National Geographic just proved something we at Halal Travel Pal have believed for a long time.
In their series Epic Food Journeys with Mark Wiens, food traveller Mark Wiens spent 24 hours eating his way through Lahore, Pakistan. He started at dawn with siri paye , slow cooked trotters at Haneef Siri Paye on Temple Road, a spot that has been feeding Lahore since before most countries had TV. He ended the day at Butt Karahi on Lakshmi Chowk, where a mutton karahi cooked in desi ghee over an open flame, a recipe unchanged since 1947, left him lost for words.
The episode went viral. People around the world watched and said the same thing” I need to go there”.
That is the power of halal food travel. And Lahore is just one city on a very long, very delicious list.
Here are three halal food cities we think every food loving traveller should visit at least once:
Start your morning with nihari, a slow braised beef stew that cooks overnight , from the old lanes of Gawalmandi. By evening, make your way to Lakshmi Chowk. Order the desi chicken karahi at Butt Karahi. Eat it with tandoori naan straight from the clay oven. Wash it down with a thick, cold lassi from Fazal Milk Shop just around the corner. This is not just dinner. This is Lahore telling you who it is.
Penang’s George Town is a UNESCO World Heritage city, and it may also be the greatest halal food city in Southeast Asia. Head to Hameediyah Restaurant on Campbell Street, open since 1907, for their beef murtabak, a thick, spiced stuffed pancake that has been made the same way for over a century. Then walk to Line Clear Nasi Kandar on Penang Road for a plate of rice drowned in layered curries, banjir style.
Stand on the Galata Bridge at sunset. A fisherman on a rocking boat below folds a grilled mackerel with fresh onions into bread and passes it through a small wooden window. This is the balik ekmek, the fish sandwich. It costs almost nothing. Pair it with a glass of hot çay and watch the ferries crossing the Bosphorus. No reservation needed. No dress code.
The global halal food market is worth over $2 trillion and muslim travellers are one of the fastest growing groups in tourism worldwide.
Which city would you add to this list? Drop it in the comments, we read every one.
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