The Awesome Sisters

Photo Courtesy: reachme.com.au

On a certain Friday evening, two hardcore non-vegetarians wandered around for a quick vegetarian bite. The husband seemed keen on Italian, somewhere around Parramatta, maybe some vegetarian pizza or pasta. The wife was more keen on Indian cuisine. We picked up a large snack of Sweet Potato chips from KFC while we drove to Harris Park which has loads of Indian Eateries. The sweet potato chips were not up to my liking and hunger was driving me mad.

We were thinking of going to our regular choice for Indian food – Bhoj which is also located at Harris Park. But we spotted some other place on the way. In fact the husband spotted fresh samosas, on the way, by the way, at this outlet called – Chandni Chowk. And this outlet looked busy. People were walking in and walking out. At least it wasn’t like those joints where nobody wanders in.

Well, why not give it a try. We went around Chandni Chowk – oh yes! indeed they had samosas which were looking fresh, and they even had pani puri. Let’s try just one thing first, I suggested… since we were at this place for the first time.

Pani Puri/Golgappe was my obvious choice. Those plump round puris were calling out to me.

I ordered a set of pani-puris. And one samosa for the husband.

I wasn’t keen on ordering much as they didn’t have much sitting space. They had a bit of standing space to eat inside Chandni Chowk. And a few high tables and high chairs outside in the open. We decided to sit and have our pani puri and samosa – so we sat out in the open.

One pani puri set came with 8 puris; and the puri filling consisted of potato, chickpeas and onions. And the Chandni Chowk guys did ask me whether I wanted the ‘pani’ spicy or sweet. I decided to go for medium spicy. Here the pani puri was better than the one we tried at ‘Taj Indian Sweets and Restaurant’. The husband agreed. The samosa came with imli/tamarind chutney and was good enough.

I then decided to try their Aloo Parantha which they served in a basket. A middle-aged guy who was instructing the staff, I think he was the owner, was speaking Punjabi and that’s what tempted me to try out the Parantha from this place. The Aloo Parantha was mildly spiced and was made in a tandoor. I ended up eating the Aloo Parantha with the imli chutney that came with the samosa as I was finding it quite dry – what with no butter or ghee on it.

We may try a few more things from this place in the weeks to come – as take-away since there is hardly any place to sit and have a proper meal at Chandni Chowk.

Also if you are planning to try out this place, ensure that you carry cash as they do not accept EFTPOS.

Things to keep in mind if you are planning to eat at/from Chandni Chowk:

Food: First visit rating – 7/10

They serve vegetarian as well as non vegetarian fare. We may try their non-vegetarian stuff next time. They even have combo meal options plus some daily special items – it was Rice and Milk Kheer the day we went.

Service: 7.5/10

The service is friendly and they served with a smile.

Ambience: 3/10

Its more of a take-away type of outlet.

Value for Money: 8/10

The food was cheap and value for money. One set of Pani Puri, consisting of 8 puris costed 3.60 AUD; One Samosa – 1.80 AUD, Aloo Parantha – 3 AUD

Will I eat here again?

Yep, I think. I may stop here for a quick snack. And if I am planning to have a full meal from Chandni Chowk – Take Away is the keyword.

With respect to parking, there is no designated parking area for this restaurant. As is the norm in Harris Park, people generally do kerb side parking. So park along the kerb wherever you get a place, walk around, explore and decide on the restaurant you want to eat in.

Have you been to Chandni Chowk? What did you try out? Which other restaurants have you tried around Harris Park?