RESTAURANT REVIEW: MI FOOD CENTRE

For amazing kebabs. And that's all that matters.

 

I have a love hate relationship with Meharchand Market. I know the India we inhabit, the one with food blogs, holidays abroad and instagram accounts isn't the one everyone gets but nowhere is that more obvious than at Meharchand. Just a few years ago, the place was overrun by small tailoring units with a semi-slum in the back. The tailoring units are gone. The slum remains. Almost every store opened after I moved to this city and the poverty persists, side by side. Fancy cupcakeries with pretty glass doors that are smudged with the hand prints of street children looking in. Pretentious French restaurants with half naked babies sleeping unattended on the sidewalk in front covered with flies. You can stand on the doorstep of a foofy boutique and actually feel you have each foot on a different planet.  Every time I go back there are fewer tailors and more stores peddling Indian kitsch. The restaurant scene has also really taken off but I'm not fan. Elma's is bizarrely structured, Café 88 is pretty much a total bust, Chez Nini gets mixed reviews and after a bad first impression I haven't ventured back. The only place I liked was Bagel's Café which has now been replaced with something called "Tikka Town." In the middle of this blossoming identity crisis, MI Food Centre stands solid, watching fads fade in and out while serving out super kebabs.

 

 

Looks Like

Nobody here has the patience for frills or frippery - the place is clean and efficient without a single bit or bauble to distract you. This austerity extends to not having any seating space so either stand on the sidewalk or get your kebabs to go.

 

Tastes Like

A friend of mine recently had a facebook status that read "It's blasphemous to diet in Delhi, the city that makes the best aloo paranthas and butter chicken, the city that hosts Nathu's and Karim's." In addition to these temptations the average Delhi-ite must also resist the charms of, amongst others, all day happy hours, kebabs/ rolls, biryani and chole kulche which threaten every minute to destroy any attempt at restraint or dieting. It's no wonder I managed to pile on 10 kilograms within months of moving here.

What can I say about the kebabs, rolls and other meaty joy at MI Food Centre? The meat quality is breathtaking and the cooks clearly know what they're doing. Spiced, juicy, succulent (yes, succulent - what can I do I know the word is overused but it's apt here!) morsels of meat, there isn't a weak link in the menu because this isn't that kind of place. These guys aren't "trying," "experimenting," "having fun with flavors." This is real. This is proof that if you have quality ingredients and know, really intrinsically, deeply, experientially know how to cook them, you don't need gimmicks and logos. Hell you don't even need chairs.

Try the transcendental Mutton Seekh, the inspired Chicken Tikka (with butter - the butter makes this chicken butterier than the butteriest butter chicken you've ever tasted. I swear, don't skip the butter), the skillfully Roasted Chicken or the over the top Changezi Chicken with Khamiri Roti.

 

Feels Like

Standing on the street while hungry customers milled around me, this is one of the more memorable meals I've had in a while. As a food blogger I eat out all the time and I sometimes find myself becoming jaded. It was nice to go back to a place that focused solely on making good food. Clearly (and hearteningly) most people seem to concur, the establishment only opens up in the evenings and people flock there every day. The portions are generous and would make great party snacks.

I love my cafes and bistros but I can't help but feel relics like MI Food Centre, with only their food to speak for them, without slick PR teams and jazzy interiors need more of our love and attention.