So I had a short trip to Karachi a few days ago, and this is what I’d suggest to anyone traveling there.
SPA
I absolutely love pampering myself and taking time for a slow, relaxing self care day, whether it’s a soothing massage, a fresh manicure and pedicure, or a good blow dry. I recently had an amazing scalp and shoulder massage at SOHO Salon in Karachi that lasted about 15 to 20 minutes, and they really knew the right pressure points, finishing with hot stones and a warm towel, which was so relaxing I nearly fell asleep. My mani pedi was just as good, with a great range of nail colors and properly sterilized tools opened in front of me. The blow dry was average since the curls didn’t last long, possibly due to Karachi’s humidity, and overall salon services here are noticeably more expensive than in Lahore.
CHAAYE CULTURE
When I say Karachi has the best chaaye spots, I truly mean it. I love my tea and I know exactly how it should taste, and Chaye Wala in Bukhari is hands down the best I’ve ever had. Just get it in a disposable cup for the perfect experience. I used to get Doodhpati but in karak form with Cardamom. So it was a blend of three different chaaye they were serving.
Cafes and restaurants which aren’t in Lahore or your city.
You should definitely try cafes which aren’t available in the city or place you live. I absolutely love espresso, but they shut their branches off in Lahore. So when I went to karachi I went there thrice. Their spicy chicken panini sandwich, mushroom soup and the brick oven pizza was an absolute delight.
96NM for those frappes and coffee cravings. They had opened a pop up in Lahore a couple of months ago and they literally know how to make the perfect balance and blend of a frappe and a coffee. Their Signature (cold) NM special frappe and matcha is definitely what I’d recommend.
Cafe Flo was too bland and tasteless for me. Probably won’t be going there again. However Chef’s table was really good. We took an 11 course meal and we chose the items we’d want to be individually served to us. The desserts I didn’t like, it was too desi for my taste “Paan Gelato”. I liked their Rice Pudding though. From the main I’d recommend the smashed beef in paratha. Amazing. The same paratha smash which got hyped in Dubai. Oh and I liked their Matka Biryani as well.
Seafood from Oyster Bay.
You need to try the seafood boil at Oyster Bay because it’s an experience in itself. It takes some effort as you crack open the crab carefully, trying not to hurt yourself in the process, and while they only had local crabs, I feel king crab would have been better since it’s meatier and easier to handle. The Cajun sauce wasn’t as spicy as I expected, especially compared to Boiling Crab where you can choose different spice levels, so my expectations were a bit high, but it was still enjoyable. The shrimps were similar but in a milder sauce, and overall it’s a fun, messy experience best enjoyed with friends or family where you go full desi and eat with your hands, and they even provide bibs and gloves to make it easier.
Hey guys! I write this while I still fight my jet lag! My routine is still not on track. Anyways, we stayed in Pasadena, and were located in the heart of Pasadena about 5 minutes walk away from their famous Colorado Blvd. I opt for walking my way around places when on a vacation because we can’t do that back in my country. LA is known for its weather, it was pleasant during the days and got super chilly right after sunset (Similar to what it was in December 2017).
Salt & Straw
I cannot put into words on how much I loved their chocolate gooey brownie ice cream. The ice cream had brownie chunks in it and was super yummy. I have always been a Haagen-dazs kinda person but this ice cream was just AMAZING. Definitely worth every calorie. I wasn’t really calorie conscious on this trip. Also this is only Available in the States and was previously introduced in Portland, Oregon first.
In-n-Out burgers
This chain of burgers, fries and milkshakes is only available in the State of California. NO OTHER STATE or country. I’ve never really liked beef burgers but their burgers are an exception. The texture and they’re very basic yet taste amazing. At the end it all comes down to quality maintenance, something they’ve managed to do so well. Due to covid and monkeypox we just got it via Drive Thru instead of going in the outlet. The line at the drive thru used to be crazy, easily took us 20 minutes or more each time. You definitely should try their Burgers. Fries aren’t that good but the burger just melts into your mouth. So it’s definitely worth it.
Starbucks
Okay so starbucks is everywhere! But I have some favourite drinks which I would definitely recommend. Previously I had only tried their basic unflavoured latte but this time due to the summer and heatwave going on I opted for cooler drinks instead. I would definitely recommend strawberry creme frappe & cookie frappe. These two were my favourite. Plus I don’t know about you but I hate flavoured coffee. Makes me sick. Coffee itself had such an amazing and strong taste, why would anyone want to change to into caramel or any other pathetic taste? Just blows my mind. So if you want a hot drink just stick to their basic latte. Also before you order any new drink from them just ask the person taking your order if they would recommend that particular drink to you, and just tell them what you actually want/ or like, if they’re kind enough they will definitely recommend or suggest something. Atleast they were super sweet in Pasadena (Colorado blvd) Los Angeles. They even told me they’d change my drink if I didn’t like it. So shout out to them for being extra sweet.
85c cafe
They had an amazing collection of pastries, cakes and a huge variety of bread. The coffee was just average, but the hype regarding their bakery items was on point. This was a 3-4 minute walk from my hotel and a go to place due to the convenience. The funny part is that I actually went to this french crepe cafe near this bakery first (for breakfast) but their menu didn’t really fascinate me so I left that cafe and stumbled upon this cute bakery.
The Boiling Crab
Let me tell you one thing. I never liked seafood just because I grew up watching Little Mermaid. And I always believed that if I eat fish i’m causing harm to the mermaids. Yes! That was me growing up. And guess what? I never bothered eating sea food until we traveled and the first time I ever had sea food and king crab was in Amsterdam. My entire idea has completely changed. Number one there are no mermaids (as of now) and number two you definitely need to try seafood when travelling because Pakistan has the most pathetic quality seafood ever. I loved Fried COD and King crab, but this time I actually ate shrimps for the very first time and I LOVED IT. We got fried shrimps, boiled shrimps & king crab, fried calamari, corn on the cob and cajun fries (absolutely loved these). You don’t need anything except a crab shell cracker and your hands! This was definitely very unsophisticated but the taste was still worth the experience. Just make sure you wash your hands before and after the meal thoroughly. We went here twice. For the first time we ordered the spiciest sauce for our crabs and shrimps, I literally had tears in my eyes while I ate my meal. I couldn’t even wipe them off because my hands were a mess!! They literally give you a bib so you dont ruin your shirt and they lay out a disposable sheet on the paper on which you actually eat your meal! If you are ever travelling to LA you definitely need to try this!
On our short trip we also visited 4 Indian restaurants 1 in LA, 1 in Minden (Nevada), 1 in South Lake Tahoe and 1 in Oakhurst. Ended up ordering the same thing; Yellow tarka dal, chicken tikka masala (extra spicy), Palak Paneer(spinach and cheese), garlic naan/ green chilli naan and Vegetable samosa. My top favourite one would be the one in Tahoe, the best food. I am big fan of Dal. I mean who isn’t. Specially when you’re away from home and you want some good desi comfort food. We had also ordered barbecue but it was nothing like what you get in Pakistan, there was no taste just a red color added to the meat, so didn’t really give that barbecue vibe. Just remember ordering the food extra spicy when you’re travelling in the west, otherwise your desi food will be more towards a dessert. Thank me later.
Urth Cafe
Okay apparently this was the first time I had cucumbers in my veggie cheese omelette and it was so weird. Literally wasted the entire thing! I only thing I loved was their coffee. The lady serving us complimented me and told me how pretty I looked, so it made me forget about the cucumbers in my omelette. The croissant however wasn’t that fascinating either, Idk maybe my expectations were super high. The only thing I loved was the ambiance and how sweet their staff was. The breakfast was just okayish.
Porto’s Bakery And Cafe
This place had an amazing variety of breads & desserts. Personally I loved the Tres leches cake and their egg bread. The egg bread literally metled in your mouth, it was super soft and airy. While the Tres leches cake was just perfect. I absolutely love milk cakes and this was a good find.
Raffi’s Persian Food
I don’t eat beef. I prefer having lamb kebab’s over beef. When I was here in 2017, they had Lamb Koobe’deh which I loved but this time they only had beef koobe’deh and it was so disappointing. I ended up ordering their chicken option instead. If you’re someone who doesn’t mind having beef then this is definitely a place to go. This is a Persian restaurant and quite famous in Glendale.
Krispy KremeDoughnuts 🍩
Have you even lived your life if you haven’t had Krispy Kreme doughnuts? I’d been craving for these doughnuts since the past 4 years now (since my last trip to US). These aren’t available anywhere in Europe, which was shocking. Personally I don’t like doughnuts with fillings, I prefer the ones which are plain from the inside and loaded with flavour on top. My personal favourite will always be classic glazed, strawberry glazed with sprinkles and chocolate glazed with sprinkles. The strawberry glazed has a legit strawberry flavouring and would definitely recommend this to anyone who loves doughnuts. They’re always freshly made, super soft and flavourful.
Absolutely hated the Chinese food in Los Angeles. Though we went to one restaurant, Panda Inn (Glendale). It was overly priced and had no taste at all. The only thing I liked was Edamame wok fried. That is it. We had ordered vegetable chowmein, egg fried rice, sweet & sour chicken, orange beef and crispy garlic chicken. We ordered way too much food and it got wasted. I had high expectations for some reason. This is an old restaurant and was recommended by my father since it there since his college days. If you’re someone who wants to spend a lot on food which has almost no taste, you should definitely go there. Portions in America are huge so order accordingly.
Will be posting more from my trip! So stay tuned for more!✨🤍
Heyy guys! Today’s blog will be about things you need to do in Amsterdam & places you need to visit once you’re there.
DAM SQUARE
This place has everything on a good walk/distance, every event or shop is super close to this area. You’re literally in the middle of everything. So you definitely will have to go this place and lets not forget the amazing pictures/videos you can take in this location. The aesthetics are amazing.
Vleminckx Sausmeesters (1887)
The most amazing fries ever. No one recommended this to us, I discovered these fries while strolling across the street with my younger brother (while rest of the family was busy shopping). We saw a huge queue of people in order to get fries so we joined them and made an amazing discovery. We Went to this place multiple times on our second trip to Amsterdam. p.s I got plain salted fries but their garlic mayo ones were good too.
Paddle boat
This was by far a very fun experience! You need good amount of strength in your legs in order to keep up with who you’re with or just be with someone who’s physically stronger than you so you not need to put in that much effort. And I had my younger brother with me here. He didn’t complain when I stopped paddling. Good old times. We both paddled our way through the canal. This was in July, the canals are frozen during the winter season.
Cycling
This is good as long as you have company and you are aware of the routes. There was a bike/cycle lane right next to our hotel and we rented cycles from our hotel and went out. The only thing is that I got super confused when we got on the main road and the bicycle/bike lane merged with the main road with actual cars. I don’t drive and nor am I good at those skills. I almost got hit by a bike (due to my confusion) and when my parents found out about our little adventure I was scolded and told never to get the cycle again. And this was our first trip, I didn’t even bother renting the bicycle on the next trip.
Take a train to Delft
The train ride was for about 50 minutes and the weather here was super pleasant (while Amsterdam was facing a really bad heatwave). We booked a golf cart/ golf buggy which took us around this super cute yet historic city. Definitely worth the trip. We got back to Amsterdam after a tour and lunch at delft the very same day. There are multiple trains going back and forth from Amsterdam to Delft.
The Seafood Bar
If you like fish or seafood in any way or form, you need to visit this amazing place. This is our go to place whenever we’re in Amsterdam. Sort of a family tradition to go there almost everyday specially the Van Baerlestraat branch. They have multiple branches in Amsterdam but this is where we went all the time. The staff, the food, ambiance, menu everything was perfect! I Had king crab for the very first time here and I was never into crabs or lobsters before. This place just changed my taste buds!
D’JUICE HOUSE
They have an amazing range of smoothies! And some of them were super healthy too and filled with nutrients. I got the beetroot and apple smoothie all the time! This was next to the area we got our Belgium fries from.
The people in Amsterdam are super sweet and welcoming. They have trams which are super easy to understand and you can never lose your way. Plus it’s super safe. Just be careful to not interact with shady people (specially towards dam square).
I hope you all are having an amazing day. Today I’ve written about some amazing things you should try whenever you’re in Paris♥
Crepes:
If you have a sweet tooth and want something with your evening or afternoon cup of coffee, I would highly recommend an authentic french crepe, preferably with Nutella and Strawberries (YUMM). We had a lot of restaurants near our hotel, in Saint Germain and the thing I love the most about Paris is their outdoor cafes. The weather in July makes the experience even better. And they have the most amazing Cafe Lattes, I’m a coffee addict so i extremely love a good cup of coffee what else can make it even better? Amazing Nutella and strawberry crepes.
Macaroons:
If you have not tried macaroons, or have no idea what they are, you should definitely try these delightful cookies. Trust me when I say this, they are extremely addictive. My favorite flavors were of-course:
Chocolate
Vanilla
Coffee
Caramel
Strawberry Candy
Pistachio
The best places to get these amazing cookies are preferably Ladurée and PAUL. This is the best option for you, if you want something light and sweet with your coffee.
*However if you’re in some french country side I would highly recommend trying macaroons made by local bakers. The macaroons I had in Bayeux (France) were the best! Made freshly at home by local bakers*
Baguette
These are amazing and healthy sandwiches if you’re looking for something local, healthy and yummy. This is a healthy, more fresh and authentic version of subway. They have a variety of flavors and topping and they are all wrapped in amazing french bread. The french are very much careful about their breads and it is amazing. This is the best thing to get if you want something quick for your lunch or mid day snack.
Cafe au lait
I’m extremely careful about my coffee, I extremely love having an amazing cup of Cafe au lait, something not to bitter but also not extremely sweet. I would highly recommend local coffee shops rather than Starbucks, we can get Starbucks anywhere, but if you’re looking for something more authentic and amazing you should try these outdoor cafes. There is a happy hour too, for the ones who’re on a budget. But it is worth every Euro. On average a Cafe au lait costs 3€, and it’s amazing. If you’re a coffee addict i’d highly recommend these outdoor cafes. You can even add a crossiant to it, for breakfast.
