'Tasty, inexpensive lunch in Chandigarh'- by K.J.S.Chatrath

Having gone to Sector 17 Market Chandigarh on some work, I got delayed and decided to have my lunch there. Eating out for me does not mean going to 'The Taj' as I refuse to pay Rs. 300 per chapatti. Why should I pay for the so called ambience, which means fancy dim lights, carpets which are unsuited for Indian climate, and liveries of the waiters? And yes, the waiters wishing you in English!

I saw the board  'Bhappe De Hatti' and went inside. In fact I did not go inside as the cashier was sitting in  the verandah taking money and issuing coupons. I was charged Rs.60 for a thali of two Amritsari Kulchas. Did you ask if the price included the  hugely popular GST? Honestly I do not know.

The Cashier advised me to take a seat around a fragile looking plastic table placed in the open air. I sat down as advised and wondered what that over rated architect Le Corbusier would have thought of such use of the 'open spaces' designed by him and his nephew or cousin Jeanneret. Honestly I find Sector 17 market to be dull, dusty looking, boring and lacking in any character. Anyway back to the issue at hand-  a lovely lunch.

At that time I did not notice Punjabi Juttis hanging around in the adjoining shop. In any case as a hard  boiled Punjabi, I would shrug it off saying- Kee fark painda hai (what difference does it make). Now take a look at the thali:


The chanas, daal, raita and kheera chutney were all good. There was a little problem with the 'kulchas' though. In an effort to give customers value for money, the kulchas had been over-stuffed with potato mixture making them less crisp than what those should have been. But over all, it was all good.

I do look forward to another visit soon to try out other items from the menu? Would you like to join me?