Islamabad, Aug 5 (IANS): Gone are the days when an iftar meal in Pakistan would consist of the traditional fruit-chaat, chick peas, dates and sherbet. Now, chicken schezwan, prawn on toast and even juicy cheese burgers with fried chips have taken their place.

Restaurants in Karachi now serve these food items to break the fast with, the Dawn reported Sunday.

The port city now brims with food lovers who yearn to step out of their houses to eat, and their taste buds want something "different", and the myriad restaurants in the city provide them with just that.

Nowadays, Karachiites are turning to seafood restaurants, burger joints and pizza parlours.

"Seafood, for some odd reason, is making its presence felt. There are people who love to indulge in prawn-chomping at dusk. This has even surprised those who work at the restaurant," the daily said.

Talha, a waiter at a seafood restaurant, said they have special iftar food in boxes.

"If you ask about the number of people who visit us, I can tell you that each year the number increases. While we serve food at iftar, we also deliver our stuff at people's doorsteps," he said.

Though all this sound mouth-watering, they come at prices not everyone can afford.

But then only those who have enough money generally eat out. And there is no dearth of such people in Karachi, the daily said.

Chinese food is also catching up with the fasting public. People are ordering food for home delivery as not many Chinese restaurants are offering dine-in facilities at iftar.

"It may be hard to believe, but there are some who call us to home-deliver sushi to them. Chicken manchurian and chicken schezwan are also regular items. One dish that never loses its charm is chicken chowmein," said Imran who works at a Chinese takeaway.