Monday, February 27, 2012

Breakfast of Chota Lachay-daar Paratha @ Alamgir, Bahadurabad

If you guys have not tried it yet, do so as it is quite good in taste. I wonder how they kept it so crisp even though it is much thicker than the normal ones.

You can order Chota Lachay Daar Paratha with Tea or Doodh patti, Omelet, Half/Full fried egg, Channa, etc.

Preparing Chota Lachay-daar Paratha

Preparing Chota Lachay-daar Paratha

On Alamgir Road near Bahadurabad Chowrangi

Deep Sea Fishing @ Charna Island

Charna Island

Had another exciting fishing trip with Shoaib Ahmed Paracha. He targeted Parrot or Popat and Yellow Fin Bream or Captain fishes this time and was well on target. We left early in the morning at 4:30 am, and after picking up some equipment from a friend and having a breakfast at Nasir Barohi Hotel, we reach Mubarak Village at around 8:00 am.

Shoaib bhai booked Mama’s boat which was the most spacious boat, of this kind (Horra in Urdu), I ever went on to. By 8:30 am we were in the sea heading towards Charna Island.

We used bait prepared from alive Rock Crabs. Shoaib bhai told the boatman to catch these Rock Crabs a day earlier so we can use them as a bait in our trip.

Rock Crab

The technique to prepare the bait from Rock Crab is to hold it by its two claws so it can not do any harm to you. And then disjoint the two arms having claws right off the shoulder. Do the same for all remaining legs and remove the hardened top shell. What is left can be cut into sizable pieces good enough to be used as a bait.

Preparing Bait using Rock Crab

We anchored close to Charna Island and the water was so clear that we were easily viewing fishes roaming beneath. There were captains and parrots. Also, there were two huge size parrots of fresh blue color, but we do not have any bait sizeable enough to lure them and ultimately catch them. So, they kept teasing us throughout our stunt Sad smile

Parrot or Popat Fish

Yellow Fin Bream or Captain Fish

We caught 11 parrots. 2 of them were around 1.65 kg in weight, 5 were around 0.90 kg, and 4 were around 0.5 kg. We also caught 3 captains each weighing around 1.25kg. (And yes… these are not shikari weights Smile otherwise I would’ve mentioned, 3 kg, 1.75kg and 0.75 kg Winking smile)

Catch of the day

What I noticed was that despite the fact that there were lots of parrots and captains underneath which we saw with our bare eyes, we did not end up having a lot of catches. In fact, the fishes were literally playing football with our baits, and most often eating it without getting hooked. Also, numerous times I end up hooking my tackle with the rock or may be the parrot fish drag it back to its coral

We also end up snapping a Shakespeare ® Rod just because of that Sad smile

Besides that, after searching on how to catch Parrot fish on the internet, I felt we did one thing differently i.e. we placed the weight/sinker at the bottom of the hook, however people suggest that it should sit just above the hook

Also we didn’t used the Beak Hook to be specific.

Beak Hook

Any how, our catch count and weight was good enough to cheer us up, after all we are in the process of learning the art Smile

With Catch of the Day

My share :)

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Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Deep Sea Fishing at Chota Talaar, near Charna

This Sunday we went for deep sea fishing at Chota Talaar and Anwar Ka Pathar. This was our first such trip with Mujtaba Karim and other senior anglers. We left at 4:00 am in the morning and reach Fisheries at around 5:00 am to buy fresh bait (Louvar and Bangra). We left Fisheries after Fajir prayers at around 6:30 am to reach Nisar Barohi Hotel at around 7:15 am.
Nisar Barohi Hotel near Mubarak Village

Besides angler community, there were a good number of bicyclers out there as well, for some club level bicycling event. Looks quite encouraging from community building perspective and also serve as a sign of a peaceful and positive recreational activity for social uplift.
Bicylers at Mubarak Village for a Club Level Bicycling Event

After doing breakfast of Paratha, Channa and Doodh Patti Tea, we left for Mubarak Village at around 8:45 am.
Mubarak Village

There were around 8 teams with 3 to 5 anglers on each team. 5 of the teams went to Chota Talaar and 3 of them went to Hayat.

Those of us who went to Chota Talaar didn’t caught much (as per the standards of senior participating anglers, but for us – me, Kashif and Humair, we did quite well Smile).

We did trolling…Trolling on the way

But unfortunately didn’t get any thing via Trolling except a 3 or more kg Grouper (Ghisser). Though, Mackerels did bite the bait twice.
3 kg Grouper via Trolling

We then go for Taru… Mujtaba Karim is doing chumming, in below image, to lure Mackerels. We used fresh Louvar and Bangra as a chum and bait.Chumming for Taru

Lastly, we tried manual jigging (without rods)… but to no avail Sad smileManual Jigging

But Alhamdolilah! Bottom works well for us Smile and I caught a Spotted Grouper (Ghisser) weighing around 3 kg and a number of Rock Cods (Damba) weighing up till 1.5 kg.3 kg Grouper via Bottom

It was total 7 kg or more fish that I got as my share…
Spotted Grouper and Rock Cods

Those 3 teams who went to Hayat… did remarkable job and caught huge Mackerels Open-mouthed smile. One team caught 22 Mackerels ! other 17 Mackerels and another 11 Mackerels… man! that was a REAL CATCH!!! Great Job Guys Thumbs up you did exceptionally well!

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Saturday, February 18, 2012

Shawarma Platter at Shawarma House, Saba Avenue, DHA, Karachi

Shawarma House is a small “Dhaaba” type outlet at Saba Avenue, DHA, Karachi. Based on my friend’s recommendation we decided to give it a try this Saturday.

Shawarma House at Saba Avenue, DHA, Karachi

Unlike normal rolled or sandwiched Shawarma, they served it as a Platter, which was something new. Taste was good and Pita was very fresh and soft. A single platter would cost you around PKR 325/=.

Shawarma Platter

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Tabasco Chicken @ Red Chilli, Khadda Market, Defence

Tried Tabasco Chicken @ Red Chilli, Khadda Market, Defence, this Saturday. Quite unique taste, specially the sauce they had on top. Grilled to perfection, very delicious. Do give it a try!

Tabasco Chicken

Crazy Kit Kat as a smoothie works well after the main entrée.

Crazy Kit Kat

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

2012-01-29 Deep Sea Fishing at Power House and Jamna

11 Barracuda or Kund - 0.5kg to 0.75kg
40+ ? or Khapartaan - 0.25kg to 0.75kg
1 Red Snapper or Heera - 0.5kg

Used squid, shrimp and small fish (louver in urdu) as a bait

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2012-01-21 Hunting Trip to Khipro, Sindh

Total Participants – 14

Per Head Cost – PKR 3,182

Total Time – 46 Hours

Departure from Karachi – 21 Jan 2012 @ 02:15 am

Arrival at Karachi – 23 Jan 2012 @ 11:55 pm

Transport Type – Hiace Low Roof (14 Seater)

Transport Rent – PKR 7,500

Fuel Cost – PKR 6,880 - Petrol PKR 3,500 and CNG PKR 3,380

Total Kilometers Travelled – ~ 600 km

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Stop by after crossing Hyderabad for a cup of Tea. It was extremely chilly out there and probably the lowest temperature we experienced in our tour.


Were close to Mirpurkhas when sun rises.


Reached Mirpurkhas Main Bus Stop at around 7:00 am

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The tire went flat soon after we left Mirpurkhas for Khipro. 7:15 am.


After 15 minutes of wait, we assembled again and left for Khipro at 7:45 am.


At 8:30 am we reached Noman Liaquat Qaimkhani’s House at Khipro. Noman’s father, pictured above.

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Had a scrumptious breakfast at 9:00 am. Noman’s family’s hospitality was unforgettable for sure.


After a six hour drive and a superb breakfast, a 15 min nap is all you want and so did we Smile

At 10:00 am we left for Salt Lakes at the out skirts of Khipro.


We witnessed the amazing Salt Lakes at around 11:00 am.


And another nearby beautiful Lake.


At around 12:00 pm, we left for Hathingo to get supplies for our night stay at Desert.


Reached Hathingo at around 12:30 pm. Arrange supplies, hire 4 x 4 and left for Desert at around 3:00 pm. In case you didn’t noticed “that” flag… see below image.


Jeeeeaaaaaayyyyyy Mahajir!!!
La hola wala quwwata illa billa… Confused smile


Around 4:00 pm, we reached the Desert and settled down at our chosen spot close to a big Lake.


Had a delicious Chicken Biryani in Lunch arranged by Noman’s friend. 4:30 pm.


Hunt some birds on our own Winking smile
What??? you don’t believe this? check below image

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See!!! that’s me… and that’s the real double barrel gun with real bullets… isn’t that enough for the proof? Open-mouthed smile

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And the onslaught continues till the Dusk. Man! I was tired by that time… after all the whole party was relying on my hunting skills Winking smile

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Erecting tents on Desert sand was a tricky task too. Initially we inserted the wooden nails vertically, but the wind pressure uproot them very quickly due to frictionless desert sand. Then one of the local dig the sand by hand and inserted the wooden nail horizontally in the hole and dump the sand on top of it. That trick work well and soon we be able to erect the complete tent.

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Mmm… the Sajji setup was all set by the Dusk at around 6:00 pm.


Yes, there was an option for Camel ride too!

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Had a hot cup of Tea, soon after maghrib prayers. It was really good… may be because it was cooked on wood fire.


And finally we left for Rabbit Hunting in the night. It was a once in a lifetime experience. We left in three 4x4s, the designated hunter has to sit on the bonnet of the jeep and the helper hang on the side with a big torch in his hand. As the jeep moves slowly into the desert the helper moves the torch light around in search of wild rabbits. As soon as one is sighted, helper focus the torch on to it and the rabbit became stand still for few seconds. The hunter has to take the shot during that few seconds, if not the rabbit recovered from the shock of intense light and run away.

Unfortunately we were not able to hunt any rabbit because we failed to follow the guidelines i.e. we made a lot of noise during our hunt which led the rabbits away from us. We did spotted 3 wild rabbits but all at odd times Confused smile so much for the luck of the rabbits Smile


Had a wonderful dinner at around 10:00 pm. Sajji, Steam Roast, Chicken Karhai, Cold Drinks and Special Kheer, again, from Noman’s family.

We also enjoyed the BBQ of the birds we hunt during the day.


After dinner, we sat around the bonfire and crack jokes and share stories

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And, play cards


At around 2:00 pm, most of us went to sleep.


At around 5:30 pm, we woke up and left the desert for Hathingo.


Offered fajir prayers at Khipro Jama Mosque.


Had a cup of Tea offered by Noman’s cousin, the young “Daakter Saab” (MBBS Graduate) Smile. Finally, we say good bye to Noman’s father, brother and cousin at around 9:00 am and left for Karachi.

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With some stops, here and there, we reach Karachi by 11:00 pm. And by 11:55 pm we were at home. Home Sweet Home Smile


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