With each passing year, Karachi’s love for food is growing, thanks to several festivals that are organised throughout the year. Karachi Eat Food Festival (KEF), however, continues to maintain its position as the leader in that particular arena. This weekend, KEF was back for its 4th edition and it is safe to say, it was their best attempt thus far. The most awaited event of the year, was even bigger and better this time around with the greatest footfall yet. The visitor count increased from 150K in 2018 to 250K in 2019.
Here are the stalls we enjoyed visiting while attending the famed food festival:
ChurrosityÂ
Serving three types of churros, this vendor was a massive hit with the attendees. Their glazed churro topped with nuts and their churro with ice cream topped with oreo crumble and nuts was deliciously priced at PKR 250-300.
TantuniÂ
Turkish street food in Karachi? What could be better than that! This stall totally surpassed our expectations. Their beef roll with chopped and seasoned onions and green chilli was unique, fresh and flavoursome.
Sweet Escape
The best part about Karachi Eat is that the possibilities there are endless. This Jolly Rancher flavoured cotton candy was everything a Jolly Rancher fan wants to have.
Taste of Khyber
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Bringing the authentic taste of chapli kebab, this eatery certainly ticked all the boxes for us. The perfect balance of spices and the right amount of saltiness in the chutney made it a super hit.
Mad RoostaÂ
The super hot paprika powder on top of tender chicken breast pieces was not only appealing but also extremely appetizing. Served with a dip and dill pickle, we cannot wait to enjoy Nashville Chicken again at their outlet which will open its doors soon!
 SOL
While their butterbeer might have disappointed us, their deep fried chicken made up for it. It was the perfect balance of sweet and spicy.
Riggo’sÂ
Though we wanted to try Praha’s chimney cone, their extremely long queue made us rethink our decision and we landed at Riggo’s. But we are glad we did. Their gelato was creamy and chocolatey, topped with Nutella and nuts.
ShroomsÂ
Their Hunter Beef Buns, which were a massive hit, were although unique and great in taste, could have had more filling and a stronger flavour to make it memorable.
But there were certainly some over-hyped food items some of which we did not try after reading reviews on social media.
SOL Butter Beer certainly topped that list. Though marketed efficiently, the carbonated butterscotch taste was certainly not what we were expecting from it. But may be if you are a Potterhead, you could enjoy the taste… and the after taste.
Additionally, Saniya’s Kitchen was another letdown. Their Grilled Chili Lime Prawns were nothing like they were hyped to be. The prawns which were stuck on the skewers were topped with chilli sauce and served with a quarter lemon. Do we need to say more?
While many complained about mismanagement, we would like to add that food festivals of this magnitude have the same influx globally and the right way to go about it is to avoid the rush and go during the day.
All in all, the food festival lived up to its claim of bringing unique delicacies and new inventions in food. It was well-managed, much more spacious than their previous editions and possibly, one of their best attempts to deal with the attendees’ reservations.
After their success in Karachi, Lahore Eat dates will be announced soon. So, if you’re from the Mughal city, be sure to attend the three-day food extravaganza dates of which will be announced soon.
How was your experience? Let us know.
