amazan has descended upon us and Lahore is positively beaming with all the scrumptious meals to be had. Amidst the bustling streets and the lives of millions stitched together with ibadat and errands, the city emerges victorious for setting down the most extraordinary spread at both ends of the fast.

Shahzad, a 55 years old businessman, closes his eyes and takes a strong whiff of air as he talks of what iftar means to him: “When I think of iftar, I think of aloo bukhara chutney dripping down my arm as I take a bite of the samosa as big as my hand. My wife and I always go for a drive before iftar. We buy these [samosas] from the street that separates H-Block market and N-Block in DHA, Phase 1.”

Samosas in Lahore are a staple all year round, but Shahzad swears they taste different and better, in Ramazan. The aloo bukhara chutney isn’t rare either, but this small, 3x3 ft dhaba in makes it with unusual amounts of care, he says, and that makes all the difference.

Waqar, a final-year university student at LSE, will probably disagree. His family tradition of going to Gowalmandi, especially during the first ten days of Ramazan, beats anything he can order on FoodPanda to his house, or find at a dhaba nearby.

“It’s a lot, to gather our family of six and leave the house right after Asr prayers to reach [Gowalmandi] on time,” he says with a gentle smile on his face. “But no matter what’s going on in life, as soon as I get the slightest taste of the dahi bhallay on my tongue, it’s like all my problems melt and slip away.”

As dramatic as it sounds, Waqar says he’s “grown up on them [dahi bhallay].”

Waqar is sure to remind us that the lassi in Gowalmandi is “the perfect refreshment at sehri time” and that his family always gets “at least five big cups packed in plastic bags to take home [for sehri].”

Mrs Haneef, 30-something, a working mother with three children under 10 years of age, claims that she wouldn’t have the will power to go to work in Ramazan and get the kids ready for school if it weren’t for the “amount of Muhammadi nehari” she eats during the month.

“One full khameeri roti, half plate of the beef-fried nehari for each meal; that’s it. You don’t need anything else for food — this covers my sehri and iftar,” she says.

Lahore is for everyone, and even though access to the joy of starting or breaking a fast looks different for all, the options never cease.

t’s a wonder how each person has a distinct idea of what the perfect meal looks like during Ramazan. Minahil, for example, thinks that eating tawa chicken for sehri from Baranh is unmatched. She prefers the Gulberg location as its seating reminds her of The Monal Restaurant in Islamabad that shut down a few years ago.

“Their iftar is great, especially the paparri chaat with plum chutney, but there’s something in the air at sehri time. Even though Lahore never sleeps and the restaurant is as lively as ever at that time too, something tender settles over the air during the hours before dusk. I’m reluctant to know what it is as I don’t want to disturb it.”

Wang Haoyu is a Chinese man who moved to Lahore recently on account of business dealings. He lives in DHA and was told to check out MM Alam Road to experience Lahore’s old food scene from the 2010s. As Ramazan began, he was excited to revisit Salt N Pepper Village at iftar time. “It’s unbelievable — no matter how hungry you are, you cannot try all the options [of food] in the buffet spread in a single day.

“I can confidently say the buffet there is the source of more than 80 percent of my knowledge regarding Pakistani cuisine and cultural food.”

At the end of the day, what these conversations prove is that Lahore is for everyone, and even though access to the joy of starting or breaking a fast looks different for all, the options never cease. The variety fulfills all. Whether you grew up here or you’re new; whether you recently went through a major milestone in life, or you’re settled in the same routine for years, there is a stillness at dusk and dawn during Ramazan in a city that’s never still, and the magic resides in exactly that.

Nadia Ahmed Uqaili is a content strategist with over five years of global agency experience. She also writes short fiction on Substack. She can be reached at [email protected]