncle was busy feeding the fourth Roo

The first one got mad, I think, cause he slapped the uncle read hard on the facehttp://www3.pak.org/gupshup/smilies/hehe.gif
Uncle was Stunned, his glasses fell off and he ran for his life
The Roo ran after him and slapped him a couple of more times until he got bored with it

Poor uncle had to be taken to the hospital for stitches ...

[Mr Xtreme]

NYA,

I guess only real natives like you and Roman would have the right info about Lahore. I know a few places in Sahiwal where the decor is mainly peeling paint and chipped tables. But the atmosphere is good and the food is more than good. If there's a posh restaurant in sahiwal, I don't know about it...but it's been a while since I went back so who knows?

I think Bradford is the best place in England if you want to get the authentic cheapo experience. Cheap, tasty food. Scruffy chefs and waiters and a place where you can just chill. There are some really nice restaurants as well, but the food doesn't taste much different to be honest.

Aleezay, most girls eat rotis at home, but when they eat out with other guys around they always order rice and then sit there daintily tapping away at their food with a fork. Still, I guess getting paalak smeared on their nail polish must be a concern..

My guess is, if there wasn't any women in the world, there wouldn't be any posh restaurants either.

Anchal, I was expecting something a bit xtraordinairy from the outback. prawns and fishsticks are common here as well. No Kangaroos though. About the oversize prawns, a friend bought a barbecued one the size of a fist in harrods. Where the hell it came from of I've no idea. It was probably a genetic mutant.

[Rani]

I like eating at a place that is clean and the food is good. Cleaniness is very important to me, I cannot enjoy food in a crummy place...if a small way side restuarant is clean i have no problem visiting it..i will have big problem with dirty jugs or glasses etc. I will be more comfortable with wayside dhaba with fresh bread coming out of tandoor and served on patal (plate made of leaves) or take out, then sitting in coakroach infested place..a big no..no

[2bornot2b]

My favourite cheapest place is the tehla wala in Lalookhet,Liaqatabad (near dakh khana). He sells the best chohlay and dahi badai....

However, my two favourite places which do great seafoof are:
'Beetlenut' - in Union St, San Francisco. The other is 'Romario's Macaroni Grill' - in Milpitas (about 45 miles south of San Francisco).

[DeSiMuNdA]

i think there's this one place on GT road on the way from Lhr to Islmbd..."Mian Ji di Daal" or something (@ a lorry adda)...BEST daal i ever tasted anywhere

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~** It is difficult to say what is impossible, for the dream of yesterday is the hope of today and the reality of tomorrow... **~

[khawateen]

thela walay rock! especially in karachi....whenever i could sneak away from my grandfather's focus......me and the rest of the clan used to run for it.....or the food used to be sneaked in...the best thelay wala i remember was this old afghani chacha that used to sell all kinds of chinese soups...and trust me..it was better than any soup i have ever eaten in all those glity shilitzy places..i mean it was just.....
hey! what's wrong with u man! patha nahin ke rozay hai sabkay......http://www3.pak.org/gupshup/smilies/hehe.gif