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MUMBAI has been enveloped in nostalgia for one of us. Priya spent a decade here in her salad days as a journalist. On our last trip, after the second COVID wave, the Maximum City evoked less nostalgia and more distress. There was, for one thing, the pollution and the poor air quality. The view across the Queen's Necklace, remembered as gorgeous, was just a haze. Massive infrastructure projects marred the landscape. Still, Colaba Causeway had kept its seedy charm and the never-say-die spirit of the Mumbaikar was intact.
On our first afternoon, we went to the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus area wanting to eat at Canon, famous for its pav bhaji downtown. But the place where we had eaten so many late-night meals had closed down. 'It shut down during the first lockdown itself,' said a neighbouring shopkeeper who was serving pav bhaji, plus masala dosa topped with the same bhaji.
We noticed that Mumbai's street vendors and small shops had been more severely hit by the pandemic of 2020 and 2021 than other cities. Sad at being deprived of Canon's pav bhaji, we headed to the Khau Galli near SNDT College, passing Mumbai's aspiring young cricketers dotting the maidan. Here, we had a satisfying pav bhaji at Lisha, which has stood in the same place since 1971. Momo stalls, desi-style pizza outlets and chaat vendors also serve Khau Galli customers.
Perhaps because of the size and population of Mumbai, every downtown pocket and suburb has its street-food hubs and these have a certain sameness about them. Every hub has dosa vendors, panipuri-walas, bhelpuri sellers, and sandwich shops—all the dishes that represent the street-food culture of the endlessly bustling city. We decided, therefore, to track down some exceptionally good or unique dishes and also simply to traipse through various quarters of the city, stopping now and then to taste something or to chat with shop owners.
While downtown, we had to go take a look at Flora Fountain, the graceful edifice and heritage structure. We strolled down Rustom Sidhwa Marg, at the end of which was a cluster of street-food carts serving office-goers in the area.
Ashok Kishan Dingre has been selling sandwiches here since 1976. It's the uniquely Mumbai sandwich: Wibs white bread, tomato, potato, onion, cucumber, beetroot and green chutney. You can have it toasted over coal in a handheld toaster and with cheese if you want. Ashok told us about surviving the lockdown. "I sent my staff home just before the first lockdown and they came back in September 2020. It's hard to find and keep efficient staff and I'm glad my boys are back."
A visit to Crawford Market was a must and so was a drink at Badshah Cold Drink House. Begun by Meherban Irani in 1905, it's now run admirably by his 85-year-old daughter Yasmin Irani. The must-have here is the royal falooda, with rose syrup, sabza, vermicelli, milk and ice cream. Purists are likely to look askance at the chocolate, butterscotch and black currant variants that have come later. A Badshah falooda hits the spot after a shopping spree in Crawford Market.
Later, we went to Girgaum, taking in its old-world air, past shops selling traditional attire, brassware and jewellery. We went to Khichdi Samrat, which has remained largely unchanged in appearance since its inception in 1950 by Brij Kishore Agarwal. Now run by Mahesh and Atul Agarwal of the third generation, the Kathiawadi Khichdi is a speciality here. 'All the masala are made in-house,' Atul said, playing gracious host and urging us to eat some more. Khichdi Samrat serves 16 varieties of khichdi, all of them scrumptious and comforting.
While the internet has reams on 'Mumbai's best vada pav', we went to some of our old favourites. Aram opposite CST seemed this time to be merely resting on its past glory —the shop was begun in the 1940s as did Shree Krishna Vada Pav in Dadar of similar vintage.
Our recommendation for some really good vada pav would be Manchekar Vada Pav Centre at BDD Chawl in Worli. Santosh Manchekar mans the small streetside shop started by his grandfather in the late 1960s. The freshness of his vadas — nicely spiced potato in a gram-flour batter, slapped piping hot onto soft makes this a satisfying treat.
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Mumbai is so vast, you could live here for years and yet not know its every aspect. That's how the trip to Chembur became such a discovery. This is where most of the refugees from Sindh Pakistan came and settled after Partition. So, the food culture has a distinctly Sindhi flavour.
We went to Jhama Sweets, which was begun in 1947 by the Jhamamulla family. They sold their now-famous Karachi halwa, pista barfi, gulab jamun and gajar ka halwa to begin with. Now there are dozens of confections and 13 branches spread across Mumbai.
Down the road from this landmark sweet shop is Vig Refreshments, which has been in existence since the 1960s. Eating their popular tikki chhole we chatted with owner Praveen Arora, whose maternal grandfather Sevaram started the business. "He was from Karachi and sailed to Mumbai," Praveen said. "After my grandfather's passing, my mother and father ran Vig and now I've stepped in." Besides tikki chhole — a crisp potato cutlet, topped with spicy chickpea curry and sweet chutney — Vig is known for an array of Sindhi snacks, including dal pakwan, a crisp fried bread served with chana dal. "Taste and quality depend on a skilled staff," Praveen said. "This isn't a cookie-cutter café, there are no formulae. The quality of what we serve depends on the hand of the cooks." He prides himself on retaining staff even in trying times. "Our youngest staff has been with us for 15 years, the oldest for more than 40."
Valuing staff is another thing we saw and appreciated in many small food businesses. Other eateries worth checking out in this belt of Chembur are Gopal's Mutton and Chicken for their Sindhi meat dishes, and Satu for its decadently rich jalebis.
Since nostalgia was the theme of our Mumbai sojourn, we had to go to our favourite Irani cafés and bakeries.
Our first stop was Kyani at Marine Lines for a breakfast of akuri and pav. It was founded in 1904 by Khodram Marzeban. The Parsi-style scrambled eggs, kheema and sali boti are more recent additions to the menu. For the longest time, it was bread, biscuits and cakes that Kyani specialised in. To linger over strong, sweet Irani chai here is to experience a rapidly disappearing and once quintessential part of Mumbai's food culture, the Irani café. So these places are more than just eateries; they are heritage spaces valiantly staying afloat in turbulent times.
The other Irani business holding on similarly is B Merwan outside Grant Road Station, which has been serving bun maska and mawa cakes to three generations of Mumbaikars. Begun in 1914 by Boman Merwan, it is now in the hands of the third generation and Sharosh Nowshir told us about the changes the pandemic had caused at this vintage bakery. When we went after the pandemic, Merwan was offering only takeaways and customers had to stand behind a rope tied across the front of the shop to pick up their orders, served wrapped in white paper and tied up with string.
Sharosh let us cross the rope and enter the empty café. The chairs, imported from Czechoslovakia, were stacked up in a corner. The Italian marble-topped tables at which students, families and couples sat and ate veg puffs were stored away. Mirrors in lovely frames still adorned the walls. The baking continued to be done in old-fashioned ovens, but they churned out far fewer items than in pre-Covid times. 'How can I open for dining?' Sharosh asked. 'The average spend here is so low and without enough customers, we won't be able to meet the overheads.' He added that the prices had been fixed so everyone could afford to eat here. We were deeply touched when he said, 'Blessings are more important than money?' And then, I'm sorry I'm not even able to offer you a cup of our tea. Many things had changed, but not the hospitality here.
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The above excerpts from Bazaar Bites (2024, 312 Pages, Rs 310) have been reproduced here with due permission of the publisher Rupa Publications India Pvt Ltd.
