See highway, build dhaaba. That could be the motto nowadays of every banker-turned-bawarchi, cricketer-turned-chef, Punjab da Puttar, Mai ka laal etc etc. How do you break through the clutter of me-toos?
Here’s the recipe:
First, find a place off the Western Express Highway, but not too far from it. In this case, near the Chakala cigarette factory and the Parle Bisleri factory. And mark the location with a milestone showing the restaurant’s name!
Second, put in comfortable, deluxe-bus style seating with lamps, Kajra Re ishstyle, at shoulder height so diners can comfortably see what they are eating.
Third, don’t bother hiring a copywriter to think of a fancy name. Just use an acronym that millions of people traveling by road in India will recognize and recall instantly, an acronym that evokes images of hurtling down a highway across the country.
Next, create menu cards that look like license plates and have license numbers on them on the outside and fake maps on the inside.
Finally, create a menu that’s near outstanding in its Punjabiness. Add a sprinkling of other dishes as garnishing.
Welcome to NH1, the only restaurant in Andheri East that can offer strong competition to the famed Uttam da Dhaaba. I first went to NH1 last year with some of my friends, and I remember a feeling close to exhilaration. I remember thinking whoever designed this place is a designer in the true sense, not some bored housewife-turned-socialite-turned-designer-turned-whatever’s the hip profession now. This is a theme restaurant that actually stays on cue. I was immediately sold on the packaging.
But what about the food? Well, that staple of dhaaba food, the butter chicken, is, I dare say, as good as Uttam’s. That’s saying quite a bit, if you can say anything while you savor it. There’s only one word for the Reshami kababs: succulent. The Pahadi chicken masala was also outstanding--spiced just right and revealing its flavors slowly.
What about red meat? My red-meat-eating friends assure me the Rogan Josh makes them feel emotional. And these were hardened Punjabi and Kashmiri folks that have still not gotten over the trauma of Mumbai’s ‘Punjabi’ dishes. And when the kaali dal arrived, even a kaali dal sceptic like me was momentarily silenced. The bar (yes it has one) is, however, nothing to cheer about. :-)
I feared for my team’s productivity that day when we signed off with that superb chaas. Call me plebian, but if your company’s near Chakala, and you find sections of your staff sheading to NH1 on a Wednesday or Friday afternoon, you should actively consider making them work an extra hour those days :-). There’s such a thing as eating too well.
We’ve been to NH1 several times since, in fact, there were some months when a trip down to NH1 (well that sounds odd because you’d take a trip on the NH1) once every two weeks was a ritual for my group. Financially, it works out quite well-- I don’t recall an occasion when a group of six or more people spent more than Rs125 per person for a lunch that lavish. Budget for more if you are going to be imbibing liquor.
Different groups in the office would perform this ritual every Wednesday and Friday. Why do I say ‘would’? Well, because for the fickle palates of Andheri’s corporate hordes, NH1 is probably no longer the ‘in’ place for that group lunch. And I must confess, I haven’t been there myself for more than three months—two because I was not in the country, and one because of the monsoons. But a trip down that lane (he he he) is overdue. Watch this space for an update.
Directions:
1) If you are driving from Marol on Andheri-Kurla road, take the left after Kohinoor International hotel, drive past the gurdwara, and turn left at the next traffic junction. But don’t turn too fast or you will miss it.
2) If you are driving from the Western Express Highway, turn right at the Bisleri/Parle light, drive past the HLL research center, and turn right at the next traffic junction.
Both ways you should look out for the Citibank ATM. NH1’s Just Around the Corner ;-)
Update on NH1:
I promised an update, and here it is. I was at NH1 on August 18 with a guest. Here’s what I found:
Food: Excellent as ever--I ordered the Pahadi chicken again and my guest came away satisfied. The dal’s still finger-licking delicious. My guest was from Kolkata, and I am glad she has returned to her city with that memory.
Seating: I discovered a problem. If your group has less than four people, you may have to share a table. When I turned up with my guest, the staff had been courteous and smart enough to let us use a table that was reserved for another party that hadn’t arrived. However, we had to move later, which is when we were forced to share. Obviously, this is not nice even when the other diners eat meat, but is even more uncomfortable if they don’t. So, if you can’t gather more than 4 people, be prepared to sup at the same table with strangers.