The Knife's Cut: Some clear Mumbai favourites

I normally find it difficult when people ask me to name favourites, but I think I have developed a strong point of view on some places by now. You will get links to all these places by typing in the name in the search field

• Parsi: Cafe Ideal Corner, Fort
• Chinese: Ling's Pavilion, Colaba
• Goan: Martins, Colaba
• Bengali: Oh Calcutta, Tardeo
• Udipi: Swagath, Fort
• Mangalorean: Apoorva, Fort
• Punjabi: None
• Lucknowi: Kakori House (Maratha...but then keeping five stars out), Bandra
• Thai: Thai Pavilion (I know its a five star but this is a clear winner), Cuffe Parade
• Irani Cafe: Yazdaani Bakery, Fort
• Maharashtrian food: Purepur Kolapur (sorry, don't dig Gomantak too much but Sayba works for me), Dadar
• Keralite: Hotel Deluxe, Fort
• Continental: Out of The Blue (food), Yellow Tree (ambience), Bandra
• Muslim/ Moghlai food: Olympia, Colab
• Coffee Shop: Gloria Jean's, Bandra
• Overall favourite - where I'd rather be at any time: Candies @McRonnel, Bandra

Waking up to smell the waffles .... Just Around The Corner, Bandra

Coffee and waffles at Just Around the Corner used to be weekend staple for us.

Then the indifferent service and the birth of the new Candies near our house put paid to our trips to JATC. K missed her waffles. In the feather weight class, she could. Didn't fit in with my faux health consciousness though. So the mutton puffs, mayo and cheese sandwiches of petite four of Candies became soul food for me.

We went to JATC after ages yesterday. We were looking for a place which served coffee, had good food AND a wash room. Suddenly remembered JATC. Thought would give it a try for old time's sake.

K was thrilled to see that the waffle machine was there. Last time I went to JATC they told me that they had stopped making waffles as the machine had conked off. Plus it was past noon and JATC stops serving breakfast after a point.

"I want one waffle. I want waffle," went the Missus. I was a bit flustered by her manic chants and looked for something for myself. I settled on an alu paratha. And then I remembered, we used to share a plate of waffles in our JATC Wonder Years. It was two to a plate after all. Except that the hysteric, 'I want one waffle', chants had distracted me. Seemed like I had over ordered.

The alu paratha was ready first. It looked hot and steaming and fresh. I took a bite. Passionate stuff. Fresh, bursting with flavours, hot, felt good in the tummy. K said she'd skip the paratha. I told her to try a bite as it was pretty good. Well, it was pretty good and the 'one bite' turned to many and I didn't have to worry about over eating.

Coffee came next. JATC used to serve their own coffee earlier. Then Coffee Day which had a section outside. Now it was Costa. The Costa cappuccinos were robust and masculine as always. A tad under- heated. A blast of steam in the cappuccino machine and we were good.

The waffles arrived. Twenty minutes later as they told us in the beginning. I like my waffles crisp. K likes them soft. She had requested them to keep it soft. The waffles we got were sheer perfection in K's world. Soft and formed perfectly. And yet firm enough to not put me off.

The sight of butter melting on the waffle. The sweetness of honey smearing across the sharp salty cut of butter is the stuff the nicest of dreams are made of. To be savoured as long as you can.

A breakfast which made K update her facebook status thus: "I can walk to a place where butter melts on hot waffles and coffee shops know my name. That's why I live in Bandra."

Alu parathas - one bite turned into many

Where did my paratha go?

Sipping into a cup of Bandra

"I want one waffle, I want one waffle, I want a waffle"

Sweet Dreams ... Cafe Universal, Mumbai

We met our landlord (Ll) and real estate agent (A) this morning. Both Goans. It was that time of the year. The bane of every tenant's life. This is how the conversation went.

LL: I just went to Goa. Had some very bad chili fry there. It's too crowded right now. My co passenger paid Rs 24,000 for his flight ticket
A: It is so difficult to get good chili fry
The wife: Martin's is good for Goan
LL &amp A: big smile
Me: I like Snow Flake too
LL: But how did you find the service? Last time I went it was in shambles
Me: Well, it seemed like some-one's house. Quiet and empty.
LL: Exactly. The emptiness put me off. D'Sousa used to be good
The Wife: D'sousaaaaaa! my dad used to eat there before he was married. I thought he had got the name wrong as I never saw it myself
LL: City Kitchen was good too
Me: I went there the other day. It has closed down
LL: Yes, the owner is a stupid woman. She apparently closed the place down for renovation..told the workers who had worked there for 35 years that she would call them when done...sold the place off...and didn't pay them
LL & A sighed
The Wife: we love the steak and onion fry at Martins
A: (smiling again) My wife and I book nine steaks when we go there as they get over
LL: And the place has remained the same. The owner is crashed out. His father used to sit there before. Same spot. With a glass of country liquor
A: You don't get good steaks anywhere. At the most, that Gondola place near your house. Kobes
LL: Kobes is all crap, bullshit and hype
Me: Mondegar's has good steaks
A (much to my surprise) Where is Mondegars? New place?
Me: Mondy's is a classic
A: Now where is this Mondy's
LL: It is the same. Short form. It is in the first lane after Regal
A: The Baghdadi lane?
LL: No. No the one before
A: (suddenly)....er, I think this way we will only talk of food

And then our discussions of commerce began. I got a call from the A later in the afternoon

A: Kalyan, sorry to call you. This is not about the rent. Where is this place Mondegars again?

Well, welcome to my world.

(A lot of the restaurant gossip above would be hearsay and probably not all true...so no defamation suits please. The gossip here is not that of the blogger's.)

Actually we did go in search of City Light the other day. We walked down Fort on a wet afternoon. Down Bora Bazar. Towards GPO. And then Fort Market. Past old buildings, big roads, a glimpse of VT, approaching Ballard Estate...in search of City Kitchen. A kind avuncular gentleman with white beard at a Muslim restaurant told us that City Kitchen had shut down.

So we strolled into a place called  Universal Cafe   An old building from the British era. Stained glass windows which proclaimed that it was established in 1921. The place looked smart and well maintained. High ceilings. Creaking fans. Irani Cafe tables. Wooden sofa/ bench booths. Smartly painted. Aged yet graceful like the late Maharani Gayatri Devi.

The air was languorous, lazy. Execs in white shirts, ties and trousers, young couples taking a break from work... pitchers of beer. Not the sort of place to walk into if you have to get back to fill in hours in your time sheet.

It was an Irani restaurant. The menu ranged from steaks to OMG ('world's' biggest burger'), Chinese, Dhansak and a couple of Irani dishes that I had never heard of. I didn't feel like experimenting. So we went for Chinese.

'Beef chilly fry' said my lunch mate. This is the landmark dish of Leopold's. Seemed like blasphemy to order it here. The beef chilli turned out to be quite different at Universal. I think that don't approve of cow slaughter at Leo's and don't encourage eating beef. The beef chili is inedible at Leopolds. Yet it holds you in its spell. You order it though you know it won't be good ... and then curse it.

The beef chilly at Cafe Universal on the other hand was well flavoured and suitably tender...edible of course, made you happy and satisfied, like, er, a cow chewing cud.

For the mains we went for pepper prawns. Guided by our knowledgeable waiter. Spicy. Juicy. Hot. China meets Yana Gupta. The mixed fried rice was well flavoured, had a good mouth feel. As my lunch mate said, "Don't know if its the beer but I am actually beginning to like the rice too".

Cafe Universal is now synonymous with lazy afternoons in my mind. This was a place where time had fallen asleep. And urged you to doze too.

And here's Kurush Dalal on the Finely Chopped Facebook page on the history of Cafe Universal:

Kurush F Dalal

cafe universal was a typical irani restaurant famous for its chai, bun maska, omlette and kheema .... then came the end of the honeymoon (around 1975)and the dockworkers and lay people began to find other alternatives like the udipi ... alo...ngside the rising sun of south indian food was the twilight of the irani cafe .... universal rose to the challenge by transforming into a beer bar and started a very good 2nd innings unlike many a compatriot who clung on to the 'chai-bun maska' and fell by the wayside.


universal was a 'cheap' place to score a beer with a few basic snacks ... soon it had a regular clientele then suddenly 5 to 10 yrs before glasnost and perestroika eastern europe and the ussr started sending goods via the sea route and eager east european sailors on shore leave started thronging the cafe .... the owners cashed in on this with large Cyrillic lettering proclaiming the name and the wares ..... 20 yrs down the line the shipping industry had reached its own nadir as had the eastern block the cafe was deserted and only the brave staff kept faith with the regular patrons stoppin by for a beer after work ..... around 2001-2002 universal saw a determined attempt at a revamp and a 3rd innings ..... the owners of leo's took it over the cafe and went for a fullon makeover, heady with the success of cafe royale .... the menu at universal now had exotic steaks (pretty good ones) and a plethora of fancy dishes .... but the old faithfuls were having none of this and the yuppies baulked at the thought of the old rep. Once again in a short while it became a 'beer bar'again ...... it's a better beer bar and appears to have more clients but at the end of the day she's just a tired old lady a bit gaudily primped up and awaiting the axe.

 

Beef Chili Fry

Pepper prawns

Mixed fried rice

The search begins as we walk down Fort

A 'Parinda' moment

'Make you strong man'

Mr Lazy is here

Possibly the owner...the place looked well looked after

A 'Man Versus Food' afternoon... Mathura Sweets, Fort

Chhole Bhature at Mathura Sweets

Two bad dishes one after the other. That too from two of my favourite places. Places where I have had some excellent food and I am sure these are aberrations.

It was my in laws 35th anniversary on Wednesday and we went to Yellow Tree. Great prawns grilled in lime and butter, customised ice free SOB (sic) mocktail for MIL, great 3 cheese pasta for her, pa in law loved his sandwiches. Baked potatoes wrapped in chorizo on the house for us, soon to be introduced. Loved the way the matronly baked potatoes cut the sharp taste of the tart like chorizo...great pairing. Pity that my penne carbonara was more like a salt free Italian White Curry. Anyway I salvaged it with some salt and sauteed garlic from K's prawns. And the chocolate terrine at the end left us with 'sweet memories' as the occasion warranted.

Thirty five years. Phew! They were celebrating their 25th when I first knew of them. They had gone to Holiday Inn, Goa. K gave me a half kilo pack of cashews that they got from Goa. I finished it as we walked from Nariman Point to Churchgate! 'Those were glory days' ... as the Boss serenaded.

And then I went to Ideal Corner for lunch on Thursday. I wanted to try out the their famous American Chop Suey. Turned out to be one of their lowest moments. Dhansak, biriyani, kebabs, gunpowder pork, sali boti or even fried rice and chicken in black bean dry works there... but do yourself a favour and don't order the chop suey unless you want to punish yourself with salt free tasteless food.

Gruesome American Chop Suey... looked a bit like Iraq after the Americans went in

Let me go on record saying that I love both these places and would strongly recommend them...but these two dishes seem to be their black sheep.

Incidentally I almost wavered on my way to Ideal Corner. I passed Mathura Sweets and its signboard with chhole bhature written on it called out to me. I almost walked in a couple of times before going to Ideal Corner. Well, wrong call. Anyway might as well fix things when one can. So I left my chop suey unfinished and headed back to Mathura Sweets.

It was a shop with a sweet counter at one side and four to five tables on the other. Spartan. Clean. Non air conditioned. Cool thanks to thick walls and high ceilings.

I was a bit awed. This was almost a 'Man Vs Food' moment for me. I don't like the concept of the show. Over eating doesn't work for me. Neither does calling the food of other people 'Bizarre Foods'. But could I really eat more after eating half of the American Chop Suey?

Well I did order for cholle bhature and a small lassi. The bhatures (Punjabi flour based breads) were fresh, round, deep fried but not as thick what one gets in other restaurants at Mumbai. Deflated with a hiss once you broke it. Something that called out to the child in you. I did manage to finish the two which came in a serving.

The chhole was quite tasty though oily and spicy. But then restaurant chholes are meant to be oily, grimy and spicy. Looking for a low oil chhole in a restaurant is like going to a strip joint because you want to listen to the music. I had half of the chhole but remember I had already had half a lunch before this.

Interestingly the waiter asked me whether I wanted my lassi after the food or with it. I asked for it with my meal. But later realised what he meant. The lassi was almost like a dessert. Thick to the extent of almost seeming solid. Very sweet with a hint of the sourness or curd in the back. A mid day pick me up if there ever was one. A friend later said that this is how lassis apparently are in North India. Of course a few of these saccharine babies and you would soon be a much bigger man.

On the way out I spoke to the owner, Thakur Ajay Singh, in Hindi who soon switched to English. Turned out that I was at the oldest Mathura Sweets outlet. This is the one beside the Fire Brigade at Fort. Turns out that his grandfather had opened the shop SIXTY FIVE years back. He was from, no not Mathura, but Varanasi or Benaras. Both are in Uttar Pradesh in North Indian of course. The chhole had curry leaves and I asked why as these are used in South Indian cooking. He shrugged and said, "for their taste". Can't argue with that.

Their other branches are at Churchgate, near Yazdani at Fort. Peddar Road which the have hired out to Dominoes. Ajay said that he and his brothers ran the chain. One brother had gone abroad to study medicine. Hence a Mathura outlet became Dominoes.

Mathura Sweets looks like a quiet peaceful oasis. People were tucking into their thalis and puri bhajis, lassis and masala milks. The crowd ranged from office execs to office support staff.

I need to go back for the puri bhaaji and to take photos with a camera. Still am fairly happy with the BB Bold pictures.

And now over to Mom ... a trip down memory lane

The Knife: Imagine returning to the house you grew up in. 37 years after you left it. For a new country. A new life. 33 years after you last saw it. 

My mom went to visit her childhood home with my brother and sister in law. I was going to ask her to write about it.Turned out the she was already planning to. So here you are, a post written by Mom:



In search of my roots………………………..…stems, maybe !!

On a cold lazy Sunday afternoon of 21 November, 2010, Lady Rip Van Winkle (that’s me) woke up after about 40 years to look for her past.

I had come from Kolkata to stay at Gurgaon with my younger son Siddhartha and his newly wed wife, Soyel, for a while. Suddenly I decided to do so some sightseeing in Delhi and also visit a flat at Pandara Road, where I had spent a considerable part of my life before marriage.

We hired a driver, took out our car and set out on our quest. Our first stop was Lotus Temple, which was not built when I had left Delhi in 1973. After that we went to Humayun Tomb which was already there even before my birth.

Humayun Tomb, with more than 100 graves, is often known as the “Dormitory of Mughals”

 

Our next stop was Khan Market, famous for Salim’s and Khan Chachas’ Kakori kababs. Located near India gate, this is one of the many old markets of Delhi which has retained its original character but aged gracefully with time. We gave the Kababs a miss and instead chose to have coffee, mint chocolate ice cream & Spaghetti (without Cheese) at Café Big Chill. I became nostalgic seeing Khan Market after so many years. It was upmarket even at that time but there were not so many shops. I was surprised to see that all the important branded shops there and not a bit of space was left for setting up any more shops.

Darkness had already set in. There was a nip in the air. It was about seven pm. I coaxed my son and daughter in law to take me to that flat in Pandara Road which is at a stone’s throw from Khan Market. I was not too sure of the location as I had left it 3 decades back in 1973, after my marriage. I had only gone back there once in 1977, with my elder son Kalyan, during a short visit to India from UK. The only thing I remembered was the Address of the Flat and that it was somewhere near the UPSC office, at an arm’s length from India Gate.

So the search began. It was already quite dark. Roads were deserted. A sort of uncaniness added fuel to my thoughts. There was hardly anyone on the road whom we could ask for directions. A strange feeling set in. Was that flat still there? Had the Flat No. changed?

Finally, after taking a few rounds, we met an Istiriwallah (Clothes- ironing guy) who directed us to the flat. At last we saw the flat for which were looking for the last 30 minutes. It was the last flat in the row.

Found the Correct Row finally!!

What a feeling!

The flat was illuminated with Chinese lights. My son asked me to stand before the Flat with the No. plate of the Flat in the background so that he could click a quick snap. I showed them the window of the room where I used to stay with my younger sister. Then followed another snapshot.

Me and My Flat

The window of what used to be my sister’s and my room

There was eerie feeling in the air and I felt as if the lady from the front block, “15 No. Walli (mostly residents in this colony were known by their flat nos.)”, would come out smilingly and talk to me. I could visualize my next door South Indian friend Shanta, “17 No. Walli”, Majumder aunty from the next block, Chatterjees etc. and feel their presence.

It seemed as if I was turning back the time machine forcefully and trying to peep into the past against nature. The big trees, in the adjacent ground, sighed and whispered so many things into my ears. I was in a stupor. 

Suddenly the present tenant of the flat opened the door and asked us what we wanted. When my son introduced ourselves, they responded very nicely and even asked us to come inside. It was an added bonus and quite surprising in a city where nobody trusts anybody. There was a marriage in their house in a day or two. That explained the illumination. They showed us all the rooms. These are Central Government Flats allotted to Government officials. This one was a 2BHK apartment with a balcony in the front. It had a separate bathroom and a separate toilet, like they used to build in the good old days. There was also a kitchen garden at the back. The flat was just as I had left it years ago.

The Flat, illuminated to celebrate a wedding in the family

There were some changes of course! Cement floors had been replaced by white tiles, whitewashed walls with distemper paints. Apart from these few cosmetic upgrades everything else was the same.

 Snap of the drawing room. The mother of the present tenant sitting where my mom once used to sit

Near the kitchen, there was a small hole in the wall where my mother used to store coal, cow dung cakes (dried, of course) and a hammer to break them. That tiny place used to be veiled by a curtain made of old sarees. In the age of gas ovens and microwave ovens, that place had lost its utility. So the present tenant has set up a small Mandir in that place.

This was my mother’s coal storage place during those days

We were then taken to the garden where I went looking for the banana plants and the flower plants which my mother had planted. Instead, I found a lemon tree with ripe lemons hanging from it. I asked them if I could take one. They readily agreed and I plucked one off and put it in my bag.

The Bougainvilleas and white Chameli flower plants, which my mother had planted near our front verandah, were also missing. They were replaced by some other plants.

The Lemon Tree in the backyard

The front garden still there, with new flowers and a new gardener

This was the house where all of us four siblings had stayed together with our parents. Life had its own happiness and frustrations at that time too. But as Walter Scott says, “distance lends charm”. So all I remember are the sweet memories.

I had left the flat at the age of 25 for the UK after my marriage. A blue eyed girl, with dreams in her eyes and endless possibilities in life, left the house weeping for her parents and siblings.

After thirty seven years, life has almost come to a full circle. While coming back in the car, I was taking stock of my life and trying to match the balance sheet of my life. What I found was endless happiness and also a huge loss due to my husband’s demise. At one point of my life, I was swimming against the tide and trying to keep myself afloat with my two sons. I survived and kept afloat!

At this stage of my life, I can match both sides of the balance sheet. Expectations and achievements are almost at par. I looked into myself. I have no regrets. I have forgotten and forgiven…I am at peace with myself. All I want now is happiness for my two sons.

I woke up from my reverie when my son tried to call my parents and give them updates. Surprisingly, their phone was out of order. Then I called my sister and told her about the flat. She was very happy.

I came home but the whole night I was in a stupor. But today when I am recording my feelings of last night, sitting in the sunlit apartment of my son, I am very much in the present. These are my feelings and thoughts ‘recollected in tranquility.’

Me with the kind present tenants

-RK, Gurgaon 22/11/10

And this is why I Blog... Filter Coffee with Young Madhu, Sundarshini, Bengaluru

Madhu, the young hero of our story

I'd begun to warm up to South Indian filter coffee at Swagath at Fort, Mumbai. Then I had the kick in the butt filter coffee at MTR, Bengaluru. I was converted. I was a filter coffee kinda guy.

I wanted more coffee in the evening. We were at KH Road on work. I wanted coffee. Filter coffee. I spoke to our local colleagues. They conferred between themselves and then one said, "there is a shop. A bakery. Only standing. No sitting. Very good shop."

The young boy who was manning the video equipment was commandeered to take me to the coffee shop. We walked down the road at a brisk pace. He seemed to be in his early teens at the most. We didn't speak a common language. Our conversation was in mono-syllables. Barely managed to figure out that his name was 'Madhu'. He looked at me and said "where?". 

"Bombay".

He nodded wisely as he chewed on this information.

We reached a petrol pump, took a left, we were on a road below a flyover. He pointed in front and said "Darshini". We crossed the road and he took me into a specific section. It looked faintly reminiscent of South Indian fast food shops in Mumbai's office districts. Except there was no chairs. Just some stands to keep your plate on. The cash counter was right at the front. You paid and got coupons. 8 Rs for a coffee. I picked two. Madhu realised, and said 'no', I smiled and said, 'its OK'.

We went to the food counter inside and gave our coupons. The man at the counter took two stainless steel tumblers out. Poured an inch of coffee decoction into each. And then milk from a tumbler which he poured in like a fountain, like the Ganges falling on Lord Shiva's head. A frothy cup which would be unmatched by any cappuccino Barista.

Photo credit: http://www.naturalmeditation.net/Design/shiva.html

Madhu poured a bit of the coffee into the small steel bowl in which the tumbler was placed. I followed his lead. The hot tumbler singed your fingers. The coffee calmed down once poured into the bowl. I took a sip. Moksha. The coffee perked you up, rejuvenated you. Opened your third eye. This was powerful stuff.

I took out my camera. Madhu grinned and said 'photo'. I begun clicking the coffee from various angles. Madhu was bemused, "Bombay, no coffee?" 

The coffee was really good. I ordered one more. Madhu declined. "Badam milk" he explained as I looked at the coffee maker a white powder instead of the black decoction in another customer's cup.

Coffees drunk, we walked back. I don't know what struck me but I suddenly looked at Madhu and asked "cricket?"

And then the dam broke. I learnt that Madhu not only followed cricket but played it too. That he was a batsman. A big fan of  Tendulkar. He studied in National High School. Same school as former Indian captain, Banglaore's very own Anil Kumble. That Kumble had come to Madhu's school recently. He had signed an autograph for Madhu. On a cricket bat.

To think that we had exchanged all of four words before this.

We reached the hotel. Work done, I was leaving at night. I saw Madhu sitting on a chair at the corridor sipping a coffee in a gleaming white hotel cup. He saw me and ran towards me and showed me his mobile. There was an SMS. "India 211 for 6" (or something). We looked at each other, nodded and shrugged.

I walked towards the lift and waved goodbye. Madhu asked, "tomorrow?".

I shook my head.

"No tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow Bombay".

He did look a tad sad as we shook hands.

Suddenly the phrase, "Cricket is the religion of India", didn't seem like a cliche.

The right way to drink coffee

You can teach an old dog new tricks

Sicko. And now they stole my fish.

I fell for flattery the first time.

They were launching their Mumbai edition and wanted 'prominent' Mumbai bloggers to write for them on the food and night life scene at Mumbai. An unwritten agreement followed after the first piece... words for Rupees. It was fun initially. Chasing the elusive cheque every month a small irritant...the value would barely cover a restaurant meal in any case.

Then came the bummer in month four. They printed my article on Bandra without giving me credit. Angst, recriminations were to no avail though surprisingly the cheque came later. Meanwhile I had sent my next write up to them in good faith. It was on the fish scene at Mumbai. I had no idea what happened to that. Was it even published? My contact went silent. And copies of  the magazine could not be found anywhere in Mumbai. I wrote a couple of times to them and then forgot about it.

Saw the link to their e magazine on a fellow blogger's Facebook page last week. Went and checked. They had published my seafood article in their August or September edition. More mails. Copy to the editorial team. My handler woke up. Denials. Then silence again.

Wrote a mail to the editor who funnily enough had just joined the Finely Chopped Facebook Page. The editor did a Sphinx. But my handler woke up again. Spewed venom. We have discovered that we actually haven't paid you. But we are shocked that you brought it up. Shame on you. Bad bad boy ...

To which my answer was, keep the change!

Frankly the affair was getting too murky and filthy for me. The antithesis of what many of us blog for. To share our opinions, feel good about ourselves. To sleep well.

So if you are launching a magazine or a portal, I wish you luck but please employ writers. If you are launching cooking oils, dips... please support the media industry...pay and advertise. And if you are opening a new restaurant please keep your free meal to yourself. I only write about food that I pay for.

A young blogger I admire said, when I discussed the issue of 'free dinners' with her, "that would be whoring right?"

All I could say is "language young lady" and nod in agreement at her wise words.

Oh and here's the article in question, at least they gave the name credit for it:

Twenty thousand leagues above the sea ... Mumbai’s seafood.

It is natural to think of Mumbai as a seafood heaven. It is a port city after all. Well you are not wrong. The city’s dining tables are loaded with the treasures of the sea. Ready to welcome you.

However, one needs to set one’s expectations right in the beginning. First of all don’t think that ‘abundant’ is equal to ‘cheap’. Seafood is fairly expensive here. More expensive than poultry, or even fresh water fish favoured by those from the East. Secondly, remember that Mumbai is the commercial capital of India. Not exactly a beach resort or a tourist hub. So you won’t find the sort of seafood courts which you would find in the Far East or in the Mediterranean. Thirdly, don’t expect dishes which romance the wonders of the sea. Bring out their flavours. Celebrate their tastes. Local seafood dishes are loaded with heavy spices. As a well travelled Italian Chef once told me about the clam masala that he ordered from Jai Hind at Bandra, ‘I love it. I can’t taste the clams. But I love the masaaala’. 

Thus acclimatised you can begin your discovery of the seafood delights of Mumbai.My first foray into the Piscean offerings in Mumbai was at a small family run restaurant called Saayba. Saayba is located on S V Road at the beginning of Bandra W. You can identify it by the huge queues waiting to be seated in the evenings. This is where I first had fried Bombay Duck or Bombil. As any quizzard will tell you, Bombay Duck is not a ‘duck’. It is a fish which is quite popular with Mumbaikars. Locals make curries and even pickles with dried Bombay Ducks. Fried Bombay Duck is what those at restaurants prefer. The trick is to get the right balance of the soft flesh of the fish and the thin layers of semolina (rawa) batter coating it. Neither should dominate. And if fried right, as they do in Saayba, then it should melt in your mouth. Some of the other must haves at Saayba are the prawn fry masala for those who like their prawns to be juicy and spicy. And if you, like me, were traumatised by the movie ‘Jaws’ while growing up then go in for a Baby Shark Achari. This is a very fiery preparation though and is likely to bring tears to your eyes.

Saayba is a Gomantak restaurant. Gomantak and Konkani cuisines are native to Maharashtra and come from the coastal regions of the Malwan district. You would find a number of reasonably priced Malvani restaurants at traditional Maharashtrian areas of Mumbai such as Mahim, Dadar and Bandra East. Some of the popular ones would include Gomantak and Sindhudurg at Dadar. Sadicha and Highway Gomantak at  Bandra E. Fresh Catch at Mahim. These are places where the locals eat. Always a sign of a good restaurant. These are simple operations. Usually non air conditioned. Family run. Crowded with a steady of flow of customers. The fish will be fresh given the high turnover. The portions are small. Prices are kept affordable enough for blue collar workers. 

You could travel all the way to Pangat close to Borivili National Park for a lavish, cramped but air conditioned Malvani seafood experience. Clams, mussels, oysters, fish, squids, lobsters, prawns, sharks ... just let your mind wander and choose what you want to eat.

Most Malvani food is coconut based. The difference, I am told, comes from the proportion of dry and wet coconut used in the dishes. Traditional Indian spices like ground red chilli, garam masala, garlic and a local favourite, Kokum, feature liberally in the curries and masalas. These often overpower the taste of the fish. A far cry from the rock salt flecked, fire roasted fish of Istanbul or the Soy, lemon and spring onion kissed Baba Noynya cuisine of Malacca. A stroke of luck for those who find the taste of fish too ‘fishy’. What you get here is a complete meal which appeals to all senses. Not just a fish dish. Most Malvani dishes are served with a curry on the side and you can have this with rice or chapatti.

The most famous Malvani restaurant would possibly be Gajalee. By ‘famous’ I mean the one that features most often on TV and in print. Gajalee started off in Vile Parle in the Western Suburbs of Mumbai. Since then it has branched to a number of places including Phoenix Mills in Central Mumbai. The new branches are fairly modern affairs. Air conditioned, English speaking head waiters, inviting sofas, look classy enough for corporate dinners. Not where locals flock to. My travels seeking out good food in foreign lands have taught me that such places are likely to be expensive and not truly authentic. There are many who praise the tandoori crab or whole stuffed pomfrets at Gajalee. These are the dishes which feature on television and are likely to burn a whole in your pocket. I am obviously not a big fan of the food here. I have not been impressed during the couple of occasions that I ate at their Phoenix outlet. Yes, I went for the comparatively cheaper dishes and not the blockbusters which many swear by. All I will say is that this is the place to go to if you want to sample local Malvani food and are not really willing to roll up your sleeves and hit the streets for it.

Mumbai seafood is not all about Malvani food. You could sample the Mangalorean fare from across the state border in what are known as the Shetty restaurants. The triumvirate of Mahesh, Apoorva and Trishna in South Mumbai’s Fort area have defined this cuisine for years. They have now branched out to the suburbs as well. This is a good place to try South Indian dishes such as fish or prawn gassi, coconut based curries, with the string hopper like neer dosas. You will find a higher proportion of curry leaves and mustard seeds in the dishes here in comparison to the Malvani dishes. The standout dish in my opinion is a preparation called ‘butter pepper garlic’ at Mahesh. You can have this with crabs if you are not out on your first date. They break the shell for you if you so wish. For the lazy, this dish is available in easier to eat options such as squids or prawns.

You could try the Goan version of seafood dishes. Goan cuisine could broadly be divided into two schools. One is the Portuguese influenced Catholic pork and vinegar based dishes. The other consists of the seafood dishes preferred by the Hindu Saraswat Brahmins. These are coconut based and are similar to the cuisine of Malwan. There aren’t too many places which serve Saraswat cuisine in Mumbai. The Goan owned Soul Fry at Bandra’s Pali Naka is a good bet.  

Then you have the Jai Hind chain spread across Mumbai. Here you will get a taste of everything ... Malvani, Goan, Mangalorean. The dishes are less expensive than those of Gajalee. Taste closer to the real thing in my opinion. Are more accessible through the city. Have air conditioned options for those who are not comfortable with the Spartan settings of the more simple Maharashtrian ‘lunch homes’. You must try the bombil stuffed with prawns here. A truly memorable dish.

Most Continental restaurants in Mumbai served seafood dishes as well. For a Bengali fresh water fish experience you can head to Oh Calcutta or Calcutta Club.

It is natural to feel tempted to go out and buy fish in Mumbai and cook them at home. Where else would you get such a collection of fresh fish? The thing to keep in mind is that the traditional fish markets of Mumbai are ‘wet’ markets. They are literally muddy and messy and are likely to turn on those who love to buy fish. Most fish markets have an army of women selling a whole range of fish – pomfret, kingfish, mackerel, baby sharks, squids, clams, mussels, betki, rohu, prawns, lobsters, crabs – name it and you will get it. Fish is normally sold by piece and not be weight. Under intense haggling. These fisher women mean business. Use traditional shopping artillery such as a counter offer of half the price quoted or pretending to walk away in disgust. You will win some. Lose some. Definitely a more entertaining and dramatic experience than the average Hindi TV serial. For those not so adventurous, the cold storage of some malls offer a frigid, sterile, mechanised, non histrionic, uneventful, easier, hassle free way of buying fish.

So go out. Buy fish. Cook fish. Eat fish at the restaurants of Mumbai. And don’t forget to order the dish which most people love in Malvani seafood restaurants... Mutton Masala.

Home work ... Pad Thai Noodles

If you needed proof that I paid attention in class then last night was the time to check. Bunkin Banu is AWOL for three days. I decided to cook rather than order out. A Pad Thai. Part of my course at the Asia Scenic Cooking School at Chiang Mai. I got most of the ingredients at the local Pali Market. Except fresh Pad Thai noodles which I substituted with flat Chinese noodles. And I didn't use tofu as we don't get fresh Tofu here and I am sure that the Japanese tofu would disintegrate if fried. Didn't buy the soft onion either as I would have to buy a kilo.

So here's the recipe for the Pad Thai noodles:

Prep: pre boil 200g flat noodles and keep aside

• Heat 4 tablespoons of oil. I use Olive. Any vegetable oil would do
• Add a tablespoon of finely chopped garlic
• Once the garlic turns cream in colour, add 250 g of chopped boneless chicken (the original recipe calls for tofu too). I used leg cuts which I get from Meghna Agro at Pali Naka, Bandra
• Stir till the chicken becomes whitish and is cooked
• Move chicken to one side of the pan with a ladle
• In the remaining liquid (a mix of oil and chicken fat add a tablespoon ff sugar, 2 tablespoons of fish sauce (no more salt required) and 3 tablespoons of oyster sauce. These sauces are fairly easily available at Grocery stores at Bandra, Nature's Basket...Crawford Market of course
• Crack 1 to 2 egg on this. Let the egg firm a bit
• Add the boiled noodles and toss in the egg so that the egg begins to coat the noodles. Add 2 tablespoons of water and let the water dry up
• Push in the chicken from the side and stir vigorously
• Add a bowl full of diced carrots and spring onions and chopped bell peppers. Stir and switch off gas. You want the vegetables to retain their crunch.
• Top with bean sprouts and serve

I was a bit nervous as K doesn't like flat or soft noodles but she apparently liked this.

I did too. Specially the part that I came home from the gym and cooked it. Hardly took any time or effort to be honest.