Two Tea Stalls of Bilal Gunj Bazaar

Two Tea Stalls of Bilal Gunj Bazaar

There is a big pot of tea simmering on a stove! Once you read this, you can already imagine the rest:

A person standing or sitting near the stove and constantly checking the consistency of the tea; a few chairs and tables lined up under the sky where people sit and sip; the hum of the traffic blending in with the chit-chat of people sipping tea; and, of course, the warm, sweet, and comforting aroma of Karak chai or doodh patti.

Welcome to the tea stalls that line up our cities’ various nooks and lanes. Lahore has many famous tea stalls in every Bazaar that tea lovers frequent.

Bilal Ganj Bazar is no exception.

As you wander through the streets of Bilal Ganj, you can spot many tea stalls that cater to the buyers and sellers of Bilal Ganj whenever they need a comforting cup of tea.

Tea drinking is a ritual that’s not limited by the trappings of time. Anytime and every time is tea time. No matter what time of the day it is, you can find a tea stall where a huge teapot is simmering somewhere in the streets of Bilal Gunj.

However, all tea stalls are not created equal. Some win the trust of their customers by offering something special. There are two signature tea stalls the buyers and sellers Bilal Gunj swear by.

When we asked the shopkeeper of the Bazar to suggest a good tea stall, without fail, all of them mentioned Qasooria and Hafiz tea stalls.

When we visited Bilal Ganj, the weather was quite warm but the weather didn’t deter people from indulging in a hot cup of tea. First, we checked the Hafiz tea stall, waited in the queue for a while, took a few photographs, and moved on.

We wanted to find a place where we could sit and watch the street life while sipping tea.

The Qasooria tea stall seemed inviting. The first thing we noticed about their tea was the huge thick layer of cream or malai on the tea simmering in the pot.

When we talked to some of the customers, it turned out that the thick layer of cream or malai is what the Qasooria tea stall is famous for.

Many regular customers of the Qasooriai tea stall visit it just to get their fix of the thick cream that makes the Qasooria tea so ‘special.’

“This tea stall is famous because they use pure milk, and their tea leaves are also special,” Said one of the regular customers who was a Qasooria tea stall fan and especially visits the bazaar for a cuppa.

We ordered the tea and invited one of the regular customers to join us. Sure enough, a thick layer of malai greeted us as the steaming hot disposable mugs were placed on our benches.

These tea stalls don’t need an elaborate setup to lure customers. They don’t need a restaurant or cafe management system to keep track of their earnings and calculate tax. At least, not yet!

Unlike the elite mainstream cafes, the most important element here is the man who makes the tea – sitting right in front of you, chatting with you, and making sure that all your tea-drinking needs are taken care of.

People visit these tea stalls to relax, chat and get a fresh burst of energy to keep them going.

We were there for the vibe: communal, warm, and suffused with the sweet milky aroma of Karak chai.