RAWALPINDI: At an hour when most families are winding down for the night, 28-year-old Syed Hamza is carrying home an armful of frozen treats from a shop that has become a ritual for his family.
Five khoya faloodas and four colorful ice golas are carefully packed into plastic bags as he waits outside Super Gola Falooda, a 25-year-old family-run business in Rawalpindi’s Banni Chowk.
Hamza says this is nothing out of the ordinary.
“I come here three to four times every week,” he said. “My family loves the taste and it’s affordable too.”
Long before international ice cream chains and premium frozen desserts became common in Pakistan, shaved ice shaped into a ball and drenched in brightly colored flavored syrups was a familiar summer treat outside schools and in neighborhood markets.
Decades later, ice gola continues to attract loyal customers, as former street vendors have established corner shops and expanded their offerings.
As temperatures soar during Pakistan’s summer, many people wait until after sunset to venture outdoors, with Super Gola Falooda drawing a steady stream of customers looking to cool off. Even after 11 p.m., dozens queue patiently while workers race to keep up with orders.
Inside, five men feed large blocks of ice into metal crushers as the constant scraping echoes through the shop. Others quickly shape the crushed ice into round golas before soaking them in brightly colored syrups.
Rows of syrup bottles line the shelves behind them. The owners say the syrups, including the classic Rooh Afza flavor, are prepared in-house using family recipes.
Alongside the traditional ice gola, the shop serves gola falooda, kulfa falooda and its most popular item, khoya falooda — a richer dessert combining vermicelli, milk, khoya, syrup and shaved ice. A traditional ice gola costs Rs100 ($0.35), making it an affordable treat for many families.
“We’ve been here for 25 years,” said Mian Usman, the 35-year-old owner of the establishment. “The taste people enjoyed when we started is the same taste we serve today.”
“People come from all over Pakistan,” he added.
Usman said the business began as a small roadside stall after his elder brother learned the craft from a mentor in Sargodha, a city in Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province. Today, the shop is run entirely by eight to ten family members.
According to him, the business prepares an average of about 1,500 golas a day. Although it opens at 10 a.m., its busiest hours begin around midnight and continue until closing at 3 a.m.
Health experts, however, say the colorful summer treat is only as safe as the hygiene standards followed during its preparation.
Islamabad-based nutritionist Abdullah Safaraz said frozen treats sold by street vendors are safe to consume only when prepared under hygienic conditions.
“The quality of the ice and water used is important,” he said. “If the ice is from contaminated water, it can expose consumers to bacteria and increase the risk of waterborne diseases.”
Safaraz said the effects of consuming ice gola can vary from person to person, but frequent consumption of sugary frozen treats may not be a healthy choice.
For many customers, however, the attraction goes beyond simply cooling off on a hot night.
Syed Ghafoor, 42, who traveled from Kohat, said he has been visiting the shop for more than a decade.
“When I first came here, it was just a small roadside stall,” he said. “Now it has become a proper shop, but they have maintained the same quality.”
Irfan Ahmed, 39, finds it more convenient to visit the shop since he lives in the same city.
“Whenever we’re in this area, my friends and I make sure we stop here after dinner. My favorite is the khoya gola.”
Among the younger visitors was 12-year-old Hashir Ahmed, who said this was already his third visit because he loves the flavor.
By midnight, the queue outside the shop is still growing.
As Hamza heads home with bags full of frozen treats for his family, workers continue shaving ice and pouring syrup for customers who keep arriving, drawn by a summer tradition that has endured even as tastes have changed.
“We don’t use exact measurements,” said 35-year-old Qaiser Mahmood as he worked behind the counter. “It’s all based on experience, and we’ve kept the same recipe for the past 25 years.”
