On Sunday I posted the last of my restaurant reports from my truncated trip to Southern California in December (dim sum at the Cerritos branch of Lunasia). Here now is my last restaurant report proper from my trip to Delhi earlier that month. I say “last restaurant report proper” because I may post an odds and ends roundup at some point in the next few weeks.

This meal took me back to my favourite place to eat at in Delhi: Humayunpur, the South Delhi neighbourhood/village that has in the last decade and more become one of the major hubs of North East Indian life in Delhi. I had eaten there with a friend just a few days prior to this meal. That was an excellent Naga meal. As we were walking around after I noticed a place I didn’t remember seeing before: Manipuri Chak Shang (which literally means Manipuri restaurant or eating place). One thing led to another and I was soon eating lunch there as well. This time I was on my own. Here’s how it went.

As it happens the very first meal I ate in Humayunpur—back in pre-pandemic 2020—was at a Manipuri restaurant. We’d liked that meal at Categorical Eat Pham very much indeed but I had somehow had not had another Manipuri meal since. This one reminded me of the pleasures of the cuisine.

I was alone in the restaurant for the duration of my meal. In general, restaurants in Humayunpur don’t seem to do a lot of dine-in business at lunch on weekdays, though there did seem to be light delivery traffic happening. I do hope more people eat in at dinner and on weekends as it’s an attractive space—and, as I indicated, the food is very good. By the way, I was surprised to see a different name on the napkins: Chak-Khum. I asked if that had been their name at opening and was told that’s another restaurant in Humayunpur that they were affiliated with to start. And sure enough I passed it on my way out of the market.

The menu is attractively laid out and is large, with a good selection of starters and mains. As I was by myself, I zeroed in on the thalis. They have two categories of thalis: eco thalis and special thalis. All come in the following options: veg, fish, chicken, pork and duck. As you might guess, the eco thalis include fewer sides and are thus cheaper. As I am greedy—and wanted to try as many dishes as possible—I got one of the special thalis, and as opportunities to eat duck in Delhi are few and far between, I got the special duck thali.

It was not served in a classic thali style. By which I mean that I didn’t get a large platter with small bowls of various things along the circumference. Instead a plate with a mound of rice and a few veg dishes and chutneys was put down first and then large bowls of all the other components were placed around the plate on the table. In addition to the duck curry that was the centerpiece (if not at the actual center) of the thali, the following were in the bowls: a dal that would be easily recognizable to any North Indian; utti (stewed dried peas); eromba (an iconic Manipuri dish of boiled veg mashed with fermented fish and chillies); and kangsoi (vegetables stewed in water with smoked fish). On the plate with the rice were chamfut (boiled vegetables); morok metpa (a very hot pounded/mashed chutney with chillies and fermented fish); kanghou (a dry stir-fry); and green chilli pickle and papad. I don’t mean to suggest, by the way, that I know very much about Manipuri food: the pleasant server identified the dishes I did not know for me and I looked them up on my phone as I ate.

All of it was very good indeed. And as much as I enjoyed the duck, I liked the eromba and kangsoi even more—both, by the way, are made without any oil whatsoever. I’d love to come back with more people and try more of the dishes on the “starters” and “main dishes” sections of the menu that don’t show up on the thalis. That might have to wait till the whole family is with me in Delhi, however, and I’m not sure when that will be—maybe next summer.

In the meantime, for a look at the restaurant, the menu and my thali, please launch the slideshow below. Scroll down to see how much it cost and to see what’s coming next.

This was not an expensive meal. With a bottle of water the total before tip came to just Rs. 409 or $4.25 at the current exchange rate. That’s quite cheap even in Delhi for a sit-down meal. And having enjoyed this meal a lot, I will not wait another 6 years for my next Manipuri meal—though I might try the aforementioned Chak-Khum before coming back to Chak-Shang.

Alright, this may have been my last restaurant report proper from my trip to Delhi in December but that doesn’t mean I’m caught up with my Delhi backlog. I was back for another 12 days in March before heading to Bombay for the start of my program and have a few meals from that trip to report on as well—including another from Humayunpur. And, believe it or not, I still have a fancy meal unreported on from last July as well! But those will come later. My next restaurant report will be from the Twin Cities—a high-end dinner in Minneapolis in late February. I hope to get that up tomorrow.