There was a time when Mumbai was the best place in India to eat out. It had variety — in cuisines, in pricing, in atmosphere and you could choose how you wanted to spend your evening out. And during the day, office-goers were absolutely spoilt for choice.
From specialist thali places which catered to people missing whichever part of India they came from — and welcoming the rest — to solid Maharashtrian eateries which offered everything from “fasting” food to traditional delicacies to fancy high-end eating which unlike the rest of India was not limited to five star hotels.
Do we still live and eat in the same city? Today it seems everything is over-priced and in copycat mode. That awful other-city staple of “Indian” food — badly made tomato-based curries which are used for all dishes — has established itself in Mumbai and seems to have dug itself in.
Chain restaurants have abandoned quality for volume. Mom and pop eateries cannot cope. And the enormous burden of Mumbai’s impossible real estate rates looms over everyone.
We need a wake up call before we become one more
Indian city with a couple of excellent eateries, a few speciality ones and the rest all coming out of the same dismal mould.
Think!: How about some original thinking, guys? Some variations on a theme? Sure, the classics are the classics but why not go back into the past or take a peek into the future and try and re-create the old to satisfy the present? Or even to establish yourself as a culinary artist?
India is crying out for someone who will reinvent and rejig our fabulous and varied cuisine and Mumbai is the place to do it. We still have an adventurous palate. Take us on a journey and test us.
More than skin deep: I have to mention racism because I hear and read so much about it.
Although it hasn’t happened to me personally, I have sort of seen others being treated oddly by the new crop of restaurateurs and their staff, especially in areas which have a high ex-pat population.
The odd thing is that we’re not talking about racism the way it is practised in other countries — where the native population treats the outsider badly or is prejudiced against the “foreigner”. Oh no, we treat our own people badly and favour the foreigner — but only of course if he or she is white. Black people of course get treated worse than Indians.
So get this guys: the era for signs outside establishments which read: ‘Indians and dogs not allowed’ is over. The date was August 15, 1947. If you value the white man’s money over Indian money, you are taking yourself back to a nightmare you obviously have no idea about.
It is shameful, disgusting and disgraceful. You do not treat people differently because of the colour of their skin. Learn it, live it, love it.
Scrub, scrub, scrub: This is by popular demand. We need better hygiene. Instead of trying to push mineral water down my throat, keep your tables and chairs clean and keep your kitchen clean.
I go to a cheapie place and I expect the waiter to have used the same duster for 100 years: and sometimes I am pleasantly surprised. I eat street food and I know what I’m letting myself in for. I pay Rs400 for a dish, I expect more.
They also serve: Waiters in India are usually okay. But often, in the newer places which offer very fancy, unfamiliar foods, the training is abysmal.
Either the waiters are superior and try to explain what toast is (well, madam, I hope you realise that it’s a slice of bread which is then heated on both sides… are you sure you still want it) or they mutter something incomprehensible since they have not comprehended the original language.
How about investing in a little bit of training? Waiter, could I have a magnifying glass: Long ago, there was nouvelle cuisine. Now it is just cheating to have tiny invisible portions on a plate, hoping that the extras make up for it. They don’t. Next week, time to venture into the waters again.
Menus which beguile.
(Views of the writer are personal)
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