In a nutshell – A super YUMM ‘bhar pet’ Mughal cuisine lunch for Rs. 247 for 3 people in Delhi, with few dishes much better than the famed Big Boys of Mughal Cuisine like Jawahar or Karims. Address & other details: Pahalwan Dhaba is the second shop to the entrance of the Dargah of Sufi Saint Qutubuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki. Best way to reach here is … Continue reading Pahalwan Dhaba (near the entrance of Dargah of Qutubuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki, Mehrauli , Delhi)
Some Super YUMM, someYUMM & some not so YUMM Vegetarian Punjabi Dhaba food in Gurgaon at unbelievable prices, with the owner & his family at the shop floor at all times to attend to customers.
Long shot of Mame da Dhaba – the front side is the dining room & the hind side is the kitchen.
Address & other details:As u enter the one way road of DLF Phase 3 from beside Gateway tower (Jahajwali building), u come across a building on the left that has RBS. Take the road on the left as soon as the RBS building ends. Mame da Dhaba is just less than 50 meters into that road.
Superb Paneer Tikkas freshly tandoored & served
Meal for 2: Rs. 150 onwards
Cuisine type:vegetarian
Short Description – in case u r in a hurry:
This tiny eatery looks pretty unimpressive from outside. However, it is pretty neat & clean within. There is seating for 10 persons at any point of time – One has to share tables with strangers. Might sound odd but believe me, once the YUMM food arrives, people just stop talking & eat till they r full.
Aloo methi
Outside, near the road there is a juice counter. The tandoor is also right beside the entrance.
Service is pretty fast. The owner is on the shop floor at all times & so is his family (most of the time). The owner supervises , takes home delivery orders on phone, manages the cash box, at times lends a hand to serving & at times to clearing plates as well. Staff members r quite good & r experts in fast service.
The owner supervising the open Kitchen – standing in the Dining Hall
The 3 page menu card has a real long list of items. I wonder how they manage it. Stock-outs however happen ‘ aaj ye item khatam ho gaya ji’.
Menu card with home delivery numbers as well
Some of the food items we had were extraordinarily good. Others were just good. One of the six dishes was suboptimal.
Detailed description – In case u have the time to njoy reading:
I was told about Raja Café’s impressive Culinary heritage & we liked food that they served – Inspite of a decline from the time it was a ‘Legendary Restaurant’. It is surely not the best in its category in the current day but surely worth a visit.
the entrance
Meal for 2: Rs. 600 onwards
Cuisine Type: Vegetarian & Nonvegetarian
Short Description – In case u r in a hurry:
I had heard a lot about this place from friends who had visited Khajuraho before – ( 8 – 10 yrs back). As I started chatting with people in Khajuraho, many mentioned the Legend of Raja Café – started by a European couple & used be be a superb place to eat & hang out….in those days. I was also told that it was much better earlier than today.
I was pleasantly surprised as I entered the place. Very nice & casual décor – options to sit outside as well as inside the a/c dining hall. There are two entrance gates on two sides & they r beautifully done. The ‘sit outside’ section has beautiful Garden chairs & the area was dimly lit. The ‘sit inside’ area was brightly lit – good for me coz better lighting means better food snaps. Before coming to this place I thought it wud b plastic chairs & tables like Mediterraneo & other eateries in Khajuraho but it turned out to be pleasantly different.
A view of Raja cafe from outside the gate – open seating section in the front & indoor seating in the background
The staff member who served us was good, quite prompt & served us with a smiling face. He handled our queries (about the menu) well. I wud say that he was as good as one cud get in this part of country.
They had quite a huge menu card – ‘Fresh from our Bakery’ section starts with apple pie, croissants, muffins, lemon tart, Brownie etc. drinks like different kinds of coffee including the likes of cappuccino hazelnut, different kinds of tea, many options of shakes, vegetarian & non vegetarian club sandwiches, the usual list of beverages, Indian, Continental & English breakfast, omelets of diff kind – European & indian, Chinese soups & main course, a huge section of continental – 16 to 18 dishes & a list of North Indian approximate 10 vegetarian & 10 nonvegetarian options. In Tandoori section they had approximately 12 diff tikkas, nans & kababs. Apart from this they offered 4 kinds of south indian dosas. For desserts one cud choose from a long list of pancakes, waffles, banana flambé & banana fritters. They also had Indian Fixed menu & the most interesting named item – ‘European thali’ (grilled mixed veg, pasta with tomato sauce, rice pudding, mashed potato)
the menu card
The large menu was very balanced menu with almost equal number of vegetarian & nonvegetarian food on offer in each section.
Food was good but not outstanding. Good place to spend some time & eat some good food when in Khajuraho – Food at Mediterraneo was far better.
Detailed Description – In case u have the time to njoy reading:
How to go there: Take the road perpendicular to the metro line in front of the Big Hanuman statue at Karol Bagh. Keep going straight …. …….. cross all traffic lights on the way till u get a ’gol chakkar’ / roundabout. Take a right from there till u get a Police station on ur left. Keep going straight till u get a small bridge & a 4 point crossing. If u turn left u get Sadar Police station road. Look for Agarwal sweets on ur left & turn left into the gali – Quite complicated but cud not find a better way to describe.
The signboard - looks like it was last painted during farewell of Lord Mountbatten
Meal for 2: Rs. 300 onwards
as u approach the shop
Cuisine Type: Nonvegetarian
Short Description – In case u r in a hurry:
The shop is a hole in the wall, There r ‘metal sheet on metal frame’ tables on the footpath on which u r supposed to keep ur plate & eat. There is a kabadi shop right across, lots of cars parked on both sides of the narrow street & 30 odd people trying to dig into food served to them with big smiles on the faces.
crowds that r paying to get a bite on the roadsideA little effort to provide shade - sorry I forgot 2 cover that in the text
Yes, that Ashok & Ashok – known as Ashok meatwallah in the locality. ‘Choice’ is not a word they r much familiar with & ‘focus’ is the only word they seem to b knowing.
food served on tin plated metal frame tables on the footpath
Saturdays & Wednesdays it is mutton curry & rest of the day it is only chicken curry. This is served with fresh roti made in front of u on the footpath. At 1.30 pm we were told – sorry we finish in 15 minutes. Pls try to come between 1 & 1.15!!!!!
eating on the roadside
They also serve Biryani.
Detailed description – In case u have the time to enjoy reading:
