Sweet delight

The famous Haji’s Sweet Shop that runs under the tree at Nakkhas crossing, famous for khoya laddu, milk cake and lauki halwa, Al Madina joint on the road leading to Chaupatiya serving lassi, Kashmiri chai and malai, Nurul’s makeshift shop that operates at Nazirabad, serving a range of sweet delicacies, are just a few that draw a huge crowd.

“I have come down from Vikas Nagar to savour the pink Kashmiri chai with puffed samosa and layered with malai. I am getting phirni and shahi tukra packed as we are full after a sumptuous portion of kulcha-nihari,” says Manish Yadav, a regular visitor to the Old City during the Ramzan period.

Honestly, if you ask me, we are better off,” says Qureshi. Chicken barra, pasanda, stew, kulcha-nihari are some of the specialities at this joint.

Global cuisine Executive chef Mohsin Qureshi has dished out the choicest of cuisine specific to the period, from different parts of the world at the Lebua Saraca

Estate. “At street food joints and prominent shops in the Old City, we get amazing local cuisine. So, we thought of delivering dishes that we don’t get in the city. Delicacies such as authentic Haleem, which is not easily available: Delhi’s special Mohabbat ka sharbat, Turkish koobidehi seekh, Shawarma roll, Turkish lamb meat ball, Lahori chicken masala, Baluchi Paneer, Arabic kabsa, Peshawari gosht Pulao, Umali, and more.”

Pandemic, really? Women patrons, those who wear burkas, follow the mask protocol in Lucknow by default. Otherwise, barring a few, the social distancing and the mask mandate - as mandated by the state government - is going for a toss. The service boys and some restaurant owners were seen sporting masks largely on the chin.