You call that dinner??

It seems the new fad is to open a restaurant and overcharge the customers for smaller than usual helpings which are as bland as eating paper.
Every couple of weeks later we hear that a new restaurant has opened up in Karachi and how the theme and atmosphere is "to die for!!”. Did everyone get to know that 'The Diner' opened up at Shahbaz Commercial DHA?? Has anyone been there?? Quite sophisticated...no?? But the helpings are pathetic and a total overkill on trying to provide the natural flavors!! I was still hungry after I walked out of the restaurant having ordered a pepper steak!!
Now if I was to order a pepper steak from Maxim's or even Arizona Grill, or Gun Smoke I would not mind paying the hefty price tag that comes with it because those steaks are delicious and filling. But if a waiter brings me a 2 bite steak and charges me Rs 500 for it, that’s just insane!
What’s wrong with people?? Is making a fashion statement and being part of the 'IN' crowd matter so much that we throw away money on tid bits?

Where have I experienced this, you might ask? Well, as I mentioned earlier The Diner but the others I had the misfortune of trying were Sawadika, Fuchsia, Butler's Chocolate Cafe and N'eco's Natural Store and Cafe. The last one really was the extreme....I ordered a beef steak sandwich for 350 and got two small bread pieces with table spoon size beef bites, some lettuce on them and a side bowl of some form of boiled pulses. And worst of all was that it was tasteless. I think they took the natural thing too far.
Basically, I feel that restaurants need to bring a balance in providing good food (taste, quality and justified helpings), theme and comfortable sitting and of course price. Some restaurants that I find to be exceptional in providing these characteristics are Chairman Mao (Best home delivery), Cafe Zouk, Kahva (Amazing food), Koel Cafe, Studio Cafe, Expresso, Cafe Flo, Chatkharay, BBQ Tonight, Lal Qila, Village, Arizona Grill, Copper Kettle, Gun Smoke and Baan Thai (Amazing food).

I must have missed out on a lot of places to eat, so how about you providing your quick reviews of places to go or not go.

Burning the Country Down

I was going though the newspaper today and I came across this picture of a group of people chanting slogans and burning tyres as part of anti-KESC protests being held in Karachi's Pak Colony. I couldn't help but notice how majority of the people were smiling and enjoying themselves be a part of this barbaric and self-inflicting act.

Why don't people understand that burning tyres, closing shops, holding strikes etc all hurt the country and the population itself. Besides the loss in business hours, asset destruction and lower investments, these images of destruction are carried across the electronic media and showcased as the average citizens of our beloved country. So when I next have a meeting with a buyer/supplier from the west, I first have to explain that we all arent barbaric and I won't end up buring tyres or throwing rocks at his building incase a deal goes sour. In short, we are horrible marketeers of our own country and people. It is a shame since we all know that our region houses the smartest people in the world. Then how come we aren't smart enough to figure out that our "demonstrations" are ill-percieved by the rest of the world??

Energize

So yesterday the orders came out that the government would be taking drastic measures to reduce the loadshedding in various parts of the country. These measures were

- Close commercial centers by 8PM
- Govt officials below grade 20 will not be allowed to use air-conditioners in the office
- Billboard lights to be reduced
- Saturday and Sunday to be official government holidays

So I was thinking....what more proof do we need that our government officials are actually illiterate and constantly high? How can they make such ludicris statements?

Lets examine the first measure:

Close commercial centers by 8PM....yeah right! Do they realize that in our country, where tourism is obviously non-existent, most of the shopping by the local population is done after 7 PM. This is not usually by choice but by the nature of the working hours that the men of the households have to endure everyday. The usual scenario would be that once the husband arrives from office he takes his family out shopping. Now lets discuss this impact on the hard working shop owners. How will the shop owners, especially those who have rented expensive shops in large commercial centers, be able to earn and pay their rent when the husbands with their credit cards are not going to be able to come and spend?? The traders have just announced that this decision is unacceptable and the traders will be going on a 48-hour shutter down strike.This certainly was not thought out.

-Source : Dawn News

We are assuming that the government offices and officials would be willing to work in the heat which is quite fantastic...much like shrek, or alice in wonderland. I wonder will the Nadra offices, license offices, tax offices, passport offices etc turn their air-conditioners off? I THINK NOT!!

Billboard lights to be reduced....good step....but now our roads will be in total darkness, since the billboards were what used to light up the road for the traffic in the first place...besides, how will companies react to this since they have paid advertisers in advance for the billboard space.

Saturday and Sunday to be official government holidays. Thats just great...so now if I need to get any work done, pay my taxes or asset transfer I need to take a leave from office. Oh....how about I come to office in the morning...sign-in and then leave for my personal work....and then come back later in the evening to sign-out?? Thank you government for forcing me to be un-ethical.

So like I was saying....what are these people smoking??

Oh and the best statement was that the government is going to inject 116 Billion Rupees into the energy sector of Pakistan to reduce the circular debt by June this year. How in blazing are we going to do that when the budget deficit is already off the mark by a huge amount and we cannot subsidize since IMF will not allow us to do so?

As you can tell by my writing style...I am quite angry with how the government is handling our energy needs. We need some direction, we need some educated decisions...we need a revolution!

Do we even have roads?

There are quite a few theories behind what would qualify a city to be called a metropolitan city but it is safe to say that Karachi passes through flying colors to be given the prestigious right of being in this ever expanding list. According to a table I found on Wikipedia, Karachi is ranked the 20th most populated city in the world having a population density of 10,727 (people/km2). Even if these figures are not accurate, this shows that Karachi is no small city by any definition. Then why does our infrastructure foster riots, dissatisfaction, insecurity and a general feeling of dread?

METROPOLITAN CITY RANKINGS

One cannot deny the fact that our latest city nazim made dramatic improvements within our beloved city, most notably in our transportation system. But shouldn't have all these upgrades and new roads been a constant endeavor of our government? Many people may argue that we are on the right track but then answer me this, why now and what will ensure that we do not lose our track again?

Roads, traffic, water, electricity, security, cooking gas, sewerage...name one utility in Karachi that is not suffering. Why? Simply because we choose to keep sleeping till it became an absolute necessary...the government woke up when it realized that there was no gas in their mansions to heat their teas, or water to take their baths (I predict it's a monthly activity).

No area, no income class, no education class is safe from the horrors of Karachi. The prestigious DHA can be better called Destructive Housing Authority with roads being dug up because they have nothing better to do. Malir has water shortages and Gulistan-E-Johar has no electricity.

Though our generation has very little hand in the predicament we are in, this attitude will keep us from progressing. So how about we try saving some electricity by not turning on excessive lights or fans, how about using water wisely and lets try to dispose our waste properly rather than dropping it in an open sewage.

I sincerely believe that we are a very hardworking and intelligent nation that can achieve anything that we set our minds too. I just hope we open our eyes before it is too late.

I am a Pakistani Minister and I have a Land Cruiser

So on the 13th of June, 2009...I was traveling down one of the most prestigious but most congested areas of Karachi, Zamzama when in front of my car was a huge Toyota Land Cruiser trying to double park. As you can see see in the picture taken by yours truly, The licence plate clearly spelled out MINISTER. What did I see wrong in this picture??

1) Why and how is a government official driving around in an imported Land Cruiser??

2) Why is he/she allowed to have a vanity plate that highlights that they are a Minister more visibly than the number on the plates themselves??

When I saw the SUV in front of me, instantly these questions popped into my mind and I wondered who is to judge them? Should us, the people have the right to stop the Minister...ask for his/her name and designation and lodge a formal complaint?? But the question is lodge a formal complaint to whom??
All these are questions that I am looking answers for.....

Once again, this forum is just a platform for the youth, for the generation that has some major problems with the way things have been working...

Any comments?