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  • For all chipotle lovers out there, Adobo is for you

    For all chipotle lovers out there, Adobo is for you

    Before I pen this review, I just want to put it out there that I absolutely love Mexican food – it’s my ultimate comfort food. Which is why I was super excited to try it out.

    Adobo is a small, cosy restaurant located at Shahbaz Commercial with limited sitting. The interior is very bohemian with graffiti on the walls.

    Like the sitting, the menu is also limited. However, the options are enough to satisfy your Mexican cravings. The menu includes tacos, mini tacos, Burrito Bowls and guacamole among other things.

    Considering that my husband and I visit this place almost every week, I can confidently say that the food is fresh, clean and absolutely delicious. The spice levels are perfect and sauces perfectly curated. The satisfaction at the end of a meal here is unlike any other I’ve experienced in the past.

    However, the food is not the best part. The best part of the restaurant is the warmth it has to offer. The owner is almost always there to make sure his customers are comfortable and get the best service.

    As far as the price factor is concerned, the restaurant is reasonably priced. But if you order items like guacamole, except the bill to be slightly higher.

    All in all, if you don’t care about the calories, Adobo is the place for you to go.

  • The Daft Draft: Judging society’s stereotypes with illustrated wit

    The Daft Draft: Judging society’s stereotypes with illustrated wit

    The Daft Draft on Instagram has over 7,000 followers, many of whom are influencers. The appeal: taking on societal stereotypes, illustrating them in pop culture graphics and making us all question the method of our societal madness.

    A popular post by TheDaftDraft, poking at society’s desire for the gori bahu

    We spoke with the person behind the instagram account and found that that she, (it is a woman), knew how to use photoshop but learnt how to use illustrator by watching YouTube videos.

    Two years ago, “a traumatic incident regarding a family member being unwell put me through a very rough phase in my life,” she says. After the incident, she decided not to be defined by misfortune but decided to use her humour to give her the power to come back, “stronger, happier and in my case, funnier”.

    She is obviously from Karachi, since no other city would understand the trudge from central Defence to KDA

    She learnt how to use illustrator four months ago, “because I had all these ideas and no way of communicating them in an interesting way,” and she feels that not only does she get her message across, she is also setting, “an appropriate tone”.

    The Daft Draft’s humor also includes Karachi-specific ‘legends’ such as ‘Slims, Pick-a-Pack Party Chilli Chips’

    “I also love knowing that I can make people laugh, it makes me feel like I’m contributing something good to society”. Her account has become very popular in a short amount of time and she now is also running a website where you can buy the designs.

    For her innovative way of poking fun at society, and pushing through life’s difficult times to come out stronger, The Daft Draft, is this week’s Sunday Superstar.

  • Meray Paas Tum Ho’s most emotional episode yet as Bewafa turns to atonement

    Ouch. Danish is still hurting but he’s definitely not going to take Mehwish back. That phone call between the two makes it evidently clear. Or does it?

    The episode starts with Mehwish (Ayeza Khan) trying to get her friends to help her out but they are initially averse to the idea of doing so because she has committed the ultimate sin – betraying their friend. She goes to meet Hania (Hira Mani) trying to get help from her, and also trying to figure out what Hania’s relationship is with Danish (Humayun Saeed) and Mehwish’s son Rumi. It is obvious that Mehwish’s main goal is now to get back with Danish and she tries her best to talk to the people who know him to find out where his head is at, before she calls him herself.

    Hania also feels for Mehwish as Mehwish tells her about what’s happened

    The phone call is painful. Humayun Saeed is such a perfect actor that you can actually feel the pain in his voice as he tells his ex-wife how much he used to miss her. And how they can never get back together.

    Danish, stone-faced as he listens to Mehwish on the phone

    But the phone call that makes everyone’s heart tug is the one between Mehwish and her son Rumi. He couldn’t sleep without her and one feels so strongly for the child, and also despises Mehwish in that moment; not for following what she wanted and leaving Danish, but for not considering her child’s feelings as well. She tries to make amends with him and as any child, Rumi also cannot help but become warm with Mehwish – she is after all his mother. But when he tells her how his father used to miss her by calling her name, forgetting she wasn’t there, in that moment, you cannot help but feel that Mehwish never deserves redemption. As she cries, you become conflicted. People make mistakes.

    Rumi tells his mother how his father reacted after she left him

    But as Danish explains to his son later, it wasn’t a mistake. It was a sin. And therefore, cannot be redeemed. He does tell his friend that he’s forgiven her, “Kehdo uska maaf kar dia,” Danish tells his friend, “Khuda ki qasm maaf kar dia,” but as he talks to Rumi he is a little more honest, saying, “jis din mai usko bhool jaonga tou mil jaye gi usko maafi”

    Rumi and Danish share a heartfelt conversation, showing they’re a team

    It’s an emotional episode because you see Danish struggle. He still loves her and it’s quite possible he always will. And he knows that just one word, and he can have her back. Possibly, more in love with him than he was with her. Her life has turned upside down. She’s gotten a job and is living in a women’s hostel. Right now, Danish has everything that she wants. She just doesn’t have Danish.

    Mehwish, trying to atone for her sins, goes to a mazar

    Do you feel for her? Yes, you do and Ayeza Khan does an absolutely fantastic job as the arrogant woman who thwarts love and then realizes the incredibly huge mistake she’s made. The acting is what does it. There’s no way you cannot feel, even a little, for her. Her fall from ‘greatness’ is that big. And you wonder that if the tables had turned and this was a husband who had cheated, the wife would most likely take him back.There are many Pakistani dramas that already have that ‘happy ending’. So when she goes to a mazar, remembers her husband who was good and loving, she tries to atone for her sins. And maybe, she can have it. Everyone sins, everyone makes mistakes. Just because she’s a woman, doesn’t mean she doesn’t get a second chance.

    Hania’s expression when Danish says he wants to marry her

    But according to the teaser for the next episode, it does. Danish is seen asking Hania to marry him, or rather asking someone else in front of Hania, if Hania will marry him. Mehwish ends up in the hospital and he rushes to find out what’s happened. Love is unfortunately love. It doesn’t die, even if you’re side-lined, betrayed or even when you come back.

  • ‘Pakistan has got its act together’: Indian cybersecurity praises DG ISPR Gen Asif Ghafoor

    ‘Pakistan has got its act together’: Indian cybersecurity praises DG ISPR Gen Asif Ghafoor

    India’s cybersecurity chief on Saturday stressed the need for a unified public relations command for the three wings of the armed forces to ensure an upper hand in the narrative warfare with Pakistan, which, he opined, has “got its act together” through its Director General Inter Services Public Relations (DG ISPR) Major General Asif Ghafoor.

    According to a report in India Today, National Cyber Security Coordinator Lieutenant General Rajesh Pant (retd) while speaking at a seminar said the three wings of the armed forces have their own public relations officers and “they are going in different ways”.

    “When are we going to have our own equivalent of the DGISPR,” he is reported to have said, adding, “The (Indian armed forces) services have their own PRs and they are going in different ways.”

    Pant remarked that Pakistan has got “its act together” in narrative warfare because of DG ISPR.

    Elaborating further Pant said, “When they (DGISPR) conduct narrative warfare, let’s say in the case of Kashmir, the message they send to Europe is that human rights are being infringed. When they engage with Islamic nations they tell them that Islam is under threat. And what they told Southeast Asia is that there is a regional instability.”

    “So, they seem to have got their act together,” he concluded.

    Meanwhile, General Asif Ghafoor also took to social media to share his reaction.

  • PIA hikes fares for domestic flights

    PIA hikes fares for domestic flights

    The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and other private airlines have increased their fares for domestic flights.

    After the revision of fares, a one-way trip from Karachi
    to Lahore, Islamabad will cost Rs 35,000 and while fare from Lahore to Karachi
    and Quetta has been increased by Rs 10,000 and Rs 15,000 respectively.

    The private airlines are charging Rs 36,000 for flights
    bound to Rahim Yar Khan Faisalabad and Islamabad.

    An increase in fares of PIA and private airlines caused
    problems for the people who have planned their trips for winter vacations.

    Earlier, on May 29, the Pakistan International Airlines
    (PIA) and other private airlines had increased their fares after the Civil
    Aviation Authority (CAA) had increased the fuel prices following a sharp
    increase in the international market and the soaring dollar.

  • EXCLUSIVE: Mahira Khan reveals what she was like in school

    EXCLUSIVE: Mahira Khan reveals what she was like in school

    It’s Mahira Khan’s birthday. The actor who turned 35 on December 21 is without a doubt one of Pakistan’s biggest stars and she’s had a stellar year – her film Superstar is the highest-grossing Pakistani film of the year, she walked the ramp at the Paris Fashion Week and she has been appointed a Goodwill ambassador for United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

    But did she know that she was going to be a superstar? In an interview with The Current, Mahira said that she never thought she would reach so high but she always wanted to be an actor even though she was a very shy person in school.

    “I was in my own little world at that time,” said Mahira when told that the boys in school used to ask their female friends to become friends with her so that they could hang out with her [Mahira].

    Mahira further revealed that she was a backbencher in school. When asked the best thing about being a backbencher, Mahira replied, “I had my best friend in class with me. The both of us used to chatter all day long. And I hardly attended [classes] that year in school.”

    Watch the complete interview here:

    Born in Karachi, Mahira started her career as a VJ in 2006. She made her screen debut opposite Atif Aslam in Bol (2011) and over the years climbed the ladder of success to become one of Pakistan’s biggest stars.

  • Wedding photography has been banned at Badshahi Mosque. Here’s why

    Wedding photography has been banned at Badshahi Mosque. Here’s why

    Bad news for those who wanted to have their wedding photoshoots done at Badshahi Masjid because the mosque’s management has banned wedding photography there. People who have already booked the spot for photography are safe, but no further bookings will be entertained.

    As per mosque’s caretaker Abdul Khabeer Azaad, the ban was put in order after photographers took pictures of brides and grooms in inappropriate poses that were against the ethics of a mosque. It also disturbed the people praying there.

    Meanwhile, people had mixed reactions to the ban.

    https://twitter.com/k_abjaoO/status/1208079271350210563?s=20
  • Unknown armed men break into residence of Musharraf’s ex-prosecutor, ‘warn him’

    Unknown armed men break into residence of Musharraf’s ex-prosecutor, ‘warn him’

    An armed robbery has been reported at the farmhouse of Akram Sheikh, who previously headed the government’s prosecution team against Gen (r) Pervez Musharraf in the high treason case against the latter, SAMAA reported.

    According to reports, the armed men remained at the lawyer’s residence for around two hours while they held his family hostage, and finally left after looting items worth millions of rupees.

    Sheikh’s farmhouse is located in Islamabad’s Chak Shehzad area, police said and added that the lawyer’s family was locked in a room after their mobile phones were taken away by the intruders. “The house was then combed and looted.”

    While a case has not yet been lodged amid Sheikh’s silence, senior journalist and analyst Hamid Mir has claimed that the lawyer was also threatened by the armed men.

    Sheikh was appointed as the prosecutor by former prime minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif to fight the Musharraf treason case on behalf of the government. He fought the case till 2018 and resigned after the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was elected to power.

    The former army chief and dictator was handed death sentence by a special court earlier this week.

  • Atif Aslam welcomes another baby

    Atif Aslam welcomes another baby

    Pakistan’s biggest rockstar Atif Aslam welcomed a baby with wife Sara Bharwana. The name and gender of the baby has not yet been disclosed.

    Atif took to the gram to make the announcement.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/B6VNGpwllxM/?utm_source=ig_embed

    The couple who tied the knot in 2013 also have a son, Ahad.

  • Dawat but no gas? Here are some low heat dessert recipes

    Dawat but no gas? Here are some low heat dessert recipes

    Easy and quick recipes that require no or less heat are the best solution during these cold no gas wintery days.  These easy recipes will also make lives easy of people at ‘shaadi wala ghar’.

    Banana Pudding

    Things you will need

    1 cup granulated sugar

    1/4 cup all-purpose flour

    1/4 teaspoon salt

    2 3/4 cups whole milk

    4 large egg yolks

    2 teaspoons vanilla extract

    3 tablespoons unsalted butter

    one packet marie biscuits

    4 sliced large bananas

    Procedure

    Combine the sugar, flour, and salt and whisk them together. Gradually whisk in the milk until combined, then place the pan over very low heat.

    Heat the milk mixture, stirring
    regularly, until thickened to a creamy salad dressing consistency and gently
    bubbling for  8 to 12 minutes.

    Whisk the milk mixture into the
    yolks. While whisking the yolks vigorously, slowly drizzle in the milk mixture.

    Return everything back to the low
    heat for 2 minutes. Once combined, pour the mixture back into the saucepan and
    place back over medium heat. It will be pale yellow. Stir constantly for 2
    minutes . Remove from the heat. Stir in the vanilla and butter until melted and
    combined. At this point, the mixture will be back to that creamy salad dressing
    consistency.

    Make the first cookie layer with
    marie biscuits, sliced bananas and the pudding. Repeat the layering process
    once more with the remaining biscuits, bananas, and pudding.

    Chill at least 2 hours. Cover the
    baking dish with a sheet of plastic wrap (press it directly onto the pudding if
    you don’t want a skin to form). Top with cream.

    No Bake Hot Cocoa Cake

    You’ll need:

    2
    cups of heavy cream

    1/2
    cup sour cream

    1/2
    cup confectioners’ sugar

    1/2
    cup hot cocoa mix (use one without milk powder)

    1
    tsp pure vanilla extract

    1/4
    ts. kosher salt

    70 chocolate
    wafer cookies (we used Famous Chocolate Wafers, about 1½ 9-ounce package)

    Procedure:

    Using an electric mixer on high, beat the heavy cream, sour cream,
    confectioners’ sugar, hot cocoa mix, vanilla, and salt in a large bowl until
    stiff peaks form.

    Dab some of the cream mixture on one cookie and place it in the center
    of a serving platter.Repeat with 6 cookies, arranging them around and touching
    the center cookie.

    Spread half cup of the cream mixture on top, spreading over the
    cookies, leaving a half inch border around the edge. Place a cookie in the
    center of the cream and arrange 6 cookies around it. Repeat with half cup of
    the cocoa cream and 7 cookies to make 10 layers of cookies total. Top with the
    remaining cream.

    Refrigerate at least 2 hours and up to overnight. Sprinkle with
    crushed chocolate cookies before serving.

    Oreo Cookie Balls

    You’ll need:

    Packets
    of Oreo cookies

    1(8 oz) package cream cheese, softened

    Pinch of salt

    1(12 oz) packet chocolate chips, melted

    Procedure:

    Use a food processor to crush cookies into fine crumbs.

    Add crushed cookies to a medium bowl. Add cream cheese and and salt and stir until evenly combined.

    Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a small cookie
    scoop, form mixture into small balls and transfer to prepared baking
    sheet.

    Freeze until slightly hardened, about 30 minutes.

    Dip frozen balls in melted chocolate until coated and return to
    baking sheet. Sprinkle with remaining cookie crumbs. Freeze until chocolate
    hardens, about 15 minutes.