After music, it’s food that connects people across boundaries. One such venture is Delhi Food Adventure, a group that organises food walks for tourists in Delhi. While the city is home to many groups, which plan food walks for locals, not many cater to needs of tourists solely. But this one does. Of what started as a small venture to just help tourists find someone to bank on for a memorable culinary experience, has turned out to be a great opportunity to explore.
“In September 2010, I went to Taiwan, the first time I was outside India and in a country where I didn’t understand the local language. I understood how tough it is for a tourist, who doesn’t understand the local language, to find authentic food places, order local cuisine specials and understand how it is made and the history behind it. I had a friend there who took me to their local ‘night markets and I realised what a difference a friend can make. That’s when I saw the potential in the concept of ‘Food Walk with a Friend’ idea in an area like Chandni Chowk, which is quite intimidating for first time visitors and not tourist friendly at all, but has amazing food,” says Prabhat Bhadauria, who started the group in January this year.
What followed were weekend expeditions to the markets and food joints in Chandni Chowk and old Delhi to become familiar with the bazaars and sample food. “I gave up my job for this one. I started putting up a small website. Soon I invited a few friends for a walk, received feedback, invited a few foreigner friends received feedback, made some changes and kept on doing such walks. Soon I had people contacting me for organising food,” says Prabhat.
And after suggestions from one of the participants, Prabhat decided to take it forward and listed DFA with travel site TripAdvisor.com. Sharing his experience so far, Alan Cheuk a Canadian tourist tells us, “We found out about his tour from tripadvisor.com, where it is the number one rated tour. We went all over Old Delhi. The paranthas stuffed with paneer and smothered in butter and peppers at Nirmal Restaurant and the Changezi chicken at Al Jawahar still makes me hungry.”
For those who love to gorge on only authentic Indian cuisine, DFA has been a great experience. Says another tourist from Israel, “We took this tour for the love of Indian food, and it exceeded all our expectations and the street food was great.”
The trip is a bonus to those who often find it hard to find the right places to dine at. And DFA promises hygiene. Edward, yet another tourist, who recently went out for a food experience with DFA says, “It was a fantastic adventure to the street cafes and places you’d never ever find on your own.”