Delhiwale: Eating lost time

Evoking the pleasures of a vanished landmark through taste

Generations of Delhiites grew up with the magic experience of the old Chanakya movie theatre. If you were very lucky you just might manage to obtain a front stall ticket for ₹10.

China Town, one of the oldest shacks, near Delhi’s Chanakya movie theatre, is famous for its momos. (HT Photo)

Those halcyon single-screen days of subsidised tickets are long gone, while the beloved theatre in central Delhi that came up in 1970 was demolished in 2007. A sleek multiplex was then built where a very old tradition still survives: You can still eat those delicious momos at one of the adjacent eateries.

These stalls look shabby but their momos are marvellous. Try the steamed dumplings at China Town, one of the oldest shacks, founded in 1986.

The vegetable momos are crammed with cabbage and carrots. The red chili sauce is so biting that your nose may
water, making the meal an exotic culinary adventure.

Otherwise, the open-air plaza outside the new Chanakya theatre is rather lifeless, at least this weekday afternoon. But the plaza itself has certainly improved with paved floors, benches and round tables. In many ways, this is a superior more consumer-friendly Chanakya complex, but not quite the same, even though the momos remain fabulous.

You’ve also got a far better chance of a seat in the new theatre; the earlier one was often sold out even before you
got to the box office (thank you, black ticket!). But those luscious momos are managing to survive, still tasting of the old Chanakya.