Bombay notes (emphasis: food)
Had an even better time in Bombay than I did last year – spent more time getting to know south Bombay really well, imagining how charming the place must have been like decades ago when my mom and her family lived there (more on the nostalgia angle in this post). After a few last-minute uncertainties, Abhilasha managed to come along too, which was good. We walked a lot – from the Radio Club, where we were staying, to the Colaba Causeway, to Kala Ghoda and around Churchgate. Visited the Haji Ali shrine too. Met old and new friends including Amit, Chandrahas, Sonia, Peter, Rahul, Soumik, Praba and Paromita.The two panels I was on went off as well as could be expected, given my fear of these things, and the David Sassoon Library garden was a friendly setting. The first panel, on online writing, was enlivened by Time Out editor Naresh Fernandes’s snarky and ungenerous views about blogs, especially the ones that “amount merely to public diaries”. Naturally, this meant lots of tiresome generalisation. Naresh did sweetly admit that he liked a couple of blogs, including mine, but he made the all-too-easy mistake of referring to my blog as simply an extension of my journalism. Whereupon I pointed out that the posts that are extensions of the journalism are usually more indepth and more personally satisfying than the versions that appear in print (a reflection on the many limitations of mainstream media in India – inadequate word-counts for reviews, incompetent sub-editors, etc) and that I’m more proprietorial about them than most of the stuff I’ve written for official publication. Also, that I do write “personal diary posts” as well; wonder what he’ll think of this one, for instance!
Technically speaking, I was the “moderator” of the second panel, about banned books, but my task was made very easy by my fellow panelists. Manjula Padmanabhan, whose dark and subversive writings I’ve long admired (and who included me in this Suki comic strip a couple of years ago), wrote a short script that enabled us to begin things on a strong note. Devangshu Datta, Amit and Chandrahas managed the rest, with erudite views on a number of topics (including the availability of gay pr0n at the Ahmedabad railway station, which DD was surprisingly knowledgeable about).
Most importantly, food tourism happened. Here’s the list:
- Mahesh Lunch Home and the revolving restaurant Pearl of the Orient, repeated from last year. Discovered sumptuous crab claws at the latter (the name is misleading; the meat of the dish is what I assume to be the crustacean’s forearm or calf region, or maybe the biceps – though given the size of each chunk, it would have had to be the sumo-wrestling champion of crabs).
- At one point we were greedy enough to have a 12 PM brunch at Café Leopold (yes yes, the Shantaram one) on the Colaba Causeway, only an hour or so before meeting someone for lunch. Abhi had Akuri, the Parsi preparation of scrambled eggs, while I settled for something so boring that I’m embarrassed to mention it here.
- Mutton dhansak at one of the Kala Ghoda stalls. This was – ahem – at 7 PM, a couple of hours before a lavish dinner at a maasi’s house: home-made tandoori pomfret and around eight other superb dishes, including a versatile salad made by Dayal uncle, who is a true artist in the kitchen and will make us many fine meals in the future (and who is hopefully reading this post).
- Excellent beef steak-and-fried egg sandwich at Café Churchill. Perfectly done – none of the ingredients was excessive relative to the others – and just the right size. And the thing was priced at just Rs 110! In a Delhi café (say, The Big Chill), something of comparable quality would have been Rs 200 at the very least. (In general, food prices were to die for. I also can’t believe that it’s possible to take a cab a short distance and pay a fare of Rs 13. I’m assuming that all this talk about Mumbai being expensive to live in is entirely because of the rents.)
- The best fish-and-chips I’ve ever had – light, tender, not too strong – at the Cricket Club of India. With an outstanding Orange Nougat for dessert.
- But the pick of the foodie experiences was probably our lunchtime visit to the Irani café Britannia, which has been around since the mid-1920s and is among the few surviving Irani joints in the city. It’s a ramshackle sort of place to look at (the “High Class Restaurant” written in fading letters on an old and rusty signboard seemed ironical when we first saw it) and we were told it runs on the whimsies of its octogenarian owner – opening for only a few hours at lunchtime, staying closed on Sundays, and if two people show up early when they’ve booked a table for four, they might not be allowed to sit down until the others arrive. Despite this, it has a huge and loyal clientele, and the food made it easy to see why. We had two of the staple Irani dishes – Sali boti, which is mutton topped with lots of potato straws and best had with a warm, soft roti, and the berry pulao, both delicious. (Couldn’t figure out the provenance of the little berries sprinkled on the rice, but were told later that they are still specially imported from Iran.) I’m not a big fan of caramel custards, but experts in this field claim that the ones served here are incomparable.Eighty-five-year-old Boman Kohinoor still takes every order himself, being nervous about entrusting this delicate task to anyone else, even the younger family members who also work here. It was fascinating to see him doing the rounds. When he took our orders, every sentence was preceded by a businesslike “Now!” or “Listen!” When we ordered the fizzy Pallonji raspberry drink instead of the fresh lime water he had suggested, he gave us a faux-suspicious look. “You guys Parsi or what?!” he croaked, “Parsi means raspberry.” After he was finished, he beamed round at us all, called us “good girls” and “good boys” (one of my uncles is over 60) and tottered off to the next table.
One last thing that has to be mentioned, because it was a motif of the trip and because I’m still shaking my head about it: this utterly bizarre rumour spread by shivering Mumbaiites that their city is in the throes of winter. They should have been in Delhi on the night of February 1 when my brother-in-law’s wedding ceremony was held outdoors and guests were dropping like Bedouin in Greenland. People, I accept that your city (the southern tip of it anyway) is the greatest in the world, but your definition of cold weather merits you the appellation “Wuss”. And no, this isn’t Delhi-chauvinism. The moment we stepped out of the plane at the Indira Gandhi airport, I commenced a sneezing fit that still hasn’t fully ended. These things can't be faked. (The idea that Mumbai had a meaningful winter this year will be debunked at greater length in a subsequent post.)
P.S. Turns out even sophisticated cities have unintentionally funny signboards. Like this one:
on Monday, February 11th, 2008, 8:02 am in Food, Literature › 
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Hoarding
vat. no pix, yaar.
btw - steak at Rs 110 a serving… ? vat abattoir is this yaar. I’m sure the tire treads added good texture to the steak :-)
Ah Jabberwock,
Looks like you had a great time. I absolutely love the berry pulao at Cafe Brittania which I last had some 13 years ago :-(
Besides Mahesh Lunch Home - Trishna is ( was?) also excellent for sea food.
And if you are staying near the Gateway of India - Bade Miyan’s kebab joint is sooo famous.
Did you see Gregory David Roberts at Leopold? :-)
Ah, a gripe after my own heart - yes, the only reason Bombay has the reputation of being “expensive” is rents. When I lived in Delhi as an adult after hearing relatives go on about how expensive Bombay was, I was stunned that my local South Delhi sabzi guy had higher prices than the Breach Candy veggie people (who, as any Bombay person knows, are the most expensive), and drinking out can set you back a fair bit, let’s not even get started on cabs (and people cheating you all the time).
Irani cafes rock! I love that Britannia has the slogan “There is no love greater than the love of eating” - I saved a napkin with that printed on it. The berries in berry pulav are barberries, yes, imported from Iran. Their berry pulav is not great compared with the actual Iranian version but still not bad.
You didn’t go to Mahesh or Apoorva for seafood????? (Trishna is good but overpriced ever since the celebs discovered it - damn you Imran Khan)
I never went to Cafe Leopold after there was a hullabaloo some (err…maybe 15) years ago about them refusing to serve sub-Saharan Africans on racial grounds.
All you Kala Ghoda-going, Goldspot-attending, warm-weather-basking fockers need to stop enjoying your lives without me.
-manish, in mourning
Agree with Manish… with such cold winters here and no good authentic indian food around too bad, this article makes me want to go back to india and eat all summer mangoes, good indian food, enjoy nice indian summers..
I miss specially having the luxury of getting up at 8am and be able to go to a nice indian restaurant in US and eat some good idli or dosa or upma or vada pav or alu/mooli paratha early in the morning before going for work..wish someone opens indian brunch places in US that open at 7am like in India..
though most of the dishes in restaurants look like non veg dishes are there any good chain vegetarian restaurants in mumbai or delhi that also have branches in hyderabad so that I can check them out in my next trip to India? thank u..
Runa: No Greg Roberts, which is just as well - too much lit-partying happens in Delhi anyway.
Khoofia: Roadkill or not, it tasted great and that’s all that matters. Btw it wasn’t a full steak, it was steak strips and fried egg in sandwiches. Last year I had a proper steak in the same place and that was for Rs 250 or so (would’ve been Rs 400 in Delhi for that quantity).
SP: I mentioned Mahesh in the post. Had gushed about it in last year’s post so didn’t elaborate on it this year.
most of the dishes in restaurants look like non veg dishes
Prakruti: that isn’t the case, but non-veg is all I had, so… maybe if the next trip happens soon enough I’ll get adventurous and try some good veg stuff! But for now, I have no idea about veg recommendations.
Manish: am back in Delhi now, if that’s consolation. And it’s colder here than where you are.
Highly doubt it’s colder in Delhi, what with the negative number windchills in the Northeast.
Someone needs to do a post that finds me the best puri (pani, dahi batata, whatevs) in the Mumbs.
my cuz tells me they have frost the first time ever in their town in Haryana (within 100 clicks of Delhi). it’s cold.
there are some but i am blanking out… hmm… I remember the Woodlands chain. It serves popular south indian food. actualy, even fast food joints like nirula’s in delhi serve pretty decent vegetarian thalis - too much for one person though.
dont know about the US, but that’s my retirement plan here in TO. I love talking to people. I love cooking. It’s the perfect life for me :-). I will offer bottomless cups of chai and samosas and bajjis and bondas and rasam and daily dahl specials. Will be sure to post an Ad in UB’s currently bare window to invite y’all over. . :-)
sigh. hashpipe dreams.
Kamats? Woodland? DasaPrakash?
Kailash Parbat in Colaba is usually a safe bet - though my favorite bhel was the 3rd stall from the left on Juhu beach ( counting from the Ramada ) The pani puri outside Elco Arcade in Bandra is great.
I need to read in less of a rush. Sorry! Glad to hear you appreciated Mahesh’s glories. I still prefer Apoorva for prawn gassi though, so try that out the next time you’re there! (and that Swagat place in DefCol market has food that’s almost comparable, for when you’re stuck in Delhi dreaming of Bombay). And fantastic Gujarati thali at Chetana right near Rhythm House.
SP: thanks. Did see Chetana when I was at the Kala Ghoda festival, but didn’t know what it was. And I order from Swagat quite often - they have a branch in Malviya Nagar, which is much closer to my place. Great Mangalorean cuisine as well as improbable treasures like fish (and prawn) biryani.
Swagat has a branch in Malviya Nagar?! Good to know! Did you go to Moshe’s in Bombay, btw, and is it still as good as it used to be?
Now can I ask why someone who so clearly is a Bombay-wallah at heart lives in Delhi?
Ich Bin Ein Mumbaikar. We are all Bombay-wallahs.
Oops, the second part was meant to be unquoted.
Moshe’s is still excellent. The best place to enjoy Mediterranean / Italian food on a balmy night in their little courtyard.
Moshe’s bread is amazing.
You should have ditched Leopolds and gone across the street to Olympia. It’s far nicer with twice the infused character.
Britannia . Enough said about a place that is closed on Sundays and is only opens for lunch. It is intolerably lovely
thanks jabberwock, Khoofia, Runa..
Runa I always go to kamat atleast twice during my trip to hyderabad.. I like chole batura and north indian dishes at kamat hyderabad..I checked out woodland too..I think last time I had cutlets and good idli with my sis and cousins there in hyderabad.. woodland in washington DC is great too.. I need to check other places..
same here too Khoofia, I plan to retire in India, aram se have a proper indian breakfast in nice restaurants in india and enjoy summer mangoes, winter custard apple and nice warm south indian sunny skies and read books and books.. But definetely no plans to open a restaurant:-) though my american friends and indian friends here in Indy insist I should open a restaurant here in US as they think Iam a good cook..If I come to toronto I will take ur offer and definetely will check out ur restaurant khoofia for samosa and indian elachi chai;-)
In the meantime I figured out living in US I might as well enjoy indian breakfast everyday..so I make idli and breakfast stuff and pack my breakfast dabba along with lunch box and feel happy eating homemade indian breakfast for the time being now a days…
jabber wock thank u, would love more posts of good indian food places to check out..specially chain restaurants which I can check out in hyderabad..
If u all ever go to Hyderabad some good places to eat good food.
Chutneys - for great idlis which are supersoft, great breakfasts like upma, 15 different varieties of dosa, parathas, upma etc., open all through out the day..They also have another chutneys next to it which offers lunch and dinner buffets with 100 items for just 150 rupees..
Southern spice - best super spicy south indian food. They deliver packed full course lunch home too which is cool..it is superspicy so only if u like lot of spice u should try this place..but great food..
utsav - great lunch buffet
aditya or amruta hotel in ameerpet has great lunch buffet
shoppers stop shopping mall cafe - for best chat safe for even NRI’s specially bhelpuri, panipuri,ragda patti, pav bhaji…even their ice creamms and cakes or good..and u can shop there and also they have aa cute kids games place..that is a fav. place for me and my two litle nephews to hang out..they get to play on rides and also eat good food..
And u should have sweets at almond house and pullareddy sweets..pure ghee great varieties of sweets..
I agree with Akshay about Olympia, it serves a great Keema Pao. About Pani Puri, I believe some newspaper recently rated Punjab Sweet House on Pali Hill to be the best. Personally I feel the Amarsons Pani Puri and Dahi Batata Puri at Breach Candy and the guy outside Kala Niketan are pretty good. Like someone else mentioned Elco on Hill Road is pretty consistent. There used to be a guy at Cuffe Parade across from the president called Ayub who does very good rolls including an excellent Paneer Tikka role.
For nice cheap sea food, there is a place called Excellency by Ballard Estate and if you are in Chembur there is small restaurant called Sunny’s which serves very nice Malyali food.
Ahh nostalgia. My scholarship money went towards supporting these wonderful addas in the 80s.
- Baida roti @ Bade Miyan
- Ragada Pattis @ Kailash Parbat
- Pork Vindaloo @ Martin’s …… (Near Colaba Market - Strand cinema)
- Crab @ Mahesh Lunch Home
- Malai Rabdi @ UP/Bihari restaurant near Ambassador Hotel
- Ice cream @ Rustom’s (across from Churchgate/Ambassador Hotel)
- Beer @ Gokul
Towards the end of the month it was
- Vada Pav @ Kala Ghoda
- Mutton frankies @ shop outside the Parsi Colony in Colaba
- Rum in the room from the Navy Canteen
Thanks for the memories.
The Elco pani puri is great as a special outing, when you can spend half an hour mopping up your tears because it packs so much heat. Punjab Sweet House’s filtered water pani puri never did me wrong.
Manish,
I recall from your earlier posts that you were staying close to Carter Road during your stay in Bombay. I came across a great place called Karim’s on my last trip there and now there seems to be a whole bunch of eating places including papa pancho, some Italian place and some other Indian/Chinese places there. The cafe coffee day on Carter has a great location and service.
Karim’s dal makhani is the best, along with Kwik Wok’s bamboo rice, Lemongrass’ red curry, Papa Pancho’s paranthe, gobi Manchurian at Stomach, penne at Basilico and fig-walnut ice cream and kulfi at Bachelor’s.
Coffee Day was my hangout. One morning they shot a Bollyscene there.
Enough already with the Bombay loving. Y’all are making me cry as I look out of the window of my arid office and all I can see is pouring rain and snowy sidewalks.
Punjabi Dhaba run? :)
A poor substitute for mouth-watering Pav Bhaji and delectable falooda, but ’tis all I got, I guess.
Manish,
All the places you mentioned are excellent, I really like Basilico, especially the one opposite Gold’s Gym in Bandra. Did you also get a chance to try the Dal at Moti Mahal? It is the best Dal Makhani I have eaten in a long time.
Rahul,
Try the pre packaged Dal Bukhara of Kitchens of India if you haven’t already. I find the taste very similar to Moti Mahal’s Dal Makhani.
Thanks, umber desi, I love Dal Makhani!
fig walnut icecream..vow..never had one..wonder how it tastes..
vow so many good places to eat in mumbai..now I have to make a trip to mumbai this time when I go to India just to eat good food..
I think I never ate dal makhani, I need to try it this weekend..thank u all..
reading all the comments makes me crave for good indian food…kya variety hina indian food me..indian food zindabad..
Never went in. next time. Thanks for the prepackaged tip. Dal makhani is peace, love and understanding.
Unless you got it at Juhu Beach and it gave you the runs, it isn’t authentic.
Umber Desi: Karim’s is an Old Delhi institution, a Mughlai place that has been around forever (near the Jama Masjid) and now has branches in New Delhi as well. I heard that a branch had opened in Mumbai as well but couldn’t believe it - it seems to belong so completely to old Delhi, it’s difficult to imagine it travelling hundreds of miles away. And, um, Moti Mahal is a Dilli institution as well. Mumbaikars are stealing our food?!
Jabberwock,
I have been to the Karim’s in Jama Masjid and the original Moti Mahal in Darya Ganj. The Moti mahal in Bombay has been around for many years, I believe they have an outlet in Nariman point. I am not sure if the Karim’s in Bombay has any connection to the one in Delhi but the food at the one in Bombay is excellent.
try the grilled veg sandwich from Swastik in Santa Cruz, or the sandwich man near Hill Road in Bandra. Both are so yummy.
Wock writes:
Maybe serious Indian foodies go out and eat instead of whinging ineffectually from their bland Amrikan offices :)
As bizarre as this is, that funny signboard is from the building where I live!! :) Btw, the repairs are annoying! It sounds like someone’s firing mortar shells from our terrace. Not funny! Nice post though. Part of my ‘hood’. :)