- Hey everyone, I hope
you're having an amazing day.
It's Mark Wiens, I'm in Karachi, Pakistan.
And the last time I was in
Pakistan, we visited Karachi.
We made a few videos but we
didn't have a lot of time here
so there was a lot of food that we missed
and I'm excited to be back.
Today we're gonna go on a Karachi
Pakistani food tour of Karachi.
We're gonna eat some of the
foods that I really wanted
to eat and we didn't have
a chance to eat them.
So today is gonna be a lot of fun.
I'm going to share all the
food with you in this video.
Let's go.
(upbeat music)
(knock on door)
- I decided to change into
something a little more
comfortable. (laughs)
- Awesome.
Back in one minute.
(laughs)
- Nice move.
(upbeat music)
- [Mark] I decided to...
(laughs)
- Just let me sleep.
(laughs)
(upbeat music)
- We have made it to location number one.
The last time I was in Karachi,
we ate that biriyani right there.
When we were here he was actually under
the tree but now he's
over, I can see he's over
between the buildings that side right now.
The service, the friendliness,
the delicious biriyani.
I still remember the dried
lemon in his biriyani.
But then there's another
restaurant which is
actually literally right,
he sells his biriyani
right in front of of this restaurant,
which is called Kaiser Restaurant.
Which is very famous for mutton.
Grilled, whole mutton legs.
And that was something we
wanted to eat last time
but we just didn't have
time, so we are back.
- [Ali] Ordering one
plate of the same biriyani
- [Mark] Yes
(indistinct chatter)
- [Ali] He remembered us.
- [Man With Glasses] He came
walking by and he's like, hey!
- [Mark] Yes, awesome.
What's up?
How are you? How are you, man?
- [Man With Glasses] Dig's up, dude.
- [Mark] Aw yes, that
was a great decision.
(spoon hitting against pot)
(crowd speaks in foreign language)
- Good to see you. Good to see you again.
(crowd chattering)
(man speaking foreign language)
- [Ali] The leg is
going to take some time.
I'm having biriyani as the appetizer.
(Mark laughing)
- It's so good to be back.
- [Mark] This is a completely impromptu,
and I couldn't be more excited
in my entire life for this.
That was a great call, Ali.
- [Ali] Thank you.
- [Mark] Look at the oiliness
and the richness of that rice.
Every grain is individual
but it's just coated in
the masala, the spices.
(crowd speaking foreign language)
- Oh wow.
It is just as good as
the last time we had it.
That's just a whole peppercorn in there.
- [Ali] It feels even better.
The mutton leg is going to take some time,
so biriyani is the appetizer for us.
- [Mark] It's so flavorful,
the pepper in there,
the dried lemon is what I
remember from last time.
Oh, thank you. (laughs)
(speaks inaudibly)
Okay, they gave us Pepsi's.
Thank you very much.
(laughing)
Okay, that's too funny.
That is too funny to even...
(laughing)
- I didn't do that.
(laughing)
- [Mark] I'm going to
try some of that chicken.
It's like, it's just so comforting.
It's the most comforting biriyani.
Thank you. Thank you very much.
- Thanks for coming.
- [Man With Glasses] This is like,
Karachi in a perfect setting.
So awesome.
- [Man] How's the biriyani?
- Very good.
Basically the rice, using this
biriyani is of high quality.
Very nice and tastefully, exactly.
- This man is an absolute legend.
A legend of biriyani.
(speaking in foreign language)
Oh man. What a legend
of biriyani in Karachi
Whoa, I just walked
into a string. (laughs)
It's okay.
What a legend, what an amazing guy.
Again, just like last
time he refused to take,
We insisted we paid, and he
refused to accept payment.
When you are in Karachi,
this is at the corner,
I'll have it on the map,
but it's like literally
right outside of Kaiser Restaurant.
He is absolutely an amazing, amazing man.
His hospitality, his
generosity, it just represents.
(speaking in foreign language)
- [Mark] The main thing to eat here
is their whole mutton legs.
In this case, the mutton
is goat rather than sheep.
But the mutton legs,
they're fully marinated.
You can just see, they're
caked in spice and a rub
and then he's getting
ready, we're going to order
I think we might go for three. Three legs.
And they have a big indoor dining room
But the light is not so
good so we asked them
if they would put a table outside
Which they were very kind,
they set us a table
outside on the sidewalk.
We're going to be dining street side.
And he's getting ready to put
those goat legs on the grill.
- [Zaid] How are you, Mark?
- [Mark] Good to see you, man.
- [Zaid] Good to see you as
well, man. How's it going?
- [Mark] Welcome. Very good.
(speaking in foreign language)
- Wow, that's a seriously hot fire.
I've been putting my fingers over it.
Oh man, that is a burning hot fire.
Wow, that looks incredible.
So we got three legs, you
put them on the grill.
They are sizzling away.
Immediately you can see
the masala start to liquefy
in that goat fat, in
that leg, into that meat.
It's gonna absorb into that meat.
Oh, and he's poking it!
(fire crackling)
- [Mark] I asked him and he said
that the legs are pre-steamed.
They steam them first,
Then they marinate it in the masala.
Then it goes on the grill.
That way, it doesn't take hours to grill.
And also it's extra tender.
- [Mark] Oh that one's for extra spicy.
One leg extra spicy.
So that just went off the grill.
That's going back to the kitchen
to get some extra masala treatment.
So good.
Wow.
- [Restaurant Owner] This
masala is freshly made.
- [Mark] That's extra spicy.
- [Restaurant Owner] Yeah, extra spicy.
On your request.
(laughs)
- Be real, we warned you, Mark.
We warned you.
(upbeat music)
- [Mark] So ridiculously tender.
It's literally just falling off the bone.
And his pro grilling move as he slices it,
stabs it with the knife to get the juice,
Oh! (laughing)
That's how tender it is,
a bone just fell out.
(laughing)
(meat cooking)
(street noise)
And they didn't take that long to cook
because they're already pre-cooked.
So it was only maybe 15
minutes or so on the grill.
So that's convenient.
And we are now sitting down
with the owner of Kaiser Restaurant.
We got two of the regular masala
and this one is the extra spicy.
- On your demand.
- On our demand. (laughs)
So we have to take our own responsibility
for the effects of the spiciness.
(laughs)
Look at this bone, it's like a gearbox.
They call it a gearbox, a shifter.
You can shift.
- [Mark] This side over here?
- [Restaurant Owner] This one.
- [Mark] Ah, that joined area?
Okay.
Just pull it off.
Oh wow.
Look at that.
- My fingers can feel how tender it is.
Look at that!
(laughing)
- This is beautiful.
Would you like to join
us in the first bite?
The fist bite.
Ali, cheers. (laughing)
Cheers.
- Cheers, Ali, man.
(everyone laughing)
- Wow!
(street noise)
- It is spicy, or you want more spicy?
- I'm just trying to
process the tenderness.
(everyone laughs)
It's like, perfect.
It's perfect.
- [Restaurant Owner] It takes
more than four hours to cook.
- [Mark] And it's so smoky.
Like it's smoky embedded into it.
It's so tender.
That masala, yeah, like
the spiciness is wonderful.
It's so flavorful, and
what I love about it
is that the spice is all
the way into the meat.
- [Restaurant Owner] Yeah, exactly.
- [Mark] It's not just on the outside,
it's all the way into the meat.
That's like one of the,
- [Restaurant Owner] Because
it takes four hours to steam.
- [Mark] Look at that,
it just strings apart.
- Thank you. Thank you.
(cheerful chatter)
(Mark laughing)
- For you?
Thank you.
There's sesame seeds on it and it's very
slightly thick but feels like dense.
- [Restaurant Owner] This naan has milk,
yogurt and oil in it.
- Wow. Milk, yogurt and oil in the naan.
Wow.
Alright, and then just grab the meat.
The meat is outstanding,
and then with that naan.
That blanket of naan.
You taste a hint of sourness
from the yogurt in there.
It's dense and hearty,
it's perfect for the meat.
Cause the meat just like,
It just caresses and blankets the meat.
Is this a yogurt based chutney?
- [Restaurant Owner] Excuse me?
- [Mark] A yogurt based chutney?
- [Restaurant Owner] It's a mint chutney.
- [Mark] Mint chutney, okay.
Grab a piece of this.
I'll try it with the chutney next.
(upbeat music)
It's like beyond delicious.
It's like, just ultra tender supreme.
With that yogurt minty chutney
that goes well with it as well.
- I so needed that mutton leg kick
(everyone laughing)
to get going the whole day.
- [Mark] We've been
waiting since this morning.
- [Zaid] This really was delicious, man.
- [Mark] Have you had it before this?
- No, no, it's the first time
and I think it's the first of many times.
- [Mark] Yes.
- It's really good.
Awesome.
- [Mark] I'll take a little meat break.
(laughing)
No idea how spicy it is.
It's just not so spicy, it's like crunchy.
And very very like, yeah, very great.
I love the green chilies.
(upbeat music)
It's finger licking good.
Time to roll up the sleeves.
We're going in.
The joint of the foot.
- If you want to have the bone marrow
then you have to break
from here, from the teeth.
- Break?
- Yeah, tip it off. Then
you suck it from there.
The bone marrow will come out.
- Awesome. Like a straw.
Okay, start with the bone
marrow or start with the,
- Either way.
- Either way, okay.
I've had bone marrow many times before,
but I don't think I've
ever broken the bone
with my teeth to get the bone marrow.
So just break it here?
- [Restaurant Owner] Is it hard?
If it's hard, don't do it.
- Okay, it's a bit hard.
Maybe we should break it.
(speaking foreign language)
Into your mouth. (laughing)
Directly into your mouth.
It was a little too hard to
chew so we had it broken.
You can see that little
nugget of the marrow.
Oh, I just got a poof of goat-i-ness.
- Yeah, you taste a little oil.
- Yeah, you can taste goat in that.
- Goat-i-ness. (giggling)
- Wow, that just like
melts in your mouth, yeah.
That is awesome.
(surprised laughter)
(everyone laughing)
- I heard that.
- [Man] Don't eat it. Don't eat it.
- It's melting, it's melting.
Dessert is complete.
Just got to try a bite
of that knuckle, too.
Wow. Yeah, that is awesome.
It's like jelly and slightly elastic-y.
But that's pure goat-y
flavor. That's wonderful.
Oh that masala.
They're also very well known here
for their hand made, house made kulfi,
which is like a frozen milk ice cream.
Wow, that's sweet but really good.
I like the texture of it,
It's a little bit sticky,
a little bit gummy,
but then you also taste
the flakes of the ice.
Really condensed, milky taste to it.
And I think there's some
pistachios in there as well.
Great way to end a goat leg meal.
(upbeat music)
- [Mark] (laughs) Yes.
We were talking with the owner,
he was telling us about the
history of his restaurant.
It's been there since 1953.
So it's a heritage, it's
a legendary restaurant.
Some of the most important
people from Pakistan
have eaten there and
he was telling us about
one of the prime ministers of Pakistan
who over 40 years ago,
they used to set up that table outside
in that exact same place
that we sat and ate,
and he used to sit at that table and eat.
That was fun, a lot of fun,
and that mutton, that goat leg,
that is a must eat in Karachi.
(upbeat music)
We have a little bit
of time this afternoon
because most of the restaurants and food
that we wanted to eat opens
up later in the evening.
Karachi is a late city in terms of
food opens up late and
people stay out late.
We just decided to stop by the beach.
I didn't have a chance last time
I was in Karachi to visit the beach,
so we're just gonna take a little stroll,
just enjoy the beach.
Definitely not swim
but just to take a look
and enjoy the breeze.
And the weather is perfect, actually.
The beach is huge though,
like a massive sand bank.
(drone whirring)
(upbeat music)
(indistinct chatter)
- Just taking a couple
of photos with uncle.
- That is an award winner.
- Yeah.
- Absolute award winner.
(speaking foreign language)
- And actually he showed us a photo
on his phone where he was even longer
and he just trimmed it for the beach.
It's very nice.
(speaking foreign language)
- His name is Sher Khan.
And Sher Kan means the Lion King.
Literally the Lion King in English.
- [Mark] That is awesome.
(upbeat music)
- [Mark] What's this area called?
- [Man] Dhojarji.
- [Mark] Dhojarji? Dhojarji.
And they're famous for gola ganda.
Gola ganda, which is like an ice,
Actually I've never had the
Pakistani version before.
Ice with syrup.
It's a sweet, like,
Alright, sweet ice.
(machine churning)
- [Vendor] Come here.
(Street Noise)
This is ice cream soda, raspberry,
pineapple broken slices,
crystal jelly,
condensed milk.
Not ready.
- [Mark] Not ready? (laughs)
Never seen, oh, ice cream! (laughs)
(upbeat music)
- Wait, he's coming with
a bag of chocolate wafers.
Oreos.
This is a Pakistani street sundae.
Wow.
For how many people?
- [Vendor] Two.
- [Mark] Two people? (laughs)
Wow.
- [Vendor] This is higher
than Everest. (laughing)
- [Mark] It's a tougher climb. (laughs)
- Should be a tougher climb from here
till there than Everest, I believe.
You don't eat this, you gotta
climb this one. (laughs)
- And you might need
a harness to eat that.
It actually even took him like
five full minutes to assemble this.
This is actually a work of art.
- This is.
- It's not just a dessert,
it's a work of art.
- To me it's like more a mountain of ice.
- This could easily be one of the world's
largest glacial fields. (laughs)
- [Man] It is the world's
largest strawberry glacial field.
- [Ali] Only second to
the Baltoro Glacier.
Mighty Baltoro Glacier glacier.
- [Mark] What's the strategy,
do we get a little bit of ice
plus a little bit of ice cream all in one?
You sometimes get some random things that
you don't know what they are.
- [Ali] I'm already at
count two. (laughing)
- Ooh
- That's sweet.
- That's one of the world's
sweetest desserts I think.
But I do like the textures.
It's creamy, it's icy, it's
liquid-y, it's all melt-y.
It's refreshing.
But like, yeah, extraordinarily sweet.
What do you think?
(laughing)
- I don't think I can think right now.
But I can definitely eat more.
(laughing)
Okay, yeah it is sweet.
It has kind of that
artificially syrup flavor
but it does remind you of childhood.
(upbeat music)
(laughing)
(exhales sharply)
(laughing)
- [Mark] Okay, thank
you. Thank you very much.
That was definitely way too sweet for me
I took two bites and I can still
feel the sweetness on my lips.
That being said, it's
well worth coming here
just to like, especially
if you love sweet,
but to just watch him
make that creation of art,
I don't even know how he
remembers the steps in his head,
there's that many steps and ingredients.
But that was fun, we're
moving on to eat another snack
which is, it's one of my favorite, chaat.
One of my favorite snacks, hands down.
(upbeat music)
We drove over to an area called Boat Basin
which is a food street and it just goes on
for like a kilometer,
there's so much food here.
But we're here to eat what
is one of my favorite snacks.
(speaks in foreign language)
We ordered about five
different types of chaat.
And chaat is like, they're snacks.
You get a lot of chutneys,
there's yogurt, there's
masala, there's spices,
and then usually like
crunchy things or potatoes,
but it's a very common thing
throughout the Indian subcontinent.
So we're gonna stop here,
we're gonna eat some chaat.
This place is called Cool Inn.
(upbeat music)
- [Waiter] Special chaat,
samosa chaat, fruit chaat,
dahi puri, dahi bhalla, pani puri
- All of them are different,
all of them are good,
but lots have similar ingredients.
I really wanna try the pani puri
which is one of my favorite chaats.
I always love to eat pani puri.
Now little puris are like
little crunchy, hollow chips.
Filled with chickpeas, and
you prepare it yourself
because that way they don't get soggers.
- Cheers.
- I love pani puri.
You would never think to put
liquid into something crunchy
'cause that goes against all soggy rules
you've ever been taught.
But that's why you gotta eat
it fast, and it's so good.
Like that crunchiness,
the sour tamarind water,
the chutney, it's so good.
The creaminess of the chickpeas.
There's crunchies, there's tamarind,
there's chutneys, there are,
there's yogurt in here as well.
And there's chickpeas.
There's onions, too.
That's fantastic.
The sweet and sour
chutney of the tamarind,
the contrast of textures, the crunchiness,
the creaminess of the chickpeas.
- This is actually very nice.
- Really good
- And crunchy.
- Really good.
- This one is the samosa chaat.
A lot of the similar
ingredients as the special chat
but then he put some samosas on top.
Some straight up, straight
up samosa halves on top.
It's good, too.
Maybe a potato samosa?
- Yeah.
- Vegetarian. Fully vegetarian.
But yeah, the yogurt, the
tamarind and the minty chutney.
This one is the dahi puri
which is yogurt in a puri
and then you can see the coriander on top.
This one is a little on the sweeter side.
It's like sweet and savory
all at the same time.
Looks like there's apples,
bananas, strawberries, pineapple.
- [Ali] Yeah. And strawberries, too.
- [Mark] And that's like a,
- [Ali] To make the matter more colorful.
- [Mark] (laughing) it's
beautiful with the strawberries.
- [Ali] To make it a colorful affair.
- [Mark] I just had a flashback
to the fruit chaat we had in Lahore.
With the amazing chutney
- [Ali] Apricot chutney, yeah.
- [Mark] And the pomegranate
seeds, and how nice he was.
- [Ali] That was amazing.
- [Mark] That was amazing.
- Ah, nostalgia.
- Yeah. (laughs)
Pretty sweet.
Kinda like, almost like
a whipped cream almost.
- Exactly.
- It's almost like whipped cream.
It is good though.
But, almost like kinda sweet. Very sweet.
- Exactly. And a bit too much
cream I would say, you know.
- Yeah. For me it's a little sweet,
I prefer the saltier chaats.
This is the final one we
ordered, this is the dahi bhalla.
So dahi is the yogurt and bhalla,
we had the dahi puri alredy which is,
the puris are a little
crunchy, hollow chips.
The bhalla is like a
fritter, or like a fried,
- [Ali] Bhalla is like like the fat guy.
- [Mark] Is it made from dhal flour?
- [Ali] It's made from dhal flour.
- [Mark] Dhal flour, right.
(car horn beeping)
It's good, but not my favorite.
This one's a little
more on the sweet side.
- [Ali] Sweet side, yeah, true.
- [Mark] And then the bhalla
is more like a bread-y,
It almost feels like
cornbread in your mouth
and it just kind of soaks up
the chutney and the yogurt.
(busy street noise)
The final restaurant that we're at tonight
is called Anwar Baloch and
this is a Karahi restaurant.
Karahi is one of my
favorite Pakastani foods
where they cook it in a rounded metal pan.
The meat, the spices, the
flames go up, the ginger.
It's just a beautiful, beautiful dish
that you can't miss
when you're in Pakistan.
But we're here to specifically,
I think we're gonna have a prawns karahi.
And I think that's mainly
what we're gonna eat
but I know they specialize
in lamb, they have chicken
and there's just like,
it's like a whole square
of karahis going all at once.
This is just, this is a production.
Thank you, very nice to meet you.
(kitchen noise)
(knives chopping)
(pots clanking)
(food sizzling)
I'm in the square of karahis.
Thank you for having us.
And he's getting ready to
make our prawns karahi.
He first sizzles some onions in some oil
and then tossed in a handful of tomatoes,
then the whole can of fresh prawns go in.
That's gonna simmer away.
Oh wow, the clanking of of the karahis,
the smoke, the fumes,
there's literally 360 around me
there's just meat going up in flame.
(pots clanking)
Just been observing is that
they begin on this side
to the left hand side and they
go down the line of burners
he keeps moving them,
rotating them down the line
all the way to the end,
where they are finished.
And that's the finishing station.
They can't make a mistake and so they add
different spices at different burner
along the way down until the final finish.
(kitchen noise)
(indistinct chatter)
The karahis are ready
in like five minutes.
And we're moving to the dining section.
Yes, Ali.
(Ali exhales)
(laughing)
- Not now, after the food.
- [Waiter] Here is the karahi.
- [Mark] There it is.
(speaks foreign language)
- [Mark] Prawns karahi have arrived.
Yeah, you can see that layer
of the desi ghee on top
you can see the prawns, they
added some cream in there,
they add chilies, they add the tomatoes,
they add, like, spoonfuls of spices.
Then that just flames, engulfs in flame.
The process of making it, is stunning.
Karahis are one of my
favorite Pakistani foods
and I really love the prawn karahis,
so that's what we're having tonight.
(flatbread breaking)
- [Mark] Okay, I'm going to dip into the,
you can see that layer.
- [Man] Yeah, it's beautiful curry.
Oh my goodness.
- [Mark] Is that desi ghee though?
- [Man] Yeah.
- [Mark] There's so much desi ghee.
It's almost nutty, there's
so many spices there.
Along with the food, I
just love the atmosphere.
Everybody sitting together outside.
- Yeah. Hmm.
Amazing.
- Wow.
- Wow.
- It's so good.
That's like, the amount
of spices in there.
- Yeah. Lots of spices,
I've never had it before.
This is spicy, you know.
Amazing.
- You can taste how much
spices are in there.
It's just thick with the dry spice,
that's like the thickest dry
spice karahi we have had.
The cumin, the tumeric,
the spices are just caked
around those prawns and
wrapped up in that desi ghee.
That pool of desi ghee.
And the ginger in there.
That is incredible.
(upbeat music)
It is so incredibly tasty
and it's one of the spicier,
spicier chili, as well
as spic-ious karahis
that I've had in Pakistan.
It is time.
There's no better position in the world
after you finish a meal than this position
on an elevated bench table.
Oh man, the happiness, the satisfaction.
Check out Ali. (laughing)
How Ali slid into position.
- Yeah. I think you're improving.
Your position is getting better and better
with every trip to Pakistan.
(Mark laughing)
And when we have to call off the day,
we just don't say it, we
just get into this position.
(laughing)
(upbeat music)
- [Mark] What an incredible meal to end
this Pakistani food tour,
another Pakistani food tour in Karachi.
Today has been extraordinary,
starting with the goat leg,
everything in between, Pakistan, again,
I cannot even come close
to emphasizing enough
how the friendliness, the
hospitality, the generosity,
and the delicious food
that Pakistan has to offer.
I wanna say a massive thank you to Ali,
to everyone who helped,
to everyone we met along the way.
And I will have all the information,
everything we ate in the description box
below so you can check that out.
And also be sure to check out
my other videos about Pakistani food.
I'll have them in the
description box below
so be sure to watch more videos
and thanks again for watching
please remember to give
this video a thumbs up
if you've enjoyed it,
leave a comment below.
I'd love to hear from you,
and if you're not already
subscribed, click subscribe
and click the little bell icon
so that you get notified of
the next video that I publish.
I have to admit, I am like,
I need to go to sleep right now.
Okay, good night.
See you on the next video.
Goodbye from Karachi.
