THE SURVIVAL GUIDE: FOOD
THE SURVIVAL GUIDE: FOOD
By
Ammar Anwar
2nd Year MBBS
Hello, dear juniors. I welcome
you to “THE” King Edward Medical University. I’m sure you guys have had quite
a lot of fun in the post-MCAT holidays and you still cannot believe that you’ve made
it to the dream University of Millions of students in Pakistan. Well, you have!
Congratulations! You now know that you have what it takes to rise above the
competition and that is great!
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| The magnificent Patiala is one of the many reasons to be thankful for admission to KEMU lol |
Life at KEMU is going to be fun. Trust me. The first few weeks are going to be tough as hell. But after the few initial bumps, you’re going to find a spot in the wide canvas of KEMU to express your colors. The initial depression and the overwhelming amount of home sickness is going to be tough at first but then you’re just going to grow out of it, like we all eventually do. I am very sure most of you are not used to the hostel-life experience and that is a good thing. Many of you who have been hostelites at various colleges since their FSc days will find the experience no different, so I’ve heard, and the majority who does not have any experience is not to worry. Having zero hostelite experience can be a pretty good thing too. You get to carve out your space in the little community of hostelites and you get to learn new things and undergo changes (which can be for the good or the bad, but mostly good). You’ll learn to manage your own finances and your own expenses which is a very good thing for your practical life ahead.
In short you guys are going to
change within the first year. It is up to you how you want to change. There are
many good changes and many bad changes but it all depends on the kind of
company you’re preferring. Medicine can take a toll on your personality and
even your sanity (LOL) but it’s all up to you how you want these factors to
change your life.
So I’m starting this little
thing here. Within a few posts I will try to cover all aspects of the hostel
life at KEMU and how to survive here.
Let’s start with the basic necessity
here. The one you can’t live without: FOOD.
The Mess
The first thing you’re going to
do is to start the Mess. The food will be great (at first, at least) and most
of you will continue the Mess throughout the year, and quite frankly it depends
on which Mess you have joined. If you’re a male firstula you’re going to
probably join Zeenat Mess or the New Hostel Mess. Depending on the menu, the
food can be great or just average. It can be amazing or inedible, depending on your
taste. For me, the mess ended a loooong time ago (That’s discussed below). I
couldn’t bear the food any more after the first 6 months. So I had to find
alternatives. If you like the mess and cannot manage whipping something
yourself every time you’re hungry, then don’t leave the mess. The food isn’t
all that bad.
The Menu: The
menu is a bit of a mixed affair. You’ll have rice and a lot of rice. Like 6-7
times a week. There will be burgers on one day too. And a really good roast
chicken called “Tawa Chicken” on another day. The other items include Daal
Chaanp with an option of chicken piece or a beef rib, Shahi chanay, Chicken
Jalfrezi, Chicken Fried Rice, Saag, Koftas, Mixed Veggies which are mostly just
carrots and potatoes, etc. The menu is going to rotate and that’s also a mixed
affair because sometimes the menu sucks and the other times it rocks!
And since the winter is almost
fully here, you are going to get Kashmiri Tea on some days too. If there is a
very bad thing on the menu like Methi or some other mixed vegetable sort of
thing, you’re going to get Kheer/Firni/Vermicelli, etc. or some other sweet
dish helping to wash out what you’ve just eaten (LOL).
Green Chili
This is a lifesaver. Seriously.
The really economical zingers and the great deals are really lifesaving when
you’re feeling hungry and the mess has something cooked that you cannot eat at
all. I discovered this place in the first week or so and since then it has been
the place to call whenever I’m hungry. It is pocket friendly too. And since it
is located really close to the hostel, it charges close to nothing for
deliveries.
Location: Gawalmandi.
Chicken Cottage
A rather recent discovery,
chicken cottage delivered a pleasant surprise with the really cheap but
delicious rice. If you’re in a fix just get the cottage rice deal delivered. It
should save your life for a couple of hours.
Location: Mall
Road, immediately adjacent to Pak Tea House.
Pak Tea House
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Another very recent discovery
was the historical Pak Tea House, which used to be the “it” place for the
hangouts of the likes of Manto and many legendary authors and poets. The place
is really well furnished and offers really tasty food for a minimal price. I
tried the Biryani and it was amazing. I was actually pissed that I didn’t know
that this place existed so close to KEMU. It is literally just across the road.
Lol. Try this sometime when you want a good cup of tea in solitude or hangout
with your friends.
Big Man’s Pizza
I am so glad I found this
place. This is the place to call if you want to gobble down a delicious cheesy
pizza. The pizzas have a taste like no other and the place offers many good
deals as well. Its oreo shake is what got me hooked to this place at first and it
still remains to be the best item on their menu for me, at least. Try the Kit
Kat shake as well. I’ve tried the Zinger Burger deal as well but you’re
probably better off eating the Green Chilli Zinger than this one. The taste is
good, but I found the size to be little to satisfy my hunger. Could work out
for you. Who knows.
Location: Mall
Road, infront of the Lahore Cafeteria
Butt Karahi
This is the place where the
seniors are going to take you after the ragging as a treat. The Karahi is
delicious and the kebabs are great too. This place doesn’t deliver but since it
is located at a walking distance, it shouldn’t be much of a problem to go there
to eat. Good for birthday treats and hangouts.
Location: Lakshmi
Chowk.
Red Chili
Ever since Ayesha Mumtaz raided
this place, it has been uncertain whether this place was open or not. Khair,
the food is nice, I found their Zingers to be much better than Green Chili’s
and the Arabian Rice deal is also good. Good for delivery or hangouts and
not-too-heavy-on-the-pocket eating.
Location: Near
Gawalmandi.
Alternative: Cook!
Yes. It can be done and it
isn’t impossible. I found the mess to be inedible after 5-6 months and I have
my own cooking equipment ever since. Don’t worry. I’m not talking about full on
cooking. Just light cooking like an omelette or some K&Ns things with a
Dawn Paratha. I even make my own tea (in a pan, not that horrid everyday wali
chaye).
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| This is what a hotplate looks like, in case you didn't know |
You need to buy a hot-plate. I
bought a Westpoint Single Hotplate which cost me only three thousand. It is really
cheap and lasts like forever. Plus you’ll need a medium sized frying pan and a
small sauce pan if you want to make your own tea.
I know some of you are thinking
this is ridiculous as my roommates did when I bought it first and trust me, it
is NOT. It is very practicable and doesn’t take time. So no need to worry. Plus you're going to live here and use these things for five years, so it is a great investment.
TEA!
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| The love of my life <3 |
Tea is something I cannot live
without at all. I need at least 4 to 5 huge mugs of tea to keep me going all
day. If you are a chaye aficionado like I am, you must have something to make
your own tea, because if you’re thinking you’d get that from the Hostel
Canteen, news flash: it is freaking terrible. Seriously.
You have two options if you
want to drink proper tea. One is that you bring with yourself an electric
kettle and have the everyday wali chaye.
The other one is that you get a hotplate and a saucepan to make tea. The plus
to this is that you'll be getting really good, homely chaye.
More survival how-tos in Survival Guide: Ragging.
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