Delhi Food Brands: Some Dead, Some Dying & Some Popping Up

I had a list of food outlets which I intended to visit during my trip to Delhi. These were some of the iconic ones in the national Capital, especially for me.

Nirula’s was always close to my heart, because this gave me the platform for my culinary journey. Rajinder da Dhaba was where we gorged on fish fry after watching a film in Kamal Cinema. Berco’s was the best for budget Chinese food. The surprise ASAP served spicy vegetarian food.

The other outlets in my bucket list were Depaul’s cold coffee, Wenger’s shammi kebab and milkshake next to it (the original Keventers has a different name at present), Andhra Bhawan for South Indian thali, but gave up the idea after seeing the crowd.

Nirula’s – Original disruptor and now waiting for the djinns

My culinary passion started with Nirula’s at Basant Lok Market complex, next to Priya Cinema. A visit to the complex always ended with the iconic Hot Chocolate Fudge aka HCF. Now in the same place stands McDonald’s – the first outlet of the popular American food chain that opened in Delhi. What many people don’t know is that Nirula’s Hot Shoppe was not just Delhi’s, but perhaps the country’s first fast-food all standing QSR outlet which sold pizzas, burgers and fries.

Nirula’s Hot Shoppe attracting the college-going crowd is a puzzle that even the savviest marketing minds of today will find difficult to decipher. Mind you, there were no social networks, marketing influencers or Google search those days, and yet, the trend caught on. The iconic Nirula’s corner in CP had everything under one roof – ice cream parlour, Hot Shoppe, Chinese Room, (one of the oldest and most renowned Chinese fine-dining destinations for Delhi) and Potpourri.

The aura of Nirula’s is no longer there. Following the demise of mentor Deepak Nirula, the family had sold the business to Malaysia-based private equity firm Navis Capital Partners in 2007, which subsequently sold it to A2Z Excursions Pvt Ltd. Hopefully, the current owners will ensure that the Nirula’s brand stays alive, for one never knows when the soul of the visionary Deepak Nirula queues up for a serving of the iconic Hot Chocolate Fudge. Delhi is, after all, as William Dalrymple calls it, a city of djinns!

For my favourite Hot Chocolate Fudge, I went to the CP counter that has come up just opposite to where Nirula’s Corner was. I just gobbled the HCF, scraping the nuts and melting chocolate, defying the calorie count.

Berco’s is now ‘Bento EN’

Berco’s Melody House was a place to reckon with – it was located at the epicentre of the chaos that is Connaught Place. Like me, there are many in Delhi for whom Berco’s is the first name that comes to mind when we say ‘Chinese food’ along with music. This chain of Thai and Chinese restaurant across the capital made a mark for over 27 years since the Advani family started it. It was also one of the oldest music stores and had an excellent collection of Indian classical and devotional music.

The store is not really on the map anymore because of the change of taste in music and technology over the years. Don’t raise your hopes too high when you visit CP, now it’s all gone. The Chinese food it served downstairs was the main attraction, but now it has changed once they shifted location. It is a mix of Chinese and Thai now. The outlets have expanded under the franchise mode. More so, after the new collaboration with ‘Bento EN’, the strategy menu has changed. My experience with Berco’s was not the same as it was during my academic days.

I ventured to the Berco’s outlet at GK ‘M’ Block market, as a rush of nostalgia drove me. In the earlier days, the waiting period at Berco’s used to be more than half an hour. Keeping that in mind, I called up the place to reserve a table.

“We don’t reserve tables,” said the voice at the other end, hastily adding, “but there’s no waiting, so please come whenever you wish.”

My happiness at the ‘no waiting’ turned into a bit of a shock when I reached the place and found the restaurant totally empty. Yes, there were three guests (my family) on a Saturday evening. It was quite amusing to see the waiting staff whisper ‘someone has come’ into each other’s ears.

Anyhow, I ordered Veg Hot ‘n’ Sour Soup while my family opted for Talumein. Both turned out to be exactly the same in appearance and taste, with the latter having noodles and small chunks of chicken. Then and there, I opted out for my next course of dinner. The family ordered Shredded Crispy Chilli Lamb and Shanghai Chicken for starters. The lamb was crispy all right, but a little less salt would have helped. The chicken turned out to be great, with crisp fried spinach leaves making for a perfect accompaniment.

We asked for double fried pork in oyster sauce, a specialty of the Berco’s (CP outlet), but were told that no pork dishes on the menu are available. We settled for Chicken Kunchao and Shredded Lamb in Schezwan Sauce along with Veg Fried rice, with the latter turning out to be perfectly flavoured.

The overall experience was average. The place has a long way to go, but it was surely fun being the only one being waited upon by a staff of over 10 on a Saturday night.

While interacting with the staff I came to know Berco’s chain of restaurants collaborates with a Japanese Food Brand launched in India by the name of ‘Bento by EN’. The newly launched Bento by EN has started operating their outlets in various locations of Delhi, thus Berco’s is slowly diluting.

Rajinder Da Dhaba at Delhi’s Safdarjung Enclave

During my JNU days, Rajinder Dhaba used to be a street vendor selling non-veg food on the Kamal cinema road with just one stall of fish fry and anda fry. Who could have thought of a dhaba set up decades back to be developed into a full-service restaurant? People are ready to spend money and eat at this dhaba standing on the road. It has now become a huge complex located in South Delhi that every true foodie has heard of it.

They never compromised on quality and taste even after all these years, and have only grown with time. Now it is mostly known and famous for the Chicken curry and Galauti kababs. It dishes out good food and is awesome value for money. A visit to Rajinder Da Dhaba is undoubtedly a treat for your tastebuds any day. It serves both vegetarian and non-vegetarian food, traditional dhaba cuisine with a good makeover to modern dining venues. Everyone loves to grab a bite or two at their standing tables and enjoy the meals.

Of course, their chicken is more delicious than mutton, but the taste of their vegetarian food is also excellent. Even today, they make chicken curry here with the same recipe. Earlier, only non-vegetarian food was served here, but later, locals demanded vegetarian food also, and that has continued. As a result of Rajendra’s hard work, It has five luxurious restaurants in the complex today. Though the food is heavy, its taste compels you to eat more and more.

ASAP – The Show Stopper

While returning from my Agra visit with family, we took a detour in Noida due to traffic jam. We bifurcated via sector 135, and stopped by a market complex as we needed to use the restrooms and stretch our legs. One outlet that attracted me most was ‘ASAP’ with a tagline “AS SPICY AS POSSIBLE”.

On a closer look, we found out that it served south Indian and north Indian along with Chaats. We opted for Chaat and Pani Poori, which were served in an elegant way. The starters were good, and we planned to pack our dinner also. The manager advised us to try Dal Nawabi and Nawabi Paneer – the signature dish of ASAP. Without hesitation, we packed both dishes along with Pudina parathas.

Dal Nawabi had the best of tempering with onions, tomatoe, and garlic, on the flavourful base of dal Makhani. The dish had a captivating smoky flavour, which was done by placing a red-hot charcoal on betel leaf and clarified butter poured on it. The dal is then covered, allowing the charcoal’s smoke to permeate the dish. This method imparted a tantalising smokiness that elevated the taste and added a distinct depth to the flavours. The velvety dal had the richness of the tempering with the alluring smokiness, creating a harmonious symphony of taste and aroma. It was the best blend of textures and flavours.

Nawabi Paneer is a rich Indian dish where the marinated cubes of paneer are put in tandoor to give a smoky and charred flavour. Then it is infused with mint and cooked in butter masala gravy, which is rich and creamy, featuring a harmonious blend of tomatoes, cashews, cream, and aromatic spices. The dish offered a royal and indulgent experience, combining the earthy notes from tandoor cooking with the opulence of the buttery gravy. Both the dish with pudina paratha was a culinary delight.

ASAP has five outlets in NOIDA and is managed well by Gupta brothers Kshitij and Neehar. Prior to opening of the outlets, they started off with food trucks popularly known as Rolling Beans. Now they have a central kitchen to support the five outlets. The USP is it’s vegetarian and as spicy as possible.