I recently visited the DTTDC Coffee Home at Baba Kharag Singh Marg after ten years. The place, best known as Delhi Transport and Tourism Development Corporation's public-private partnership catering, has been an old favourite with my family. Just last week, i came to know that even my grandfather loved this place.
Earlier, this coffee home was not much popular, since the legendary Indian Coffee House was just opposite to it, but post ICS's shutdown speculations in 2009, it has started receiving retired patrons who did not want to see the historical ICH shut down one day. The place is not a glamorous place like Starbucks, but an indigenous coffee outlet. You can actually feel the simplicity and quality in that place. I must mention - the place is a self-service outlet. So don't expect a five star treatment(or five star prices for the matter).
Anyhow, i looked at the menu. There were quite some things, including a burger and uttapam. I decided to go for the safest bet - the Masala Dosa. Took the token, gave the billing person two hundred rupee notes, and got back 65 bucks in change. Then i went to the delivery counter, and showed my token slip. The attendant looked at the token, tore it a little bit(thats the cut you see in the photo), and gave it back. Within 10 minutes, the order was with me. I took it, and went to the table where others were waiting.
And i must say - the food was good. I've had Dosa's in all parts of the nation - punjab, rajasthan, chennai, port blair, delhi, calcutta(or kolkata they'd say now), bangalore , hyderabad and mysore. But this was the first time i could sense all the flavours in one plate. The sambhar was neither too sour, nor too chilly, and had the perfect flavour. Same was the main dosa which was good enough even for a Punjabi(for those who don't know, Punjabi's and people like me have a good appetite, and thin coat dosa's leave us with space for more). The quality of rice used for making the dosa was brilliant, which i still haven't seen in many popular chains like Sagar Ratna or Sravana Bhawan.
Anyhow, the food was highly standardised, and though some people would not find it accoording to their traditional taste(for say, Sambhar in Rajasthan has a lot of Chilli usually, in Chennai is quite sour, in punjab its more thick), i consider it a complete Indian meal - a meal any Indian could eat when he's hungry. Its a meal for the hungry, not a sample for the taste critics. The place is more like a canteen in a government PSU, nothing big about it but still there's something different.
I personally found the place highly satisfying. I still remember, ten years back when i had visited there, the place was jam packed, and people were standing. I was a kid then, and my parents had to wait for sometime before their coffee was served. The new coffee chains might have pulled up the youth, but for some they are a part of their culture. Chains may come and go, but the culture remains there forever...
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