hile dessert is not my favorite part of any meal (the part where someone puts a huge thing of braised or roasted red meat in front of me is my favorite part), there are times you have to have to have to have dessert. Just a little meetha to tide you over. However, the odd Snickers bar doesn’t cut it anymore. Sometimes all one needs is a dessert, just prepared by someone for them.

You won’t be surprised to know I have a lot of opinions on dessert served or sold in Karachi. Here are some things I haven’t stopped thinking about in a few days:

Firstly, the kheer and rabri at Delhi Rabri House. It is always fantastic, always rich and sweet, and nostalgia might be the motivation here, but no one quite does it like them. For good measure they have everything from rabri ice cream to kulfi so the days you feel that hankering for thanda, meetha something but don’t quite know what, this is your spot.

Then, to further this nostalgic desserts theme, the one that always comes up is Shama’s/Nando’s malt cake. While I respect both popular opinion and the cake, have you guys had Shama’s lemon chiffon cake? It is super, super, super delicious, specially if you don’t love really sweet desserts.

The one that has held my heart for a couple of months now is the Eton mess at Cote Rotie.

It looks and sounds like it should be awful, but just… strawberries, and meringue, and whipped cream. It’s literally a just-ingredients, non-actual-food concoction that shouldn’t be good, but is.

Here’s one everyone can have, no matter where they are in Pakistan: Subway cookies. Chocolate chip cookies are a step above candy bars, and a step below dessert you’ll have to eat on a plate or container. They make me miss the original Espresso cookie, but to Espresso’s credit, they’re still the only ones making a decent-ish apple crumble as far as restaurants and cafes go.

Finally, I believe anything by Auntie Munaver is always a hit; and her tres leches cake – even in this economy ­– will make you forget your troubles, at least till the cake lasts.