Chaina Ram (Beside Fatehpuri Masjid, Chandni Chowk)

In a nutshell:

Love the unputdownable sweets at this shop specially the Saeo paak, Karachi Halwa & the dhodha.

The facade of the shop

Address & other details: Chaina Ram

Location – Besides Fatehpuri Masjid

YUMMRAJ’s advice – Take a metro ride to Chandni chowk. Once u r out, come to the main chandni chowk road & take a rickshaw ride to Fatehpuri Masjid. Avoid taking ur car.

Meal for 2: Rs. 80 onwards

saeo paak /seow paak

Cuisine Type: Vegetarian

Short Description – In case u r in a hurry:

This Sindhi Sweet shop has been around for more than a century & that speaks a lot (though not everything). The shop front is perennially full of customers. What draws one’s attention is the immense number of interesting signage on the wall.

Multiple Notes on the wall

In most of my visits I have come across the owner who sits in the shop & that makes a real difference to the quality of the sweets & also to the overall management of the place. At times the place can be overcrowded & one might have to wait for 15 – 20 minutes as well!!! I guess it wud b better if the shop introduces a queue system – that wud make things easier for the customer but might take away the warmth of conversation with the people at the shop.

Packaging of sweets

All sweets r made from pure desi ghee & the best of ingredients. The desi ghee bit is mentioned on the wall & is obvious as soon as u eat the sweets. The ‘ingredients’ part also becomes obvious as soon as u pop the sweets into the mouth.

‘Please do not refrigerate our sweets’ claims the sweet box & this is reiterated also by the people in the shop.

Notifications on different sides of Sweet box

Detailed Description – In case u have the time to njoy reading:

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Eating out in Old Delhi – Chandni Chowk, Chawri Bazar, Jama masjid area & Daryagunj

I originally wrote this post in 2011 but hv been revising it from time to time. latest update being 30th april 2015

crowd @ Kake di Hatti
crowd @ Kake di Hatti

Some of the best Dilli food is found in Chandni Chowk & adjoining areas like Chawri Bazar as many of the shops have not changed much from what they were about fifty to hundred years ago. This is not a comprehensive list but is a fairly large list which u will need few visits to cover – Some of the eateries mentioned below (e.g. Karim’s ,Jalebiwala etc) have been covered in detail (in other posts) in this blog – u can read those & enjoy the pics as well.


Slide1

Attached is a hand drawn (by YUMMRAJ) map without which you will never find anything. You may need to take a printout and carry it with you as, without a map, you can easily get lost here. Let me tell u that inspite of the printout u might need to use Indian GPS – ‘Bhaisab, ye ved prakash lemon wale ka dukaan kahaan hai?’

click on the picture to enlarge it – so that u can read it, suggest u to carry a printout of the map

The best way to get here is to park your car in CP (Connaught Place) and take the metro to Chawri Bazaar or Chandni Chowk. Let me warn u though that there r huge queues at the ticketcounters of Chandni Chowk station on the way back. The other option is to park the car at CP & take an auto rickshaw.

Daulat ki chaat being sold at Chandni chowk. Winters only. Multiple vendors. Must try...
Daulat ki chaat being sold at Chandni chowk. Winters only. Multiple vendors. Must try…

As u alight from the metro at Chawri Bazaar, take the gate towards Hauz Kazi. Once you are up on the street, you will see a clearing/intersection of roads. Go to the diagonally-opposite corner of the road, towards your right. You will find a tiny shop called ‘Ashok Chaat Corner’. You will see the red-coloured Times Food Guide certification on its wall. Ask for their signature offering – kalmi chaat and urad daal chaat. They use a kachalu chutney which is totally different, and simply awesome. Avoid the paani puris – they r no different from the rest of the places.

To try one of the best kulfis in town, check out Kuremal Mohan lal kulfiwale. Do not miss their stuffed mango kulfi during summers / jamun / lichi….

Stuffed mango kulfi
Stuffed mango kulfi

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