We all know that Delhi is India’s food capital with a wonderful entourage of fine dining joints that are hugely popular with foreigners who invest on air tickets to Delhi. But what most people are not aware of is the city’s’ wealth of few spectacular small eating joints that serve the most lip-smacking fare available to mankind. They do not have the fine cutlery and crockery and a ‘oh so classy’ ambience but the fare served at such joints is manna from heaven!
Chengazi is one such restaurant in the shambolic central-west part of Delhi where the culinary gods come together to create savoury dishes for the betterment of the man. Huge crowds can be seen here at the dinner time. Of course, most of them are locals and it is very seldom that a foreigner is seen here jostling with the locals, but then not many are aware of this paradise in Delhi. The kinds who pick up premium class tickets on flights and want everything corresponding to that in-flight experience better avoid the place as it isn’t cut out for them. There could be pushing, there could be shoving and the crowd could be dodgy but once you sit down and start relishing the Chengazi Chicken with khameeri naan, you will only think how soon are you going to visit the eatery next! The prices are very cheap but surprisingly that is not the talking point. Dozens of luxury sedans and SUVs on the roadside give you an idea of the clientele.
Being in CP, Kake Da Dhaba is well-off location-wise but the ambience and interiors (if any) compete with that of Chengazi. Same goes for the food. Foreign tourists are not a rarity here as the place is pretty visible. Often, there is a large crowd that waits for their tickets to table outside the small place, giving an impression of some brewing trouble! But no, this is just a flourishing business with lip-smacking food being its only saleable product. Spending money on air tickets for a tour of Delhi seems worthwhile once the diner finds a table at Kake Da Dhaba and starts gorging on the butter chicken.
