Coke Fest 2018: The Highs And The Lows

Picture this: it’s pleasantly chilly (more than your average Karachi winters), you’re surrounded with family and friends, there’s preppy and groovy music playing in the background – oh and hey, the avenue has a multitude of food stalls around you. This image came to life last night at the Coke Fest 2018 – an annual food festival where we got the opportunity to celebrate food, music and good company. And honestly, living in Karachi you don’t get many of these so here we are with our round up of highs and lows from the 3-day long festival.

Word of Advice: We decided to be early birds and made it to the venue (Beach Park, right next to Dolmen Mall Clifton) at 5 in the evening. After a bit of confusion on the first gate where we were told to walk to the next gate for tickets and entrance, we finally made it inside. So FYI, go to the second gate if you’re coming from the DMC Mall route to save yourself some time and energy if you’re planning on taking a walk.

Stalls That Gave Us the Foodie’s High:

1. Sals The Eatery

Since we were early to the show, many stalls were just setting up while many had just started serving. Our first stop was Sals where we opted for their beef sliders in flavours chipotle sauce, holy smoke, and basil. The service on the stall was spot on and the owners were very eager to know how we liked the food.

We were left wanting more because the beef was moist and juicy while the sauces made it even better. We particularly liked ‘holy smoke’ and ‘basil’ flavor much more than the others because of the tangy and zesty taste. Overall, a must-try if you’re attending the event and looking for a cheat meal high in protein.

Stars: 8/10

2. Kebabs by Ala Rasi

You’re in for a surprise if you like trying different cuisines because we saw quite a few at Coke Fest this year. The cold weather definitely called for some hot kebabs served with freshly toasted naan. Our pick was ‘pasha kebabs’ by Turkish eatery called Ala Rasi.

We were hoping that the health factor would stay intact in this choice, given that kebabs can be healthy if served without too much oil or butter – however, it didn’t exactly turn out that way. Smeared with butter and spices, we’re pretty sure we gained a few pounds just by looking at it but hey, what’s life without some creamy and flavorful kebabs. Sorry not sorry!!

Stars: 7.5/10

RELATED: It’s Cheat Day So We Went Burger Hunting In Lahore!

3. For Chicken’s Sake

After splurging too much in what we’d like to think healthy yet a tad bit fattening food, we took the very next chance to hop on the slightly healthy bandwagon. Next we opted for grilled chicken in mild flavor by ‘For Chicken’s Sake’. Grilled perfectly and smothered with a creamy tangy sauce – we are glad we tried out this stall. Again, if you want to stick to your diet yet want some flavor, go for this one.

Stars: 7.5/10

4. Amazin’ Glazin:

It’s true when they say a good dessert can really leave you satisfied with your meal. Keeping that in mind, we tried Amazin’ Glazin’s Tres Leches (milk cake) and boy were we impressed! Every bite was cheat meal worthy and we’d totally like to have it again. If for some reason you don’t want something too indulgent, then you can also try their fruit tart. Healthy yet tasty enough for those sugar cravings!

Stars: 8/10

The Not So Exciting Food:

1. Dolicious

Now that we stuffed ourselves to the brim with meaty, buttery and greasy foods, came the time to try some desserts. Although a Popsicle should have been the last thing to have in the chilly weather, we still somewhat liked the idea. We ended up trying lotus biscuit and cream popsicle by Islamabad based venture Dolicious.

Our excitement wore off when the taste of the Popsicle turned out to be bland and watery. Sigh! There goes our dream for a good Popsicle in winter.

Stars: 4.5/10

2. Bits and Bites

The idea of such food festivals is to go all out and enjoy food but that really doesn’t mean you don’t look out for something light on the stomach. We tried Taco Salad by Bits and Bites hoping it’d be something slightly less heavy for us. Although the veggies, salsa and sour cream were fresh, the taco wasn’t up to the mark and of substandard quality. Classic example of food execution gone wrong! A healthy option but not great in terms of flavor.

Stars: 5.5/10

RELATED: What Winter Means For Our Taste-Buds