Stomach connects with heart here
FOOD PARADISE
For students of Delhi Technological University (DTU), formerly known as Delhi College of Engineering (DCE), their canteens are more than just a place to grab a bite. 
The college spread over 165 acre of land and with some 4,000 students, has three canteens apart from two small eating outlets.
The biggest among the three is mech canteen, offering a variety of food ranging from thali and South Indian cuisine to momos and spring rolls, vegetable and egg patty to pizzas and chole bhathure.
The canteen is popularly known as mech canteen by students due to its proximity to the mechanical department.
Students spend most of their free time in Mech canteen, eating, studying or watching cricket match. “It is not just a place to eat, it is our hangout zone. When we are not attending classes or labs, we are in Mech canteen. The food is very good and the rates are also very reasonable compared to the same dishes available outside. But, the added attraction is the television set here,” says third year student Rahul Talreja.
The two-storey canteen came up in the college around five years ago to cater to the students coming in the college for counselling of All India Engineering Entrance Exam (AIEEE). It also has a separate space for the faculty members.
The canteen has stone tables and benches and is easily the students’ favourite adda when any big cricket tournament is on. “Majority of students in the college are boys. So, when any big cricket match is on, we are glued to the TV with our favourite dishes on the table,” adds Rahul. Other than Mech canteen, Elec canteen is also popular among students. Some also call it dabba canteen as it is very small.
In the proximity of electrical department, Elec canteen, the oldest among all, offers snacks like pattis, burgers, sandwiches, maggie, shakes and bread pakora.
“Mech canteen was built five years ago. Until then there was only Elec canteen which was small and offered only snacks. Mech canteen is now the students’ favourite despite the presence of smaller eateries within the college,” says Maurice Almeida, in charge of these canteens.
The college has one more canteen called Mic-Mac canteen which came up a year ago after DCE was renamed DTU. The canteen, close to boys’ hostel has gained immense popularity among the students in a very short span of time as it offers parathas and other dishes on demand.
“Mic-Mac canteen is opened every day till four in the morning. They have all types of parathas like aalo, gobhi, pyaz and paneer and that too at a very reasonable rate. The best thing is it is open till late night when other canteens are closed and the canteenwalla bhaiyya also makes non-veg and other dishes like chicken when we ask,” shares second year electronic and communication student Shashank Bhaskar.
Unlike Mech canteen, Mic-Mac canteen is an open air canteen and also sells items like milk, flavoured milk and curd that saves these students from going out to buy these things.
The two canteens are also a boon for students when the mess is closed once every week. “Every Friday, our hostel mess is closed. So, we come to either Mic-Mac canteen or Mech canteen. In fact, sometimes we miss our meals at hostels to eat at college canteens,” third year engineering student Payal Yadav says.
