Interesting Eating places in Delhi

It took 3 months to write my first blog and it took me another 3 months to write the second one,thanks to my office which made me work 7 days a week in Feb. Surprisingly the reactions were positive on the first . Thanks to Vivek and Madhuchanda for commenting on the blog. Now for the feedback. The first feedback I got was from someone in Norway who said that my title is misleading. He is planning a trip to India and he thought my blog was more of a tourist guide while in reality its more of Eating out guide. Point is taken so i am changing the title of blog to "Interesting eating places in Delhi". secondly i have started getting some more additions to the list. Thanks to Sumit and Tina for Cafe Zsa Zsa(which has unfortunately closed down) and Madhuchanda for Cafe Delhi delights for Prawn Pizzas. ( i still have not tried it so i will comment on that later). Then almost all my recommendations were non-vegetarian places. The problem is that I dont have much idea about veg cuisines but I will still try to add some bit to that also

1) Veg Soya Chaap in Butter Sauce-Mitra di Chaap-Mayur Vihar phase-1 near the metro station- One feedback I got was that my recommendations are all non-veg. So I tried to do some research on interesting Veg food( Many of my friends consider " Interesting Veg Food"as Oxymoron) and I found Soya Chaap in Butter sauce. This is an exact replica of the Tandoori chicken in butter sauce from Darya Ganj which i had mentioned in my first blog. After speaking to the owner I discovered an all too familiar story. The original shop was actually selling Tandoori chicken only, but after visiting a Babaji or some astrologer he was told that he has to give up Non-veg to achieve success in fact he couldn't even touch it. So using the great Indian Jugaad, he replaced the Chicken's on the sheekh with Soya chaaps. Apparently Soya chaap is the veg equivalent of Chicken(we can debate on the same). Anyways the change has not been bad for business. He gets quite a huge crowd on Tuesday and Thursdays when many people cant have non-veg(but they can drink which I have never understood).
As far as the taste goes its not bad. The Butter sauce is done nicely and the chaaps are chopped and smeared in the sauce. I found it to be a bit pricey for a Hole in the wall place but then Soya chaaps and butter are supposedly expensive ingredients. @Geetadi- since you were interested in the tandoori chicken  you can try this. it does not have garlic and you can ask not to put in onions.

2) Keema Pao in Yellow Brick road, Hotel Ambassador, Khan Market- YBR is a landmark in Delhi. There is a fair assumption that everybody in delhi must have visited this coffee shop in Ambassador hotel at least once in their lifetime. This place used to be the favorite hang out for us after partying hard and going for a bite at 3 in the morning. Their Bulls Eye was the pre cursor to all the the Hot chocolate with Vanilla ice creams we get everywhere now. For most of the time  i would always order either their sandwiches or the Chote Miyan ki biryani(which is a killer in itself. for some of my friends its the ultimate in biryani). But couple of months back  i went with a friend and his wife there after watching a late night movie. The friend has stayed in Mumbai so he knows the Keema pao from there and We ended up ordering Keema Pao in YBR. Having styayed in Pune my main problem with any place in Delhi which claims to serve Wada pao, Pao Bhaji or Keema pao is that people think of Pao as those round buns and we never get the real deal. Mercifully YBR gives authentic Sqaure Pao's. It is smeared with a bit of keema on the inside and shallow fried in butter. The keema is also done perfectlly with Peas and not overtly spicy or oily. My vote goes for this since we don't get such food easily in Delhi and we will understand that there is very good non-veg besides Butter Chicken.

Thadi-Hauz khas village-For those who have studied or lived in Maharashtra would know what Thadi means..for the rest of India Its the Teal stall or roadside eatery which in always present outside the college walls which serves delicious food albeit hygiene of the food has to be compromised. These places would normally serve Maggi, Egg Bhurji, Bread Omelettes , Bread pakoras, Tea, coffee etc. Normally the college students would spend more time at the Thadi's than in the classrooms. When I heard about a new place in Hauz Khas village named Thadi i was intrigued. As with all the restaurants in Hauz khas village finding this place is a pain. This is actually a Barsaati(for non Delhites this means a room on the terrace) of a building. Which means that one has to climb at least 4 floors of normal stairs and one flight of steel stairs in order to reach the top of the building. After 5 minutes of gathering your breath you realize that the place does look interesting. Its run by 4 engineers who are continuing their day jobs while running this place( the ultimate urban fantasy). its just a small room with mattresses and some basic chairs, offers free Wi-fi. There are no menu cards,The menu is actually written on a Whiteboard with markers. The place offers 5 different kinds of Maggi, Home made pizzas, Egg Bhurji, Omelettes etc. Basically the kind of food you would have in the Thadi outside your college. We ordered something called Thadi Omelette,Egg bhurji on toast, chicken pizzas, pakoras and some cold shakes. The omelet was certainly nice, the pizza was something that we would normally make at home with Amul cheese and the pakoras were well made. I would recommend primarily for the experience. Its a very laid back(literally since you are lying on the mattresses) and the food is something that will remind you of your college days or your early office days when your favorite food was Anda bhurji and  full meal was Maggi with vegetables. Also more importantly we need to support these guys who actually are trying to live out our favorite fantasy

as an add on i want to write about couple of places I had written about in my lst blog. I was scared that places like Kunafa and Rara Avis are flash in the pan and would close down once the initial euphoria dies down. Thankfully i have been proved wrong. Both the places are continuing to do well. We went to Rara Avis for my sisters birthday and this time it was Jerome who was there. My niece ordered a Baked Lobster meat. It was heavenly and now all of us have to go back just for that. Kunafa continues with Nasser in Lodhi colony market. So my initial observation of Delhi becoming a more global city in terms of food still holds true.

After spending another evening figuring out where to go and again deciding to go for dinner in a mall, Wifey made a comment about Delhi-"You can only do 2 things in Delhi-either watch a movie or go out to eat butter chicken". Being born  in Delhi and considering myself a "True Blue Delhiite" I was pained by the comment. The pain increases since Wifey is from Shillong and having lived in the US of A for 8 years, she "correctly" considers herself to be a neutral party on Delhi. I sprang to my dearly beloved Delhi's defence only to falter after 3 attempts.

I am dead sure that there are thousand places which are out of the ordinary and makes it worthwhile to visit them. This blog is essentially a spot for such places. Those little known gems which are known perhaps to a few, sometimes to a very loyal clientèle ,sometimes they are a local hit.They can be restaurants serving some out of ordinary dish, cuisines, a cafe with some different coffee(not cappuccino please), ambience, hang out places, the local chatwallah who serves a different kind of gol gappe or Bhalla papri etc..in essence a place where you go and the first thing your mind says"Its different"( Hope Nestle does not charge me for using this). Am looking for such suggestions

Here are my first options

1) Kunafa Arabic Cafe - Every second year, Delhi gets a Cinderella story ,a very very local market suddenly turns into a hi-flying cultural street. we have Khan Market, Hauz Khas village, Shahpur Jat, Mehrauli etc. The latest challenger to the list is Meherchand Market in Lodi colony. this sarkari colony has suddenly become the new IT place. Designer stores like Masaba, a tony French restaurant and others.

 In this market just besides the local "Theka"(Wine and Beer shop) lies "Kunafa Arabic Cafe". So at 8pm you will see a huge crowd in front of the Wine shop picking up "Pauyyas" and "Addhas"(quarter and half booze bottles). if you are a Delhiite then you would know exactly how to ignore this crowd and head straight for the cafe. Its a small place and you will be greeted most probably by the Jordanian owner of the cafe. The cafe serves only Arabic sweets, Turkish coffee and Arabic teas. Please do not expect to have Chicken tikka sandwich here. They have Kunafa, Baklava, dates and huge variety of Arabic sweetmeats. I love going to this place for the Turkish coffee. Served in ceramic cups, the Turkish coffee is perfectly made with the right amount of bitterness and the raw coffee which is left at the bottom on the cup. prices are reasonable(around Rs 120 per cup of coffee) and the service is very personal. Both the owners will chat with you and ask you about the different options of sweets. so anytime you are bored of going to CCD or Barista and having the same old Cappuccino, Frapuccino and all the other "CCINOs" try this cafe. it will be an experience to see how a Govt Wine and beer shop can exist side by side with a very niche cafe. I am guessing only in Delhi

2) Rara Avis GK 2 M-Block market- Ok this is a bit late to mention this place since it has now been publicized by everyone including Vir Sanghvi.. But since i went there when it had just opened then i think i can write something about the experience of going to this place.
Places like Rara Avis and Kunafa(mentioned above) are testimonies to the fact that Delhi is the new Global city in India. Its run by 2 Frenchmen(Jerome and Laurent)  and one Indian(As Rajiv says..He is the Indian connection and business manager). Most of the evenings you will find Jerome in the restaurant managing the staff and the guests. The highlight of the place is the personal touch that Jerome brings to each table. He personally greets all the guests and takes all the orders. He will explain the dishes to you and make recommendations based on your preference and taste buds. He will also recommend the correct wine. All of us have heard of those European chefs who are very proud and will serve only the best or nothing at all..well Jerome is one of them. When i went my friend had ordered some pasta..Jerome refused to serve only pasta saying that this "Wasn't exciting enough". So he suggested some other dishes along with the pasta to make "it exciting". I saw him return some dishes back to the kitchen which he did not feel were good enough.

The restaurant is not too big and most of the times its booked. so make sure you book a table in advance,,by advance i mean by 12pm if you are planning to go for dinner. many of my friends have called at 6pm for 9pm reservations and they have been refused.

3) Gung the place Green park- Since i have been on a world cuisine tour i had to end up checking out this Korean restaurant in Delhi. My sister went to this restaurant and came back raving about how she had found food nirvana by eating korean wine and food. My idea of Korean was limited to Khinchi salad( for the uninitiated those disgusting pieces of patta gobi with horrendous tomato sauce that you find in most of the Indian Chinese restaurant is also Korean)The restaurant has some intelligent seating. I am assuming Korean restaurants expect you to sit with folded knees with the tables at your chest level. This certainly would not have worked in India. so the owners used innovation. you walk into a closed section where the tables are at the chest level but you have room beneath the table to spread your legs. The menu is like  heaven for carnivores. Besides very good selection of Beef and pork dishes it also serves Octopus and other meats. The highlight is the live grill. A lady would come with a induction plate and a crystal plate. she would grill the meat right in front on you on the crystal plate. Along with great food you can enjoy authentic Korean wines.

I would recomend this place only for non vegetarians only. Am not sure what vegetarians would eat besides the salads(which is also very filling and are dishes in their own right.

4) Tandoori Chiccken in Butter-Chicken Changezi, Main Road, Darya Ganj-  This is a kind of small eatery in Darya Ganj besides Golcha cinema. The name of the restaurant is based on the dish itself(Chicken Changezi) which the owner claims to have brought to Delhi. For me the highlight of the whole place and the only reason I keep on going back is Tandoori Chicken in Butter. The first reaction is that there are thousand places in Delhi which serve succulent Tandoori chicken so why this place. The special about this place is after the roasting the chicken in the tandoor they mix the chicken in a sauce of melted butter, cream and curd and spices. The taste of the chicken is heavenly to say the least. I have tasted Tandoori chicken at least a million times(as a delhite thats the bare minimum which you have to eat tandoori chicken) but i have not tasted anything like this ever. As a test i took 4 of my friends who are also certified foodies to the place for checking out, Now they actually make special plans of going to Darya Ganj only to eat this chicken. Same is with my family and my neighbourd if i am going anywhere near Darya ganj then i have to get this packed for home.
I understand that the same formula is used in West Delhi areas but frankly nobody has given me the address nor have I eaten this anywhere. For me and at least 10 other people this is the Best Tandoori chicken in Delhi in fact for us the world:)

5) Aloo Tikki With Chole- Acharya Niketan Market Mayur Vihar Phase-1- For those who have gone to Vrindavan on the way or back from Agra  would know of a complete meal callled Aloo Tikki with Chole just outside the Banke Bihari mandir. Its deep fried in Pure Ghee then served in Chana or Chole and chutney. If you have one piece of the Tikki along with one whole glass of Lassi then you are done for the whole day(well at least a full meal). For years I have always said yes to any trip to Agra only because I knew that we would stop on the way back in Vrindavan and I could have this snack cum dish. In Delhi the Tikki is served only with Mithi and green chutney with some dahi.So it was quite a nice surprise when i went to the local market in Mayur Vihar and saw a thela wala actually serving the same Tikki with chane. In fact in the same style as the Vrindavan. Although the guy claims that this recipe or style tikki's is originally from Kanpur but who cares. Now for a winter evening i can have great Tikkis with hot chole on top for dinner right here in Delhi