DU Da China Town

Years before Momos took over North India (wait for The Invasion of The Momos to know more), a small locality in the capital had already become Chinese stronghold. To be precise Chinese & Tibetan stronghold since Momos which are an integral part of their fare are Tibetan. Kamla Nagar or KNags as the wannabe hep bhenji (no offence to the real Bhenji who can barely spell Chinese) crowd calls it, has an entire street populated with tiny twenty odd cover restaurants serving the best of Punjabi Chinese. This is DU’s very own China Town. 

But this was not what the middle class ladies shopping paradise of Kamla Nagar was like when I my first joined Stephen’s way back in 2003. Chinese restaurants and in fact restaurants as a whole were few and far between. Kamla Nagar housed a total of five restaurants of which two served Chinese cuisine – the now closed Chinese Hut and the always overflowing Momo’s Point. There also was and still is the Chinese van outside Hansraj. However, it has never been known for its food and only makes news for being an outlet to get inside Miranda House.

Getting back to my favourite food. These two dingy joints along with the awesome food served in the mess ensured I was feasting on steamed momos at least twice a week. However, I could never get my stomach around to the concept of fried / tandoori momos which are possibly more popular now. They were just a tad too Punjabi for me and of course a hell lot more fattening. Chinese Hut also served some excellent spring rolls served with the most delicious crispy fried noodles done in a spicy tomato sauce. What made the accompaniment stand out more than the rolls themselves was that they were crispy and succulent at the same time. Those were good days when you got off the rick at McDonald’s and had to only decide whether to take right for Momo’s Point or left for Chinese Hut.

By the time Mighty left and second year at DU began, decisions became much tougher in more ways than one. All of a sudden Chinese restaurants mushroomed in that entire lane behind Bungalow Road. First on the block was Noodles, then Banzai and then I lost track of the chronology. Soho, Gold Star, QDs, Shut Up & Eat all joined the bandwagon. Nine 75 located right at the end of the lane tried to be different by offering Italian and Continental cuisine alongside Chinese. But in spirit they all wanted to ride the Chinese wave and milk it too for all its worth.

But the question arises why Chinese? Taking the 7Ps approach (Chinese food doesn’t use peas though). Product – Chinese cuisine is known to most Indians and suits their palates too as compared to Italian or Mexican. Price – Is cost effective since it requires basic ingredients and hence is best suited to the limited pockets of college students. Promotion – Is not required since every restaurant in the lane serves Chinese. Place – Is absolutely perfect since it has become China Town and attracts entire North Campus crowd. People – Cooks are easy to find as Neps are in plentiful and are good enough for two jobs only. Process – Chinese food is easy to make with most sauces and base ingredients being same. Physical Evidence – It is also easy to serve and looks palatable.

If you are wondering where is the food in this blog. Here goes. The momos – steamed as well as fried – are good across all these restaurants. The wide range of soups/thukpas, noodles, fried rice and manchurian are also difficult to go wrong with. The real differentiator comes in the form of the other appetizers and main course gravies. Noodles serves some awesome starters ranging from crispy chilly baby corn to fried button mushrooms to crispy honey potatoes. Banzai has a crispy noodle pickle salad to die for and some of the best veg salt and pepper I have had. Wouldn’t recommend Momo’s Point for anything apart from their momos. Soho, QDs and the rest are ok but don’t serve anything spectacular. My overall recommendation goes out to Noodles. It has the least oily food of the lot, serves some good main course dishes including Kung Pao Vegetable & Pan Fried Noodles and is by far the cleanest.  

Oh and how can I forgot Bercos. Despite having one of the best Chinese curries I have had in Seven Treasure Vegetables in Creamy Garlic Sauce, why would you fork out nearly Rs. 200 for a dish when you can have an entire meal and still save for a McSwirl in any other restaurant in Du Da China Town.

* I am a strong believer in the sovereignty of each nation and believe that Tibet should be allowed to exist as an independent country. Though it seems that the whole world has bowed to the might of the Chinese just like it has allowed Chinese food to conquer all.