The city’s restaurant scene has witnessed a gradual move towards diverse cuisines. Where Chinese was the only international food available here at one point, now one can get their share of spicy pan-Asian, Turkish, Persian, Italian, Japanese, Korean or Lebanese delicacies to name a few. Even though in most cases these cuisines would be tinkered to fit to the local palate.
Now that we know there’s room, and appetite, for foreign cuisine, is it safe to assume Lahore would welcome food from other parts of the world too? Let’s say, from maybe Brazil, Czech Republic, Sri Lanka or Malaysia?
In an attempt to ascertain just that, and to introduce Lahore to a new culture, the Pearl Continental Hotel recently organised a two-day Cuban festival offering a taste of Havana amid a band flown in from Cuba playing their local tunes to create the perfect ambiance and a cigar roller rolling the world famous Cuban cigars live for visitors. And while the band performed, some Cuban visitors couldn’t resist showing their salsa moves that even got some Lahorites to join in.
Guest chef Gioelkis Sosa Hernandez from Cuba joined the hotel’s executive chef to create mouth-watering authentic Cuban food tweaked a bit to suit Pakistani taste buds. The colourful buffet area was adorned with Panama hats, flags, cigar replicas serving as stands for dishes with wallpapers of Cuban streets in the background. The elaborate menu boasted of assorted breads, a couple of soups, several varieties of fresh salads, a handful of mains and selected desserts.