KARACHI: The much hyped and much talked about food festival Karachi Eat 2018 opened to a jam-packed premises of foodies on Friday at the Benazir Park in Karachi. There were a total of 125 stalls of restaurant food, hotel food, street food and both local and foreign cuisines to choose from and indulge. Brought to the public for the fifth consecutive year by CKO, the event began from 4:30pm and ended at 10:30pm. Karachi Eat 2018 will conclude on Sunday. For those of you who attended and for those of you who couldn’t, here’s what we thought of the event. There was something for everyone; for all kinds of meat lovers and even for vegetarians STRENGTHS Like we mentioned earlier, Karachi Eat 2018 saw a total of 125 stalls of various cuisines. Foodies and visitors were spoilt for choice, considering the plethora of food stalls, all from various cuisines like Italian, Parsi, Indian, Pakistani, Arabian and Chinese. There were food items such as grilled cheese and chicken sandwiches, pink lemonades, a variety of French fries, chapal kebabs, biryani, grilled fish, traditional daal chaaval, cakes, pastries, cookies, tea, nihari, halwa puri, sugarcane juices, ice cream and what not. There was something for everyone, for all kinds of meat lovers and even for vegetarians. It was a complete family affair. Men and women of all ages, and walks of life were seen with their families, friends, children and colleagues, letting their hair down, relaxing and running from one stall to the other, excitedly trying out different cuisines to satisfy their tastebuds and fill their tummies. Some of the vision we talked to expressed how they had stayed hungry until 4:30pm so they could eat their heart out at the event. An event, which began at 4:30pm and lasted until 10:30pm, never saw a dull moment even once. The entire premises of Benazir Park were seen filled with people right from when it began to when it ended. We remember leaving at 10pm and even though there was only half an hour left to the event time being up, there seemed to be no hope the crowd would die down anytime soon. If the otherwise pricey food items were being sold at the most affordable of rates, one wondered if their quality was being compromised It was a highly secured event with police personnel and rangers untiringly stationed outside the gates of Benazir Park. The food items were available at the most subsidised of prices. Where a simple chicken cheese burger meal would cost nothing less than Rs 600, you could avail it at Rs 300 there. Karachi Eat 2018 is a positive step towards cultural development of the country where people could be diverted from the negativities and chaos that plague our society. If was a perfect platform for startups to make their presence felt in a market saturated by food retail giants. Other than food stalls, there were colourful and bright photo booths that looked truly exciting and where you could get your pictures taken. The weather was absolutely perfect for a food picnic that begins in the afternoon and lasts until late. Other than food and picture booths, music sensations hit the premises to enthral the audience and how could we forget the fire breathing experts that were truly a sight. WEAKNESSES Seating arrangements were lax. If the otherwise pricey food items were being sold at the most economical of rates, one wondered whether their quality was not being compromised. Looking forward to Day 2 Published in Daily Times, January 14th 2018.