there was moti mahal of daryaganj and then there was and still is lark dhaba of ludhiana junction. one invented 'butter chicken' and the other re-invented the same dish. if ever you are in that region and even if you need to take a slight detour to go through ludhiana, you must do it for the sake of tasting one of the best butter chickens available in this part of the country, delhi included.
we reached lark at around 10 pm and the area was alive, located close to the famed clock tower this area is full of life. once known by a movie theatre that ran matinees and colorful night shows, this area served the after drinkers and while drinkers for you can still order addhas an pauvas thru their waiting staff boys if you are not sitting in their "family room".
intrigued by their loud posters on must try dahi bhallas, at 10 in the night we decided to give it a start. no surprise, the chaat was excellent, dahi had a thick yogurt consistency and perfect sweet- tang ratio but, this is not what we came for.
ordered their reshmi chicken tikka, tawa meat, keema kulchas with gravy and their famous butter chicken. the wait of 10 min seemed absolutely torturous.
the arrived in all its color. reshmi chicken tikkas came individually wrapped in these little foil parcels, open each one and voila! the tikkas just disappear in your mouth. the softest and the juiciest chicken cooked. tawa meat and the keema kulchas were great although i felt the gravy with the keema filling made it double spicy and maybe that's why its an absolute favorite of the local drinking clientele.
the star of the evening for sure was their delectable butter chicken, one bite and i was lost. you get the complexities of spices played subtly over your palate and with every bite i felt that the after taste was of dal makhani. i dont know how they do this melange of flavors but its an absolutely smashing dish, that i dream about so many times and have almost taken my car out to drive all the way from delhi to ludhiana just to get a bite of it with crispy tandoori naans.
lark is undoubtedly a legend that every foodie must visit atleast once in their lifetime. once you've been, you will be hooked for life on their honest flavors