For those who like good food and can enjoy its taste without an air conditioned dining hall and fancy cutlery the author here shares his experience. For those travelling from Delhi to Nainital/ Kumaon hills or towards U.P towns and Lucknow it can be an excellent option.
I believe that good and tasty food is one of the best things of human life. With our highly developed sense of taste, we not only can enjoy eating good food and appreciate it for its taste (or criticize it) but more importantly a meal of great tasting food gives a sense of contentment with life, at least for that day. As we developed civilization so also we developed the culinary art of cooking to add taste to our food. I don’t know why but eating a good and tasty food; and especially if it’s different from what we normally eat for food; gives us a sense of accomplishment. The beauty of such food is that, one it is relished by our taste buds and two it gives a kind of mental happiness that keeps us delightful about our life.
I believe that good and tasty food is one of the best things of human life. With our highly developed sense of taste, we not only can enjoy eating good food and appreciate it for its taste (or criticize it) but more importantly a meal of great tasting food gives a sense of contentment with life, at least for that day. As we developed civilization so also we developed the culinary art of cooking to add taste to our food. I don’t know why but eating a good and tasty food; and especially if it’s different from what we normally eat for food; gives us a sense of accomplishment. The beauty of such food is that, one it is relished by our taste buds and two it gives a kind of mental happiness that keeps us delightful about our life.
Being a foodie and a lover of good food I can go on an on
about it but here I am going to talk about good food at Chandni Restaurant. Like
me and my friend Narendra, many young professionals working in Delhi drive 6-8
hours to reach their home town situated along NH 24 or in Kumaon hills. Gajraula
comes as a natural choice to stop for food, it having developed the reputation
of Dhaba town on NH 24 from the days when travelling was mostly done by State
Transport Buses. I guess because of this reputation the place also became
natural choice for the McDonalds and Dominos and the Bikanerwala et al to open
their food outlets here.
As the wise men have said ‘all good things in life come
free’ and when it comes to food I can’t agree more. Alright the food doesn’t
come free but haven’t you ever thought that the restaurants don’t charge you
for food but the taste they add to their food. There is a charge for the
ingredients like spices, veggies or meat or fish, the dinning space and salary
of staff and a certain profit % but over and above this they charge you a
certain premium. This premium is charged for the taste in their food. Based on
this decoding of how restaurants charge I say that ‘the food at Chandni
Restaurant comes for free’. That’s because once you will look at the bill you
will realize that they charge nothing for the taste in their food, you might
even think they have not added any profit either.
This place called Chandni Restaurant was a “no other option”
discovery for me and my friend Narendra. In our umpteen drives to our hometown during
the last 10 years we must have passed it
more than a 100 times but it was only just a year back that we had our first
tryst with the food here. It’s right off
the NH 24, its dinning hall and its front courtyard is no mean in size but
somehow this nondescript place doesn’t catch your attention quickly. Given my
little interaction with the owner my understanding is that they haven’t learned
the fact that in growing economies with growing income middle class customers long
to fall victim to marketing schemes. What’s visible from outside attracts us
rather than what should actually matter i.e. inside. Otherwise and I can vouch
for it, the salad and the wheat flour for dough comes from the plantation in
their own fields and gardens. In marketing schemes they use a more glamorous
term to describe them as ‘organic vegetables’.
Or may be like serious publications that have intellectual
content but fall behind by miles in readership to popular consumerist media,
the owner here also has the smugness and pride of a true champions, why do I beacon you, ‘I am not losing
something but its you who is missing something good in life’ by not
experiencing my product. These ‘champs’ need to take a few lessons from Apple
which knows how to sell a good product to marketing crazed world of consumers.
Mind you they don’t keep a menu. The choice is limited from
among a selection of 4 or 5 Indian dishes. For someone like me who is ‘quick
selection’ challenged, this comes handy, it saves me the useless mental
exercise of deciding on the food. And it is very handy when there is group of
people whose choices have to be accommodated before deciding your order.
Since restaurant business falls in the category of hospitality industry, the article won’t be complete without a few words on it. Before you get delighted by the taste of food, the sincere humility of the owner (who must be in his mid or late sixties) touches something inside of you. One can feel the sincerity when he welcomes you with folded hand. This gesture gives me a feeling of warmth because I can see it hasn’t come because he sees a customer in me. Don’t expect a trained server waiting on you in attention, keeping an eye on your table and instantly refilling your glass of water after every sip you take or keep the salad plate from getting empty. It’s not a very crowded restaurant which means you get a fairly fast service and tawa Rotis keep coming without making you wait.
Caution: It’s not a fancy restaurant so if you are one of
those who believe that class of a restaurant is decided by its ambiance,
cutlery, crockery and upholstery rather than the food, can better give eating
here a skip.
