Magnum ice cream had a royal launch

Is there anything better than chocolate? Hmm…Maybe only premium ice cream coated with the finest Belgium chocolate. No one knows that better than Unilever’s Wall’s and the company proved that through their royal Magnum® ice cream which was recently launched in Pakistan.

And when it comes to putting together a posh event and spice it up with the most refined sweets, no one does it better than Catwalk Production and Catalyst PR and Marketing.

The launch event was attended by some of the biggest names in media and fashion in the country headlined by an original musical “A Royal Remedy” set in 17^th Century France, with a stellar cast and production team. The musical was written by Uns Mufti especially for the Magnum launch, directed and choreographed by Nida Butt with seasoned actors Sanam Saeed, Rubya Chaudhry, Faraz Lodhi and Momin Zafar in lead roles.

I have to say that I have a bit of a sweet tooth myself (if you didn’t know that already) and that one of my weaknesses is ice cream which, by the way, I don’t consider to be a desert, but as a heavenly gift and a well-deserved reward. 

Magnum ice cream is definitely one of my favorite superstore ice creams and I enjoyed it everywhere I went from Paris to Dubai and, of course, Karachi.

Bio food Romania vs. Pakistan

One of the most recent concerns of people around me is related to food or, to be more specific, to the quality of the ingredients available on the market.
There is no surprise for anyone that chickens are raised with hormones, fresh vegetables are actually full of chemicals and, most probably, genetically modified, imported fruits are more harmful than we may imagine, milk is actually some rice flour with water and other ingredients that have nothing to do with real milk and that almost everything in the supermarket is based on chemicals that are harmful to our bodies.
People around me started to look for connection in villages where the ingredients are still as natural as possible. There are networks for different things one may need from tomatoes to eggs, turkey or cheese and sometimes I feel like we are an underground society.
And then I remember that I never questioned the quality of the ingredients in Pakistan. The Pakistani weather is very favorable for growing lots of fruits and vegetables and whenever we bought something from the market, it smelled fresh...it actually smelled like the real thing. The chicken meat was not done in 20 minutes like I was used to from our hormone-filled chickens. Instead I had to cook it over and over for maybe one hour. Milk was creamy and tasty and fruits were to die for.
I really miss all those fresh ingredients now and I am sorry I did not value them more while I was able to enjoy them there.

My Journey to Pakistan: Reaching the end of the world as I knew it - Part 2

Reaching the industrial side of Karachi made me more aware of the huge differences and of the immense gap between the more and the least fortunate people of Karachi.

I am sure that everywhere in the world there are such discrepancies and that most neighborhoods from industrial areas are overcrowded and poor compared to other residencial areas, but I was not ready to see dusty roads, small frail-ready-to-crumble houses, people sleeping under the sky or in improvised tents with all their belongings ready to be packed in one bag and with their goats near their bed.
Public schools and kindergartens were in very bad conditions and I wonder what is the quality of the education that children can get there.
Everything looked barren under the hot summerish sun, but for the people living there that was the normal scenery. Kids were playing in the middle of the street, men were enjoying tea at improvised tables on the side of the road or riding back home to their families after a hard day at work carrying one day's food supplies.
Confronted with that new face of the city I have to admit that I was scared. I was scared because everybody was looking at us and I didn't know what to expect. I was scared not because there was any real threat but because of my own prejudices.
And then after a while, when the fear passed, I was ashamed. I was ashamed and sad that I stumbled and fell in the trap of ignorance and that I was no better that other people who freaked out at the word "Pakistan".
The people in the industrial residential area of Korangi were not criminals or offenders. They were humans, hard working people employed by the big plants of Karachi, payed poorly for their work, forgotten by a state with a semi-nonexistent health and education system.
I wonder if there is a way out for them. I hope that the new mobile school system that Mr Rehan Allahwala presented at TedX would reach the children (and the adults) from that area. I really hope that his Rehan School - Education for everyone for free will help these people see their children living better lives. I pray that the amazing One Rupee Project created by the generous and dedicated Mr Sarfaraz M Khan, Mr Abdul Hameed Kath and Mr Sarosh Waiz will get the support needed in order to change things for the needy people of Pakistan.

Lessons of the day: My fear comes from my ignorance and not from the things around me. New challenges are best faced with an open heart and an open mind.

My Journey to Pakistan: Reaching the end of the world as I knew it - Part 1

Towards the end of April my husband and I, we got invited to participate in a TedX event in Karachi. Because we both are big fans of TED, we gladly accepted the invitation and were very excited to go. On the day of the event we found out that later the same day there will be a family get together at our house, but we excused ourselves saying that we have a very important place to go to.

For the first time before leaving I saw my husband consulting a map to make sure that he knows the way. Now in all fairness, I've to ask why, oh why did the organizers chose that venue. The event was taking place in Korangi, the industrial area of Karachi. At first I was happy I was getting to see some new part of the city. Later on I was just wishing to get home and I felt miserable for my thoughts and self-generated insecurity.

On our way to Korangi we passed through an area full of auto parts shops and mechanics stores and I got to see a lot of colorful trucks parked to get their things done. This is one of the things I love and hate about Karachi: for anything you need, there is a go-to market concentrating about 90% of the activities from particular field. For example if you need paper, there is the paper market, if you need plastic things, there is a plastic market and so on. The good thing is that you always know where to go. The bad thing - sometimes you have to drive long distance to get a small thing. Thank God though for superstores which are now almost everywhere and save the day.

After leaving behind the crowded and noisy area with auto shops, we moved closer towards the industrial Karachi. As we got near, unexpectedly big plants started to pop up. My image of Pakistan was more of a highly agricultural country and I never expected to see such big plants there. From spices to medicine and biscuits everything was produced there. I think the plants have the capacity of employing over 1 million people. At first I said, wow, how huge! But then I remembered that Karachi only has over 15 million living souls.

I was overwhelmed by the traffic and by the fact that we were getting late to the event. We got caught in traffic and turned right a little sooner than we were supposed to. After driving for what seemed to be less than 100 meters, the scenery changed abruptly and I had the feeling that we somehow got carried away in another time and place. What I was seeing around me did not look like 21st century, but more likely like a place where time and progress stood still for few good (tens) years.

My Journey to Pakistan: Women empowering

I must say that during this visit to Karachi I was very surprised with one thing: more and more women get behind the wheel and drive! In a city like Karachi that is not a small thing! I strongly believe that not everybody can drive in this city where the rules are unwritten or made to be broken. When you get on the streets it's like the jungle: cars coming from the opposite direction on one way streets, red light is more for go than for stop, changing direction without signal, driving in night with no lights, making a u turn in the middle of the road without changing lanes and the list of Karachi driving wonders can go on and on.

Two years ago when I was visiting Karachi for the first time, my husband was the one taking me everywhere. One time however, when my hubby was not at home, one of my sisters in law came to take me shopping. We got into her Jeep and she drove very bravely in that men jungle. I thing during that visit I've not seen more than 5 women behind the wheel and she was one of them.

This time every 10th car we cross by was had a lady driver. Some frowning, some concentrating, some talking on the phone or keeping an eye on the children, women of Karachi proved to be patient and brave. 

They no longer depend solely on the husbands or drivers to go from here to there. They are now taking matters into their own hands and they are doing it admirably!

My Journey to Pakistan: Experiencing the hotter side of life in Karachi

Every now and then the local electrical company (KESC) is making sure that I experience the true life of Karachi and shuts down the electricity for so many various, hilarious reasons which seem extracted from some dark humor screenplay. As I am writing this post the electricity was shut down because of rain and storm. Now my definition of rain and storm must be much different from theirs as rain has fallen for merely 2 blessed minutes and by now the ground is already dry. The announced storm moved some leaves from the trees more like a cool breeze than like a real wind. And yet we have no electricity.

All those Karachites who have experience similar situations probably wonder why our UPS is not working. Well I can’t tell you because I don’t know. There are many things here which are uncommon for me and I did not take the stress of finding out how everything works. My bad. (later edit: my husband fixed that! Yeeeey!)

Thanks to the same aforementioned company, few nights back I had the opportunity of admiring the starry sky from the terrace for few good hours as the electricity was cut off and the air in our room was becoming unbreathable at 30+ degrees.

Earth hour does not come only once a year in Karachi, it comes every other day and it lasts for good time. I wish it was the company’s way of encouraging a greener planet, but it is just irresponsible behavior. To top all that, last week KESC had shut down electricity in the middle of the day for maintenance. That is pure bad management!

Apart from electricity shortage, we also had water shortage in Clifton, Karachi. For some reasons the water supplier opens the pipes only for 1-2 hours in the middle of the night and that’s it! Houses have water tanks of thousands liters of water. But what happens when the water is finished? That can’t be a pretty scene in 40+ degrees. So you call a private water supplier. Yes, thank God there are such companies. Only that time is not important for these companies. For them it seems as if time has special dimensions and if they say they will send the water tank in 1 hour, don’t be foolish and expect them that quick…2-3 hours later call the company and remind them.

So no electricity, no water…welcome to Karachi’s hot and humid summers :)

My Journey to Pakistan: Enjoying Local Food

A culinary travel in Pakistan is a delight for those who appreciate exotic spices, powerful flavors and spicy food.

For me Pakistan is a country of contrasts: very rich people and very poor people, five stars hotels and people who sleep under the stars, golf courses and slums, luxury restaurants and small food stalls with 20 rupees (around 70 bani or 0.17 euro) tea and pratha.

Although I ate in 5 stars hotels and in restaurants of private clubs, I have found the best local food in tiny and (sort of) insanitary dhabas (street restaurant in Urdu) where I would never stepped in, had I not been taken there by people who knew the place. I was surprised to find there people from different social and economic backgrounds all of them attracted by the quality of the food and so I learnt that there are few restaurants – small family businesses – who have maintained their clientele generation after generation.

Pakistani food has few basic ingredients: lentils, chick peas, rice, wheat, meat (chicken, beef, mutton, goat) and, obviously, spices: ginger, turmeric, cumin, chili, coriander, cinnamon, clover, cardamom and many other.

The traditional breakfast – halwa puri – is conceived so that it offers a boom of calories and energy and it is made from a slightly crispy – soft fried dough and a paste made out of semolina, sugar, spices (cardamom, clover and others) topped with pistachio or almonds. This halwa puri is usually served with some hot gravy from potatoes (aloo salan) or chick peas (chana salan). Local restaurants serve this kind of food from 7 to 11 AM. The alternative for a traditional breakfast can be a black tea with milk (Pakistanis are huge fans of tea, signs of the former British colonialism) and pratha (a sort of a crispy pancake fried in local ghee).

For lunch the most common dishes are biryani (a tasty spicy rice with meat), samosa (deep fried snack stuffed with vegetables or meat) and different gravies (salan) made out of vegetables (with or without meat) served with roti (a whole wheat round shape thin bread baked on traditional tandoor).

During the day I have found very few local restaurants opened and those which were opened were offering a limited number of dishes, saving their energy for dinner, when people start to come in.

After 7 PM the temperature becomes bearable, the city starts to look alive and the streets become very crowded. In Karachi there are many streets filled with restaurants and local dhabas. 

On these so called food streets the smell of kabab, tika, sish tok is instantly making your senses rejoice. The waiters are in the middle of the street, trying to convince you to stop at their restaurants, they chase after cars, throw the menu through your car’s open window and, although they try to attract the same customers, I’ve not seen the competition generating conflicts.

So for dinner the variety of dishes is overwhelming: from grilled meat (kabab, boti, tika, bihari boti etc. ) which instantly melts in your mouth, served with extremely hot sauces of turmeric, garlic or other spices, to vegetables cooked in huge pots of cast iron or in clay pots, all served with naan, pratha, roti, puri (varieties of wheat products).

After having their dinner, Pakistanis enjoy a good milk yellow tea (black tea with milk). I have had a fantastic Kashmir tea (originating from the Kashmiri region) which has a subtle taste of cardamom, pistachio, almonds and which is usually served in colder days, because of its thermic effect.

The options for desert are very wide: puddings rich in milk (kheer, rabri, firni), local ice cream called faluda, kulfi and the enchanting carrots delight made out of carrots, milk, sugar and spices.

Of course all these are just few dishes from the Pakistani cuisine which is very rich due to the high availably of vegetables, fruits and, most of all, spices (below is a part of what I plan to take with me back home).

One thing is certain though: no matter what you choose to eat, you always have to be prepared with a glass of water just in case you ran out of breath from the extremely hot and spicy food.

My Journey to Pakistan: Red Bull X-Fighters Jams blew away Pakistan with their thrilling Performance!

The world’s best Freestyle motocross riders took off to the air in front of huge crowd at Moin Khan Stadium Karachi on April 7, 2012 as part of the Red Bull X-Fighters six-stop 2012 world tour.

The event started at 5 PM local time with a brilliantly choreographed cultural show in which true colors of Pakistani culture were presented with flavors of cultural dances, drums and fire acts and to top it all, the riders joined the performers on their bikes and started showing off their skills to get the crowd pumped up. After the cultural show the real action begun as the riders kicked off their bikes in the loud cheers of the crowd.

Sadly I could not reach the event, as my schedule was full for that day, but my friend Muntazir from Lets Build On was kind enough to share this video with us:

The event was broadcast live on GEO SUPER (the largest sport channel in Pakistan) and a large number of local media was also present to witness Pakistan's first ever FREESTYLE MOTOCROSS. The production and management was handled by the team of Red Bull and PR by Catalyst PR and Marketing.

Photo credits: Catalyst PR and Marketing

My Journey to Pakistan: Fashion Pakistan Week 3 - Day 4

Fashion Pakistan Week venue was jammed one hour before the starting of the show. Parking your car was a true art because the hotel's valet services were overloaded. As the last day of the FPW3 was in a workday, many people rushed from their offices in order to arrive on time. However things moved slowly and the actual fashion show started around 20:30 (19:00 was the scheduled hour). Twitter was burning with questions like what's the traffic like or did it start yet, I am running late.

After the fabulous day 3 of the event, people were burning to see what the last day has to offer.

 

Sana Safinaz opened the evening with their latest designs which were as sophisticated and dashing. The two fabulous designers did not let the audience down with their audacious and classy designs. Even some new models made an entrance on the stage, which was like a breath of fresh air after three days of seeing the same faces.

The one and only Tapu Javeri presented his Tapulicious state of the art handbags which are so much more than that: real chef d’oeuvre that every woman deserves and must have, a fashion statement for the modern, dynamic, independent women all over the world. The handbags come in lovable colors and prints and are just a pure delight.

 

 Abdul Samad's inspiration for his latest collection is non-other than the founder of Pakistan, Mr. Quaid-e-Azam Mohammed Ali Jinnah known for his sophisticated style and regarded as a trend setter of his time. The collection showed both Eastern and Western designs but did not come close to the perfect cuts that we have seen in Bham’s collection in day 3.

 Body Focus Museum, the label of designer Iman Ahmed, came with a reinterpretation of the modern woman seen as a reborn goddess. The designs were very posh, creating the image of a fragile, yet unbreakable woman. Vanilla white dresses in unstructured gorgeous drapes, white lace kimonos with gold embroidery, black leather maxi belts complementing the waist line, multiple layer black and white designs all perfectly accessorized.

The legendary Deepak Perwani's collection called Before Sunrise came in colors inspired by water and earth: lots of sea greens, sky blues and earthly - sandy beiges. Lace, crystals and rich embroidery embellished the dresses and the sarees. Models were floating on the stage in the vaporous Perwani creations and the star of the show was legendary model Nadia Hussain proudly showcasing her baby bump on the ramp.

Feeha Jamshed showed a collection dedicated to her late sister. After a very sentimental and touchy introduction, the models came on the ramp walking in trance, leaving rose petals behind. Most of the designs from the collection reminded me of the feminine mythical creatures from our (Romanian) mythology called iele (fairies with magic skills appearing in night).

The night and the fashion week ended with Honey Waqar’s bridal collection filled with glitter, sparkles, gold, burgundy red and many more other colors and prints, all in massive constructions.

By the end of the evening the models looked very tired and sometimes forgot to smile, showing that 4 days of on and off catwalk carrying heavy dresses is not an easy job.

The surprise that the event was closing with this collection was readable on everyone’s faces. Mr. Perwani admitted to few that the honor of closing the third Fashion Pakistan Week was given to the bridal designer Waqar as she was the former CEO of the Fashion Pakistan Council.

The choice of closing designer(s) left the audience confused and, although the 4 days have showcase more than a handful of to die for pieces and truly gifted designers, many left the venue remembering and talking about the last few collections which were not as breathtaking as most expected.

I guess in fashion, just like in so many other areas depending on personal taste, one man's honey is another man's poison.

Photo credits: Tapu Javeri