Eat, drink, slurp…townie style

‘The city eats into you’ is what they say about Mumbai. And it truly does consume each one of us in its own inimitable way. While the city is at it, we show you ten things that you cannot go without consuming in Mumbai.

1.  Vada pav

Quite naturally, the most-loved snack—vada pav leads the list. Ashok Vada Pav outside Kirti College in Dadar and Aaram Vada Pav near CST are known to be the best places to grab one. Says Anagha Ghaywan, a student of a nearby college, “I come to Kirti only to eat vada pav at Ashok’s. It is simply the best.”

2. Falooda

In the scorching summer, a falooda can soothe one like nothing else. Badshah at Crawford Market is known to serve the best juices and faloodas, with the rose flavour being the most popular one. “Badshah is truly the king of faloodas,” says Shivani Patekar, a regular visitor. Apart from Badshah, the stalls at Chowpatty also offer refreshing faloodas.

3.  Chowpatty chaat

It’s not just any chaat, it is chaat at the beach. If you’re new to the city, head to the stalls at Girgaum Chowpatty near Charni Road station and gorge on the delicious pani puri, sev puri, bhelpuri and other delicacies offered on mats spread out on the sand to complete your beach picnic. Ancy Mendonza (pictured here), a Mumbai Central resident, says, “The Chowpatty chaat is the only thing I miss back home.”

4.  Cutting chai

The beauty of this tea in the customary glass is that a day in the life of any Mumbaikar is incomplete without it. For the best taste, we highly recommend the 17-year-old Mahesh Tea Stall outside People’s Bookstore at Fort. Says Mahesh Patel, the owner, “We use good quality milk, masala, chai, lots of elaichi and adrak. That’s what makes our chai the best.”

5. Bun maska chai

This delicious Irani breakfast is served by many Parsi restaurants but Yazdani Bakery, an urban heritage site at Fort, nails it. Established in 1950 by Parvez Irani, it serves close to 200 people every day. Narain Karthikeyan, the Formula One motor racing star, has been its valued customer. “We offer the most filling bun maska in town. Two of those can easily pass off as lunch,” they claim, and we couldn’t agree more.

6. Bombay sandwich

Available on almost every South Mumbai street, this sandwich is filled with a lot of vegetables and an assortment of chutneys, ketchup, butter, and cheese, if you please. Gupta’s stall at Breach Candy and the famous one outside St. Xavier’s College offer the best sandwiches in SoBo. Says Archita Mitra (pictured here), a student of St. Xavier’s, “It’s my favourite breakfast, lunch and snack. I have one every day during the break.” If you are looking for a better ambience, Mocambo’s at Fort is the place for you.

7.  Pav bhaji

Pav bhaji is the favourite choice of lunch for most Mumbaikars. And the ever-crowded Cannon Pav Bhaji outside CST is a testimony to this. It is run by an all-woman team, for whom Cannon is “life and death”, as they told us. They claim to have served all the CMs of Maharashtra and cricketer Sachin Tendulkar amongst other celebs.

8. Keema pav/keema ghotala

Undoubtedly, the most popular lunch item at any Parsi restaurant, keema pav or keema ghotala is best had at the 110-year-old Kyani’s near Metro Cinema. Vaishnavi Kukillaya, a regular visitor, says, “I can’t imagine having lunch anywhere else in town. It is cheap, filling and extremely tasty.” Another option for digging into this delicious fare is Britania & Co. Restaurant at Fort.

9.  Bheja fry

This dangerous-sounding dish is a delight for non-vegetarians. It can be best found at Olympia, opposite Leopold Café & Bar at Colaba. The owners are pretty secretive about their recipes. But, as Vivashwan Chaudhary (pictured here), a Dhobi Talao resident puts it, “You have to eat at Olympia to know what meat tastes like.”

10.  Frankie

For townies, Tibb’s is synonymous with frankie. With outlets at Tardeo, Shivaji Park, Parel as well as Churchgate and CST railway stations, Tibb’s is well-known for serving the best veg and non-veg frankies to about 250 customers every day. Founded by Charan Singh in 2008, Tibb’s is truly a class apart because of the unique masalas that it uses. Says Omkar Kelshekar, a student who travels to Churchgate every day, “I cannot catch the train back homewithout first grabbing a Tibb’s.”

Have we missed out any interesting food joints that you think should have been included in this list? Write to us at reader.revert@dnaindia.net