THIRDRAFT

These days, it feels like food isn’t really about the flavour anymore, it’s about how good it looks in a photo. With Instagram full of food influencers and cafes focusing more on their decor than their dishes, we’ve kind of lost the real reason we eat, that is, flavour. Everything’s about the “aesthetic” now. In Delhi, which used to be all about rich, and tasty food, now it’s becoming more common to find meals that look stunning on the plate but isn’t actually good.

Take Colocal Chocolates in Dhanmill, for example. A cafe which is famous for it’s “authentic chocolate experience”. It attracts you in with its interiors, warm lighting, and giant chocolate-making machines that make it seem special. You’d expect it to be rich and delicious, but it’s not. The hot chocolate which is priced at Rs. 385 is so thick you could use it as a face mask, and while it would look fantastic on your instagram story, but drinking it feels like a chore. “I came here because everyone raved about the chocolate,” says Mehak Jain, a 19-year-old student, perusing Psychology Hons, in Daulat Ram College, a first timer at Colocal. “But halfway through my cup, I realised I have wasted my money.” Still, people keep going, because at the end of the day, it’s more about the pictures than the food.

AMA Cafe in Majnu ka Tila is another hotspot, known for its cozy atmosphere and actually good food, except now it’s become a waiting-list nightmare, where getting a table feels like securing a VIP pass to a concert. “I swear it was better when only a few people knew about it,” says Ananya Goel, a 20-year-old student studying Fashion Design in Pearl Academy, an AMA regular. “Now half the people here don’t even care about the food, they just want a picture with the pancakes.” Which cost Rs. 400, but apparently, that’s the price for a good pancake these days.

Meanwhile, just a few steps away, Uncle Wang’s tiny stall serves boba tea and momos at a price of just Rs. 150 and it’s the best you’ll ever have. No fairy lights, no Instagrammable plates, just pure, unfiltered deliciousness at half the price and he doesn’t even have a name board. But people keep coming back because they know, it is good, none of that overly chewy, half-hearted dumpling nonsense you get at fancy places. Just the kind of food that makes you momentarily forget about inflation and Delhi traffic.

Then there’s Fig at Malcha located in Chanakyapuri, where the menu is full of fancy words like “clean,” “organic,” and “guilt-free,” which in Delhi translates to bland but expensive. Mirshthi Grover, 20-year-old student, studying Fashion Communication in Pearl Academy, had the misfortune of eating there once and still hasn’t recovered. “The food tasted like regret,” she says. “It was so under-seasoned and so bland that even a nutritionist would have sent it back.” But does it look good in pictures? Absolutely. Which is why it still makes it to every influencer’s feed, even if no one is actually finishing their meals.

And that’s the dilemma, are we eating for ourselves or for our followers? Because let’s be real, a well-lit avocado toast at one of Delhi’s elite cafes might rake in the likes, but it’ll never hold a candle to the unglamorous but utterly satisfying experience of a Chandni Chowk delicacies. “I’ll take a greasy plate of chole bhature over a smoothie bowl any day,” Ananya adds. “At least I don’t have to pretend to like my food.” Maybe it’s time to stop curating meals for the internet and start eating what we actually enjoy.