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Is Lahore the food capital of the Earth?

babajee

babajee

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Was having this debate with a couple of friends. Some of them said Dubai, others said Karachi :afridi

What do you guys think?
 
Biryani ke naam pe pulao khila kay food capital



Wait a minute I can't breathe from all that laughter :))) :))) :)))
 
Biryani, Haleem, Nihari

If Lahoris can cook these three dishes better thn Karachi walas thn maybe...
 
Has to be London.

You can get any type of food from around the world and with more choice than any other city. The range of food is from street food to Michelin.

Loved the food in Lahore, problem is it's hard to stop eating :inzi
 
KingKhanWC said:
Has to be London.

You can get any type of food from around the world and with more choice than any other city. The range of food is from street food to Michelin.

Loved the food in Lahore, problem is it's hard to stop eating :inzi
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london has variety, but i wouldnt say specialisation. the best pizzas ive had have been in the south of france, the best deserts new york and istanbul, the best fries croatia, best chappli kebabs in pak, etc, etc.

best thing abt london is cheap grilled chicken, with the right kinda chilli sauce.

as far as the topic goes i dont think one place can be a food capital, different palettes do justice to difference cuisines.
 
LOL No, y'all need to travel more. New York City hands down is the food capital of the world.
 
KingKhanWC said:
Has to be London.

You can get any type of food from around the world and with more choice than any other city. The range of food is from street food to Michelin.

Loved the food in Lahore, problem is it's hard to stop eating :inzi
Click to expand...

London's choices are limited to the old world. New York City has everything London has plus high quality authetic Hispanic cuisine which is absent in most of Europe, heck even Toronto doesn't have a decent Hispanic food scene. Besides that I don't think any city in Europe has a decent Polynesian food scene, they probably never even heard of a Pacific islander.
 
Syed1 said:
Biryani ke naam pe pulao khila kay food capital



Wait a minute I can't breathe from all that laughter :))) :))) :)))
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Pulao i think is more popular in lahore, gost or chicken, i certainly prefer it over biryani. Not keen on biryani.
In the uk alot of retaurants give you chicken pulao when you order biryani and when you order pulao they give you just rice and no meat lol!
Lahore is famous for is haleem and nihari and its deserts.
Obviously, you can get pizzas, burgers and fried chicken as well.
Lahore is good, but London and birminguam have much more worldwide variety of food. I used to love wilmslow rd in manchester, abduls for a cheap kebab or sher khan for a night out, but i have not been to manchester for years, but it should be good too.
Never been to the us but everything looks supersized, those burger wow,.6 types of meat in one burger, looks delicious, but probably give you a coronary.
 
Idk I had Lays Sour Cream and Onion for lunch today, Swedish Fish a couple days back
:amir
 
Lahore’s food is incredibly overrated. It has no proper speciality. Basically everything that you can get in Lahore is available elsewhere and it is usually superior as well.
 
Mamoon said:
Lahore’s food is incredibly overrated. It has no proper speciality. Basically everything that you can get in Lahore is available elsewhere and it is usually superior as well.
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Yea it’s just that Lahoris eat a lot more than people from other cities and hence toot their own horn lol.
 
I went to Karachi about 6 months ago for the first time in about 20 years. I have to say that they have the best desi food in Pakistan.

Often in Islamabad and Lahore, the chicken tikkas are dried out, overcooked and too plain tasting. The biryanis don't have the right level of masala. The mutton and chicken karahis are too oily and all taste roughly the same - good but not amazing - bar perhaps one restaurant I tried recently which was very, very good (not a high end restaurant). In Karachi, virtually every desi restaurant I went to was better than almost anything I've had in Lahore or Islamabad.
 
babajee said:
I've been to NYC and wasn't too impressed by the halal options. Maybe for those who don't eat halal it is.
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Your question is literally if "Lahore is the food capital of the Earth" :)) :)) Even if you wanna change the question to "halal food capital of the world", Lahore wouldn't even be in the top 5. Halal food isn't just desi food.
 
Pakistanian said:
Your question is literally if "Lahore is the food capital of the Earth" :)) :)) Even if you wanna change the question to "halal food capital of the world", Lahore wouldn't even be in the top 5. Halal food isn't just desi food.
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Okay allow me to rephrase it then :ashwin

"Is Lahore the halal food capital of the Earth?"

Name cities that would come above it.
 
Lahore isn't even the food capital of Pakistan. It is easily dwarfed by Karachi and Peshawar.


But trust Lahoris to toot their own horn. Jinnay Lahore ni vekhiya wo jummya nahi.
 
I have travelled all over the world over the years and can comfortably said that Mumbai is the food capital of the world. No other city comes close in my opinion.
 
Lahore’s food is extremely overrated. I mean sure it’s great it’s a big city in Pakistan

But Karachi easily has the best food in Pakistan followed by probably Peshawar
 
Globama said:
I have travelled all over the world over the years and can comfortably said that Mumbai is the food capital of the world. No other city comes close in my opinion.
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It might be the food capital of India, but you cannot be the food capital of the world with vada pav, pav bhaji, bhelpuri, paneer tikka etc.

In addition, you cannot find a proper steak in Mumbai because of beef ban. In my opinion, for any city to be the true food capital of the world, it has to offer every major cuisine and all types of meat including beef and pork.
 
The northern areas of Pakistan have some of the most skillful cooks. Some of the amazing food they cook with low heat is insane.
 
[MENTION=131701]Mamoon[/MENTION] there was this really famous mind blowingly good chaplee kebab I had in Peshawar about a decade ago when my cousins lived there. I forgot where it was from. Any ideas? It was close to Hayatabad
 
aliasad1998 said:
Lmao the food in both Toronto and New York does not compare to Pakistani cities in terms of taste
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Taste is highly subjective though. Pakistani cities do not offer the variety of authentic cuisines that NYC and London too, in addition to all types of meat.
 
aliasad1998 said:
[MENTION=131701]Mamoon[/MENTION] there was this really famous mind blowingly good chaplee kebab I had in Peshawar about a decade ago when my cousins lived there. I forgot where it was from. Any ideas? It was close to Hayatabad
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The best one in the vicinity of Hayatabad is Jalil. However, the GOAT chapli kabab in KP is Rambail. It is in the outskirts of Peshawar. That is where the food vloggers went last year and were blown away.
 
Mamoon said:
Taste is highly subjective though. Pakistani cities do not offer the variety of authentic cuisines that NYC and London too, in addition to all types of meat.
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Taste is not subjective and authentic cuisine does not matter when you have Tipu Burger
 
King-Misbah said:
Food in America is terrible, no cousine what so ever. Specifically, food in NY isnt great.
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Agree, spent 5 years in NYC, couldn't get a decent authentic karahi or biryani anywhere, everywhere i went, they sold "Goat Curry" lol, even decent halal fried chicken was very sub standard and no different to the cheap 99p chicken and chips place scattered in every corner of the UK.

Was really impressed with my last visit to Karachi, anything you wanted eat had a specialty restaurant located somewhere which was never empty of customers.
 
Syed1 said:
Biryani ke naam pe pulao khila kay food capital



Wait a minute I can't breathe from all that laughter :))) :))) :)))
Click to expand...

Better than throwing disgusting aloos in there and calling it "Biryani."
 
I will always prefer biryani without aloos but people who cry about something as small as having aloos in their biryani, obviously have other issues. Baby tastebuds :))
 
Salman said:
Agree, spent 5 years in NYC, couldn't get a decent authentic karahi or biryani anywhere, everywhere i went, they sold "Goat Curry" lol, even decent halal fried chicken was very sub standard and no different to the cheap 99p chicken and chips place scattered in every corner of the UK.

Was really impressed with my last visit to Karachi, anything you wanted eat had a specialty restaurant located somewhere which was never empty of customers.
Click to expand...

I’m telling you man. I’ve been to so many countries around the world but I don’t think Karachi can be beaten in terms of food. I’d rather grow up in the tumultuous Karachi of the late 2000s and early 2010s again, than the safest city in the world but with average food
 
aliasad1998 said:
I’m telling you man. I’ve been to so many countries around the world but I don’t think Karachi can be beaten in terms of food. I’d rather grow up in the tumultuous Karachi of the late 2000s and early 2010s again, than the safest city in the world but with average food
Click to expand...

Okay so, let's say Karachi is 10/10. What's Lahore?
 
Well you like it or not but Lahore is always called the cultural city of Subcontinent and also the most famous city for food from Pakistan, at least among the people I know. No one even mentiones Karachi or any other city. Note: I’m not from Lahore.

But the best answer can come from people not living in Lahore. But I don’t trust the 3-4 Karachi posters here, they are too biased.
 
IAJ said:
Well you like it or not but Lahore is always called the cultural city of Subcontinent and also the most famous city for food from Pakistan, at least among the people I know. No one even mentiones Karachi or any other city. Note: I’m not from Lahore.

But the best answer can come from people not living in Lahore. But I don’t trust the 3-4 Karachi posters here, they are too biased.
Click to expand...

It’s not bias if I literally went to Lahore 3 times a year when I was living in Pakistan. Mamoon is also from peshawar
 
There are a few things that are better in Lahore even if its overall worse than Karachi in terms of food

Lahore has the best Chinese food in Pakistan and the GoGo club sandwich used to be the best sandwich in the country even if it has declined in recent times.
 
aliasad1998 said:
I will always prefer biryani without aloos but people who cry about something as small as having aloos in their biryani, obviously have other issues. Baby tastebuds :))
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Thank you for your input but I don't remember asking you. Have a good day.
 
Abdul said:
Thank you for your input but I don't remember asking you. Have a good day.
Click to expand...

Who said I was even replying to you directly? I was talking about such people in general. Don't overestimate your importance
 
Globama said:
I have travelled all over the world over the years and can comfortably said that Mumbai is the food capital of the world. No other city comes close in my opinion.
Click to expand...

No indian city can be the food capital of the world simply because of the limited availability of meat in general and also the fact that Indian cooks just don’t cook meats (asides from chicken) right.

Though I guess some Indian city might be the best for veggie food but even that I doubt since Indian veggie food doesn’t really cater a whole lot to western taste buds as much.
 
Abdul said:
Such a nice coincidence that your post was right below mine.
Click to expand...

Lol how does that mean he’s replying to you?

He’s just putting out his opinion on a general topic which does get discussed here.

Now don’t get your lungi in a twist again and say that you didn’t ask for my opinion. It’s an open forum :))
 
IAJ said:
Well you like it or not but Lahore is always called the cultural city of Subcontinent and also the most famous city for food from Pakistan, at least among the people I know. No one even mentiones Karachi or any other city. Note: I’m not from Lahore.

But the best answer can come from people not living in Lahore. But I don’t trust the 3-4 Karachi posters here, they are too biased.
Click to expand...

Lahore is definitely the cultural capital with historic Mughal sights and whatnot.

But as for food it’s mostly what you hear from Punjabi’s who form the majority of the country and may not even have sampled the food in Karachi.

I know many people who have lived in Karachi and Lahore and almost all pick Karachi since Karachi has more variety for sure. Karachi is also more diverse and obviously a much bigger city economically so it’s natural that the options there are more and better.
 
As a Londoner, I agree with [MENTION=142256]Pakistanian[/MENTION] as I can say NYC has everything London has ... What NYC has that London does not that have is the explosion of Latina culture and hence the cuisine. I am not talking about that 1 Brazilian or that 1 Mexican, I am talking about that Dominican, Venezulen , Puerto Rican etc. spread across neighborhoods in the form of Rest. , carts, bodegas etc. ...Also, some of the best of it i have had is from the carts and at local bodegas.
 
In Pakistan the best food city is Gujranwala. It beats Lahore, Karachi, Peshawer, Islamabad et al. Distinct best.
 
I think Lahore is mostly known for being a city full of food-loving people, rather than a city with the best food.

The food is still great, especially at food street near the Shahi Qila.
 
Pakistanian said:
London's choices are limited to the old world. New York City has everything London has plus high quality authetic Hispanic cuisine which is absent in most of Europe, heck even Toronto doesn't have a decent Hispanic food scene. Besides that I don't think any city in Europe has a decent Polynesian food scene, they probably never even heard of a Pacific islander.
Click to expand...

London has mexican, argentinian, brazilian...food from almost every country in the world. It also has thousands of niche food places. You really need to visit and have an appetite.
 
topspin said:
As a Londoner, I agree with [MENTION=142256]Pakistanian[/MENTION] as I can say NYC has everything London has ... What NYC has that London does not that have is the explosion of Latina culture and hence the cuisine. I am not talking about that 1 Brazilian or that 1 Mexican, I am talking about that Dominican, Venezulen , Puerto Rican etc. spread across neighborhoods in the form of Rest. , carts, bodegas etc. ...Also, some of the best of it i have had is from the carts and at local bodegas.
Click to expand...

Why go for cart food when you get all those in London from top class resturants?
 
KingKhanWC said:
Why go for cart food when you get all those in London from top class resturants?
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Carts are great for brief snack breaks in between lunch and dinner.

Unfortunately we don't have that variety of Latin cuisine in London. Mexican food is my favourite and there are way more options in NYC for all kinds of Latin cuisine.
 
topspin said:
Carts are great for brief snack breaks in between lunch and dinner.

Unfortunately we don't have that variety of Latin cuisine in London. Mexican food is my favourite and there are way more options in NYC for all kinds of Latin cuisine.
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Prob because we dont have so many hispanics esp those who are working class and need carts for cheap quick food. Yep in NYC there would be more.

But London has the most variety of any city imo. Im a big fan of cheese . Have you been to the cheese bar in Camden? Next on my list when I pop down New Years Eve.
 
KingKhanWC said:
Prob because we dont have so many hispanics esp those who are working class and need carts for cheap quick food. Yep in NYC there would be more.

But London has the most variety of any city imo. Im a big fan of cheese . Have you been to the cheese bar in Camden? Next on my list when I pop down New Years Eve.
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I only like cheese on Pizza, but I've been to the cheese bar in Camden and it is good. Keep a eye out for the yellow truck as well, but I think they only bring that out in the summer.
 
aliasad1998 said:
Taste is not subjective and authentic cuisine does not matter when you have Tipu Burger
Click to expand...

Are Tipu Burger and Tipu Burger & Broast the same? If not, which one is better?

I am going to Karachi on Monday for 2 days. I will go to Javed nihari and will probably try Tipu as well. Please suggest the best biryani in Karachi as well.
 
What Lahore has that Karachi doesn't is ethnic Kashmiri cuisine but you'll only ever have access to it if you know Kashmiri families in the city. :butt
 
topspin said:
I only like cheese on Pizza, but I've been to the cheese bar in Camden and it is good. Keep a eye out for the yellow truck as well, but I think they only bring that out in the summer.
Click to expand...

Thanks. There are many outlets with niche themes in London, you get a variety of food which isnt seen in most places around the world.

Which is the best Mexican place in London?
 
KingKhanWC said:
Has to be London.

You can get any type of food from around the world and with more choice than any other city. The range of food is from street food to Michelin.

Loved the food in Lahore, problem is it's hard to stop eating :inzi
Click to expand...

UK overall has the worst food ask any outsiders lol
 
KingKhanWC said:
London is 38 square miles bigger than NY. It has more choice, this is simple logic. Try some food in London instead of reading the minds of outsiders. :)
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No it doesn't lol, New York is considered the capital of the world. London lacks quality Hispanic food and I don't care about some food carts, unless you've had authentic hispanic food in the Americas your tastebuds can't judge if the hispanic cuisine is good. London also lacks polynesian food, I don't think y'all even know what pok-e is.
 
Last edited:
troodon said:
I would say NY. You can find every kind of food there.
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What? It a chance - I’ve lived in NY for over 6 years and it’s not even close.

London is by far the most well rounded city in terms of food but they are dispersed - not just focusing in the immediate places in Leicester Square.

Best Italian - Sardo in fitzrovia
Best pizza - pizza Rustica in Richmond (imo - won best pizza uk for 4 years straight)
Best steak - many say Guachos but I prefer the Moo Cantina in Pimlico
Best Mexican - Mestizo
Best Asian - depends on your region I am very partial to Novikov personally

Etc etc

That’s the beauty of London - you have everything from Michelin Star restaurants to street food markets and something in between.
 
Last edited:
Thulsa said:
What? It a chance - I’ve lived in NY for over 6 years and it’s not even close.

London is by far the most well rounded city in terms of food but they are dispersed - not just focusing in the immediate places in Leicester Square.

Best Italian - Sardo in fitzrovia
Best pizza - pizza Rustica in Richmond (imo - won best pizza uk for 4 years straight)
Best steak - many say Guachos but I prefer the Moo Cantina in Pimlico

That’s the beauty of London - you have everything from Michelin Star restaurants to street food markets and something in between.
Click to expand...

You don't have everything lol, London's cuisine is only limited to the old world - mostly Europe and some former Asian/African colonies. NYC has everything and more.
 
KingKhanWC said:
London is 38 square miles bigger than NY. It has more choice, this is simple logic. Try some food in London instead of reading the minds of outsiders. :)
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NY have more Michellin star restaurants and what is your point about the land area? If I want to eat greasy Kebabs I'll visit London again ;)
 
Thulsa said:
What? It a chance - I’ve lived in NY for over 6 years and it’s not even close.

London is by far the most well rounded city in terms of food but they are dispersed - not just focusing in the immediate places in Leicester Square.

Best Italian - Sardo in fitzrovia
Best pizza - pizza Rustica in Richmond (imo - won best pizza uk for 4 years straight)
Best steak - many say Guachos but I prefer the Moo Cantina in Pimlico
Best Mexican - Mestizo
Best Asian - depends on your region I am very partial to Novikov personally

Etc etc

That’s the beauty of London - you have everything from Michelin Star restaurants to street food markets and something in between.
Click to expand...

Ny has more Italians than Italy itself and you found better Italian food in London.
 
Pakistanian said:
No it doesn't lol, New York is considered the capital of the world. London lacks quality Hispanic food and I don't care about some food carts, unless you've had authentic hispanic food in the Americas your tastebuds can't judge if the hispanic cuisine is good. London also lacks polynesian food, I don't think y'all even know what pok-e is.
Click to expand...

haha, you yanks think you are the best at everything. Here is a fact for you lad.

NY has 16 Michelin star restaurants.

London has 67 Michelin star restaurants.

Can you subtract and tell me the difference in number ? :)
 
KingKhanWC said:
haha, you yanks think you are the best at everything. Here is a fact for you lad.

NY has 16 Michelin star restaurants.

London has 67 Michelin star restaurants.

Can you subtract and tell me the difference in number? :)
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16 dude, you got this from BOJO? You should read the whole article you took the numbers from, 16 awarded only in 1 year.
Ny has over 100+ Michelin star restaurants
 
KingKhanWC said:
haha, you yanks think you are the best at everything. Here is a fact for you lad.

NY has 16 Michelin star restaurants.

London has 67 Michelin star restaurants.

Can you subtract and tell me the difference in number ? :)
Click to expand...

You missed a " 0 ". NYC has 160+ Michelin star restaurants not 16.


It's hard to find the exact number of restaurants in New York City and London, which makes it difficult to say which city has more. But in terms of quality, NYC seems to be ahead.


One hundred and twenty six of NYC's restaurants have been awarded Michelin stars, just over twice the number of London's Michelin star rated restaurants (62).

There are also nine NYC restaurants that made it onto the World's 100 Best Restaurants list, whereas only five London restaurants made it onto the list.
Click to expand...
https://www.businessinsider.com/new-york-city-vs-london-comparison-2015-5
 
FreakCricket said:
16 dude, you got this from BOJO? You should read the whole article you took the numbers from, 16 awarded only in 1 year.
Ny has over 100+ Michelin star restaurants
Click to expand...

If you visit the official michelin page you will find a different number.

What we know for sure is London and its outskirts have 8 3* michelin restuarants compared to 5 in NY.

London also has more halal food options.
 
KingKhanWC said:
If you visit the official michelin page you will find a different number.

What we know for sure is London and its outskirts have 8 3* michelin restuarants compared to 5 in NY.

London also has more halal food options.
Click to expand...

Go to the website and it shows 558 Resturants rated by Michelin ranging from 3 stars to 1 in New york City.
 
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