Ramesh Namkeen Bhandar - Food review

Name it as CFC - chaos, food and confusion. Chaos, as if all people have taken pledge to not to eat at home and come to this place. Food is good, and then comes the confusion. The front sales desk guy is so confused, that people who want to eat is getting their orders packed and the people who are for take away are getting served. However, is this CFC worth? May be yes or may be no.

Where it is? 2151/1A, Opposite Metro Pillar 244, Patel Rd, Ranjeet Nagar, Block B, New Patel Nagar, Khampur, New Delhi, Delhi 110008. Though easily accessible by Shadipur metro station, but one may struggle for parking. No arrangements for sitting and all eating has to be done standing. That is ok if you are here for a quick bite. However, the catch here is waiting time, 15-20 minutes of waiting is too much for a quick bite. Waiting time may shoot if your take away is served or vice versa and then you have to wait another couple of minutes to get it right.

Food is tasty and no second doubts about that. Eatery scores well on the scale of taste. Viands tried were chole bhature, naan chole and lassi. Other option available with naan is dal makhni, which had quite decent on looks. 

Naan and bhature were well dozed with paneer and clearly wins a Punjabi heart. Chole were tasty, not too spicy served with cooked tangy amla and flavorful pudina chutney. Will not say that Chole were out of the place as one can find such tasty chole served by innumerable eateries in Delhi. 

Lassi would have done the job better if had been more cold. However, it was well prepared, very creamy, but being not too cold made it a cold serving.

Hygiene was average and one can’t expect more from the store considering the working staff versus Customer ratio.

Enter the store, on the left pay for your food and collect the token. Now, on the right struggle starts. People are bumping into each other, trying hard to handle the token to the person on other side of the counter. This part of the story is chaos and mother of confusion. The man with so many shouting hands gets confused and forgets the order queue, mixes two orders, serves take away and, and, and. Confusion has taken birth.

Pricing is on a bit higher side when compared with established legacy eateries such as Sita ram in Paharganj, Nand Chole bhature wala in Sadar Bazar, and many more in the same price range. Chole bhature plate is priced for 70 and half for 50. Half plate is more appreciable at 40 or 45; Please do not typecast me as a stingy, this how the undocumented half plate rule is. Naan Plate priced at 80, is costly when compared with quantity and quality of Naan eateries in Paharganj.

So what is the USP? Paneer stuffed bhatura and Naan. Your Punjabi love for paneer is the only driving force and is not something that you are missing in life. Will I visit the place once again? I would never specially go for it, but also not against the visit. Place is worth of once a try.

Happy eating… J

Rahul Eggs – Too Omelety

Rahul Eggs was not birthed, founded or started; it was surely hatched to serve 350 variants of omelets.

Get down at Keshav Puram metro Station, in the service lane this small eatery cat be located. The place is an air-conditioned college canteen. Walls are full of posters of appreciation from news channels, food magazines and other eminent.

Like any restaurant menu, has a section of Veg and Non-Veg. Man, you are serving only omelets and you are talking of  Veg and Non-Veg, you mean to say you have a Green Dot certified Eggs? Hold On. Veg omelets are the ones, which has only vegetables and egg as the ingredient apart from spice and oil. The Non-Veg variants are the ones that have vegetables replaced for chicken and mutton.

The effort is great and innovative, but the hold factor is missing. We tried five variants and not much difference in taste for tongue. Eyes get a good treat, aggravates the hunger and becomes impossible yours hands away moment the omelet is served. Each variant tried scores highly on aesthetic scale.

 Monaco variant omelets inspired from Monaco biscuit has beautiful decorated toppings. A small bread piece topped with a layer of salami, boiled egg and veggies. The bread base was soft like the topping and the crunch was missing. I feel, if the toasted crispy bread replaces the soft one, it may increase the mouth feel by times. We also ordered Chicken Jalandhari, Vegetable Jalandhari and Vegetable Indian Omelet (not able to recall exact name… L). 

Chicken Jalandhari was the unanimously chosen hero of all the variants tried. It was like, a slice of bread with loads of chicken, coated with omelet and garnished with veggies and plenty of mayonnaise and tandoori orange sauce. 

Indian omelet decorated with Indian tricolor sauces well pronounced the name. Sauces orange, white and green were very “Bharatiya”.

The taste of all the variants was close, so more held by their looks than the beauty. In war of presentation and taste, the taste is always the winner. However, we first eat with eyes and it sets a high expectation. However, 350 is a big number to taste, judge and comment. Might be the sample selected is not the correct representation of population.

The omelets were quite filling and had a good satiety value. We went there in the evening around four, and had to skip dinner. One omelet per head as a snack is enough and two kicks off dinner from the plan

The price is in medium range, we paid close to 700 for 2 cold drinks and 5 omelet. Maximum price noticed was around 210, which is decent considering the amount of infused chicken and mutton.

Cannot be called a fine dine, neither a street shop. A good place if you are feeling too romantic for eggs and omelet. The packing is good and keeps the omelet intact till your place, warm it in microwave and have your meal.

Happy Eating… J

Tiwari ji - Good Morning!!!

Inspiration of the day. Tiwari ji is the man behind the wheels and I owe my office attendance to him. Till date never seen him idling away his time. He is imbibed in his newspaper, busy knowing about the world when waiting for us to board the cab. No nonsense person, greets each member with smile and occasionally makes intelligent contributions to cab discussions. I look up to you. Lot of positivity around just need to look with open eyes, who ever we are or whatever we do. Good Morning!!! :) . . #inspiration #delhi #delhi_igers #motivation #_soi #goodmorning #positiveattitude #undefinedisthelimit #attitude #positive #intelligent

A photo posted by Nipun Bajaj (@bajajnipun) on Apr 13, 2016 at 7:24pm PDT

China, Nepal?

Baba welcomed me with rose and 32 teeth wide smile and said "welcome to India" I replied "mein yehi se hoon, dilli ka hi hoon, yehi paharganj se aaya hoon" Baba, with a wider smile, curling his hands around his belly and nodding in disagreement stated " itna mota aadmi Dilli ka nahi ho sakta, welcome to India" once again handed me a red rose from his pack. Swings head in question "China, Nepal?" "Nahi nahi, yehi ka hoon mein" Received disagreement, wide smile, red rose and "welcome to India" once again... :) I am still laughing and thinking about it and have looked in mirror innumerable times since then to find a Chinese and a Nepalese. . . #delhi_igers #shortstories #stranger #meetingastranger #chandnichowk #foolmandi #flower #market #flowermarket #streetsofindia #_soi #undefinedisthelimit #highonstreets

A photo posted by Nipun Bajaj (@bajajnipun) on Apr 13, 2016 at 10:30am PDT

Al-Jawahar, well Jawahar

Changezi chicken at Al-jawahar. Taste : mazaa aa gaya (4/5) Cooking : jhakkas, chicken ek dum tender (4/5) Service : theek thak (3/5) Hygiene : would have said theek thak agar mujhey woh baal nahi milta toh, score badly at hygiene (1/5) Ambience : ok types, not too much to be expected in bylanes of old Delhi and that too opposite to jama masjid (3/5) Parking : Park your car at the one at Lal quila, need to walk around half a kilometer(4/5) Why to eat at Al-Jawahar? If you want to eat really good non-veg. Why not to eat at Al-Jawahar? If you are expecting a fine dine experience. Something unusual: there are few dishes which you need to order few hours in advance to savour them. . #foodreview #fbai #delhi_igers #india_igers #delhifoodie #delhifood #food #changezi #chicken #jamamasjid #taste #foodlover #foodblogger #foodblog #nonveg #nonvegetarian #indianfood

A photo posted by Nipun Bajaj (@bajajnipun) on Dec 19, 2015 at 10:31am PST

SodaBottleOpenerWala - hotel steel dabba wala

Time Machine would be apt name, no physical but emotional transition to different phase is definite. One is pushed from Tupperware age to 1970s when our elders used to carry steel lunch boxes to work. History, legacy and class come dancing from all corners of the place. Glass jars, wooden dressing table, mirrors, paintings and other articles reminds me of my childhood home.

Steel lunch boxes pack elements of surprise, curiosity, poorani yaadein and also food. The serving in not so shiny, scratchy aluminium plates reminds of grandma kitchen. Steel lunch boxes not only add the element of legacy also saves the restaurant from spending lot on costly crockery. Also food need not be decorated in dish and just a bit of garnishing with coriander does the job well. The restaurant is the perfect example of simple is also beautiful.
Eating here is not to satisfy only belly but an experience to live.
Soft old Hindi music being played in background, age old culinary, taste so simple and authentic, free candies, sugar staff can best be enjoyed when felt. The place is a 50-50 blend of modern restaurant and Irani eatery. The staff is very humble and sweet. They guide you well through the menu and very lovely chaps.
The menu has lot to offer in food and as well a challenge. Khade chammach ki chai is free if you are able to drink it. Not describing more about it as element of surprise should be present on your visit.
Food Tasted

Chicken berry pulao: Beauty in rags. Beautifully garnished with dry fruits, herbs and loaded with succulent chicken and mildly spiced rice in a scratchy aluminium bowl. The bowl reminds of a beggar in school drama. But the pulao takes one to the flavourful dramatic journey.

Vadapav:  The typical garlic and asafoetida flavour with semi-cooked not so spicy green chilly reminds of Mumbai Street side shops, where I tasted my first one.

Dhansak non-veg:  Served in 3 box tiffin with mutton gravy, chopped salad and spiced rice. This dish was not able to collect the votes, lack of flavors, no USP… L.

Veg patio Aloo Aunty's cutlet: Amazing with chutney and Pav. After ages tasted such finger licking chutney, that lovably integrated with any dish.
Cold coffee: A blend of chocolate taste and has a lasting impression that heart wants it to go on and on.

Raspberry soda: A tingling sweet refreshing taste is a good choice for summers and also very appetizing.

Sekanje Bin:  Hindi proverb "chala murari hero bun-ney" well describes it. A very original common household shikanji with mint and plum. All appreciation for murari, it is refreshing and soothing.

Let's talk money, 700-1000 bucks to be shelled out per head. Most damaging is the taxation part. In a bill of around 3400, for 5, the taxed amount was close to 800. Too much... L

Why not to go? You want to have a feel of eating out and having next few hours full of food tasting burps. Want to dine out in formal setting? Looking out for something less pricey? Obviously paying 70 INR for a Vada Pav and that too without taxes is on a bit higher side.

Why to go? Simple home-made parsi food, Iranian bakery experience, traverse to old time. Want to explore something exclusive.

Ok all talking done so where it is? Explored the one at Cyber Hub-Gurgaon. They are more outlets at Khan Market- Delhi, DLF Mall of India-Sector 18-Noida. Do explore and share your feel

Happy Eating… J

Potato Jalebi - Navratra Special

Happy Navratra !!! Discovery of and for Navratra. One needs to get in to by lanes of vrindavan to relish this exotic made for Navratra potato jalebi. Potato seems to be too unconventional to be used as an ingredient for jalebi.Tastes awesome, crispy-crunchy-munchy and has no sign to be identified as a potato jalebi. The only mark is that after taste has a distinct mild potato flavour, and is not noticeable easily. Only someone with very strong taste bud can unveil it. A must try even if you are on a fast or not, the sweet tooth regulatory norms mandate it. All appreciation for the brain behind it, the bland taste of potato makes it a very eligible candidate for sweet dish. I had privilege of eating potato halwa before but Jalebi was a pleasure. Next time you are visiting Vrindavan, do try this. It is near Bankey Bihari temple. How to reach? Come out from Bankey Bihari temple reach a T-Point (Landmark - chaat shops) take a left turn and after 10 steps take a lane that leads to Nidhivan. Around half kilometer walk and you can locate this shop on your right. If able to find, do get half kg for me too... :) Happy eating... :)#flavoursofindia #storiesofindia #vrindavan #tastesofindia #soimathura #_soi #zdventureindia #zdventure #delhi_igers #foodlove #foodreview #sweetsofindia #delhifoodie #fbai #potato #jalebi #vegetable #navratra #navratri #navratrafood #india #undefinedisthelimit #indianfood #indiansweets #happyeatingA photo posted by Nipun Bajaj (@bajajnipun) on Apr 7, 2016 at 8:41pm PDT