Recently, I was invited to a small “DO” (party) by a relative who had flown in from Dubai. I got to meet a lot of common friends of hers who hail from Dubai, Ghana and USA. One loved the scrumptious food that was ordered from a Chinese restaurant and knick-knacks from a Mughlai joint. The next day, I called to thank her for the invite and she said she was heading for newly opened restaurant ‘Yauatcha’ at Bandra Kurla Complex. BKC, which is the latest hub for replenishing your gastronomical senses and lip smacking food buds has been mushrooming with various lounges, bars and expensive restaurants with different cuisines for people who want to eat “Cheun Faun” food -The high ended- and often want to visit a ‘Michelin’ rated restaurant.
This decadent fare means that you would be shelling out to Rs 2700/-for a meal for two people excluding your wine or cocktails ordered by you. Some other menus come in the range from Rs 500-3500/- for two persons inthese BKC digs. This is fine for NRI’s. A week later, she invites me for a coffee. Coffee to them means “Starbucks’. There she tells me how all her friends were planning to meet that evening and I was to be a part of the party. It did bolster my spirits as I stay in Suburbia and being at an uptown space always feels great. Then she reveals what they did the previous night. A group of ten landed at Haji-Ali at 1 pm just to savour the Pav-Bhaji. It was the first time for her pals from Nigeria and USA. She of course had eaten there before she settled in Dubai. They went crazy and must’ve have eaten thrice over the quantity and while having a hearty laugh she asked me to suggest some more vendors we could try.
We all met and went to Elco Arcade at Bandra. There is this vendor who serves the best Pani -puri ever besides Kailash Prabhat. He started with a small cart over there and after some years has rented the whole first floor. Now he also serves Chana Bhatura, dahi puri, sevpuri etc. From there we proceeded to Khar telephone Exchange and had the paya soup followed by Juhu Beach for some tantalising and lip-smacking street dinner. They belched and burped and said they had not gorged like this since they had arrived and kept thanking me .We wound up having a night cap at one of the pubs there. Spices, et all; street food is the soul food of Mumbaikars and the NRI’s that I know.
A dear pal from Illinois is down every year to meet her in-laws and stays sometimes in Central Matunga. The first thing they do is order Chaat from a vendor who makes papdi-chaat and also those long papdas and green chillies. They believe that even the lamb tastes better here than USA. Vada Pav is the other most popular street food that most vendors earn huge money from now-a-days. Everyone in Mumbai has tasted this snack which is available I think in almost every corner of the city and now interestingly since a few years, those who are diet and health conscious will find a jumbo king famous for its brown bread vada pav besides the normal. MM Mithaiwala outside Malad (W) station is another popular place which even serves you two types of flavoured chilled Lassi glasses to beat the heat. One cannot forget the Idlis and Dosas too.
No matter how wealthy you are, eventually the cravings for such foods give you the pleasure and when with your family or relatives and friends you visit places like this over the weekends you still have a time of your life.
