Lahori breakfast just earned a new fan. Australia’s High Commissioner to Pakistan, Neil Hawkins, took the classic Lahore food trail and posted about it.
First tackling paye with a grin and then celebrating a centuries old halwa puri stop in the old city.
“Challenge accepted,” he wrote, after being told that a trip to Lahore isn’t complete without paye.
Later came the perfect Lahori morning: crispy puris, spicy channay, sweet halwa.
A love note to Lahori breakfast, from an unexpected guide
Hawkins’ two posts were pure Lahore energy: warm, curious and a little cheeky.
The first nods to the city’s famous paye; slow cooked trotters in a silky gravy that demands naan and patience.
The second celebrates the unbeatable halwa puri combo, served at a 200 year-old dhaba where time moves to the rhythm of karahis and chai kettles.
No PR gloss, just food joy.
For Lahoris, this is everyday magic. For visitors, it’s a rite of passage.
You wake up early, queue under fading signboards, and watch the puri puff up like a golden balloon.
The channay bite back; the semolina halwa calms everything down.
It’s simple, shared, and utterly local exactly the kind of soft power Lahore does best.
There’s cultural diplomacy in a plate like this. A diplomat meets a city on its own terms, not in a hall, but at a table.
The hashtags (#Paye, #Lahore) were playful, yet the message was real: hospitality, heritage and a food scene built by small kitchens and big hearts.
It’s also a quiet salute to the people who keep these recipes alive, the ustads who season by memory and measure by feel.
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