KARACHI: People in Pakistan’s southern Karachi port city usually avoid using the busy Napier Mole Road on winter evenings due to huge trailers causing traffic congestion, but hundreds of them can now be seen on this route in their vehicles while trying to reach to a street that is popularly known as “seafood heaven” to tantalize their tastebuds.

Known for its diverse and multicultural environment, Karachi offers a variety of cuisines that can be found in different corners of the city. Seafood Street, which is situated in the midst of centuries-old buildings near the country’s largest port, is yet another addition to the thriving food culture of the seaside metropolis.

A few decades ago, the area only housed a few shops, mostly serving fried fish cooked in large woks. But now, the street has dozens of small kiosks, or “fish points” as people prefer to call them, that serve croaker, silver pomfret, rasbora dandia and red snapper cooked in a variety of ways before being served with chutney and flatbread.

“My father started [selling] fish here,” Muhammad Rashid, owner of Rashid Seafood, told Arab News. “Then my brother came in. But when I took over, I started offering fish barbecue [using] my mother’s [recipe].”

He said that his idea of adding grilled fish to the menu was an instant hit and changed the course of his business.

While the variety of fish offered by food stalls became the unique selling point of the street, Keamari Sea Food, another food joint, came up with the idea of creating a seating area for families. The model was also adopted by others, including Rashid. Muhammad Usman, the owner of the eatery who first took this initiative, said the street started becoming famous after families started visiting it in 2019.

“Another attraction of this market is that the prices are reasonable,” he said while speaking to Arab News. “The fish is fresh out of the water [because] the sea is close to us.”

Usman added that foreigners, including many Arabs, had started visiting the place after it earned its fame.

While people throng the street to enjoy a wide variety of fish, prawn karahi and crab soup are other major attractions for foodies amid winter season.

“We tried grilled mushka [croaker] fish, grilled prawns, prawn karahi, and some white pomfret, and also their chow mein,” Siddiqa Asif, a visitor, said. 
“Everything was really good.”

Asif said it was a “great idea” to visit the place in winter, adding she wanted to try something more suitable for the season.

“It is quite far, and I think that’s also a kind of attraction for the people of Karachi that they are going somewhere to enjoy the weather and the food,” she said.

Afshan Asif, a housewife who visited the food street along with her family and ordered the famous prawn karahi, barbecue prawns, grilled croaker and red snapper, said it was her first experience with her family at the venue which had turned out to be “wonderful.”

“[It] felt good to come here,” she said. “Families have come over [too]. I didn’t expect to see families like this here, but it is good. The food is really good.

The weather is also better, and this is the best time to have fish or other seafood.”

Asad Aftab, a Karachi-based businessman, said the proximity of the street to the sea and old buildings surrounding it add to its value, especially to people his age.

“I see heritage buildings [and] walls here made of blocks that used to be there in old times,” he said, “I felt as if I went back into my past.”

Aftab said everyone had a choice, but he strongly recommended people to visit the street since they would enjoy it.

“I am sitting in a very relaxed environment,” he said after finishing his meal. “The weather is also good today, it’s cold. Fish tastes even better in this weather.”

“Next time, I will return in summer and see how it feels,” he continued. “But [in] winter, street food and Keamari are a great combination.”