Sarrak pe karrak: Calling all chai connoisseurs

Bringing a very Karachi experience to Lahore

LAHORE: Scouring the city for an authentic chai experience? If yes, then head to Sarrak Pe Karrak in Faisal Town.

In a day and age where exhaustive menus rule the roost, the establishment has managed to pull the crowds by primarily serving just tea in an authentic ambience. The eatery has a variety of teas on offer that can be ordered with sides of pakoras and fries. Enjoy your helping with a game of ludo and Sarrak Pe Karak will leave you pining for more.

The establishment is the brainchild of two LUMS alumni Mobin Khurram and Noor Ibrahim. The two took the initiative to bring Karachi’s tea stall culture to Lahore. “We were sick of our jobs and despised them. So we aspired to do something different,” Khurram says. He says tea stalls incorporating features of truck art are a common sight in Karachi. Khurram says this was something he found missing in Lahore when he moved to the city.

“Some restaurants are premised on a similar theme but they are prohibitively priced. That is why we decided to bring a tweaked model of the essentially very Karachi experience to Lahore,” he says. Khurram says the original plan was to setup a tea stall in the shape of a truck to make the idea conspicuous. He says the plan became a nonstarter once they realised they needed prior permission to do this anywhere in the city.

Khurram says all the furniture placed at the establishment has been sourced from a central Punjab village. He says all the remaining ornamental features of the establishment were created by truck artists. Khurram says they have tried to make the experience as authentic as possible. He says they started on a footpath before taking over a plot of land two months ago after receiving an overwhelming response from the people. Khurram says they launched a pilot of the project at the Lahore Eat Festival. This, he says, proved successful.

“We primarily offer just tea in keeping with how it’s done in Karachi. Turns out it does not work out like that here in Lahore,” Khurram says. Shedding light on future plans, he reveals they have been planning to add a bun kebab stall and incorporate film stills at their “dhaba.”

Published in The Express Tribune, June 4^th, 2016.