Hello people, I am back after a long hiatus. The reasons for the hiatus are unimportant since what I am about to write about is way more interesting.
I figured, I love eating more than I knew. And it also helped me figure the reasons for my ever increasing figure.
Anyway, here goes my next installment on places to eat in Mumbai. Since in my last post I wrote about the up-market, elite places serving mainly continental food; I decided to dedicate this post to some economical yet amazing eating places serving particularly Indian food in Mumbai.
First stop, 7 bungalows - Andheri. The place is called Mista Paaji and happens to be mine and my friends’ weekend lunch place. This place is not exactly economical but it features in this post because I have not found any place of a similar stature as Mista Paaji, serving delicious jeera-aloo, daal makhni, curd and hot phulkas for 90 bucks. We are such religious patrons that one weekend when we came later than our scheduled lunch time, the manager actually asked us if we were not intending to come. The manager has a complaint with me and my roommate that we do not try out anything else other than the jeera-aloo platter – which is what the combination described by me is called. But the jeera- aloo platter is so scrumptious that we just don’t think of anything else. Other dishes to try are the aloo paratha, gobi paratha, Punjabi kadhi – chawal, kheema paratha, butter chicken (for the latter two, opinions are based on feedback from my omnivorous friends). The décor is that of a dhaba but it looks way more sophisticated than a dhaba, however, the multi-coloured zari pieces adorning the walls are quite chic. The food is served in metal plates which look like brass and water and masala chaas in large glasses the kinds of those which you get on roadside dhabas.
Now let’s go to Charni Road. If you really want to enjoy this experience, my suggestion will be to board a local train and reach Charni Road. A quaint restaurant awaits your taste buds very close to the station. The place is called “Crystal”. Kheer enthusiasts swear by the kheer you get here. According to patrons of kheer, which I am not, you apparently get world’s best kheer here maybe just next to what your mom might make for you. Again, my criterion of enjoying food has also a lot to do with the ambience. I have no idea how old this place is. But it is among the few places which are not jazzed up and you enter a non-descript place with plastic tables and chairs and ceiling fans on the ground floor while the “so-called” mezzanine floor has table fans to do the honours. The mezzanine floor is slightly difficult for people like Xi Shun to fit in, hence the “so-called mezzanine floor” in the statement before. The owner of the place or so I assume is this old gentleman sitting in a white kurta pajama at the entrance. One of the few places which does not play Kenny Gee and plays old hindi movie songs. And now the best the part – the food. My favourites are baingan bharta with roti or rajma chawal or gobi paratha. Simple, no-fuss, home – like food which is incredibly reasonable. A meal for two which includes 2 veggies, around 7-8 rotis, raita and dessert will cost you some 100 bucks. The place has many patrons in the elitist as well. The place is packed for dinner on weekends with people from all ranks of society. The place serves only vegetarian food and I am not complaining at all.
So, as I always say, Happy Eating!!!
Technorati Tags: Mista Paaji, 7 bungalows, Crystal
, Xi Shun, Charni Road,
I figured, I love eating more than I knew. And it also helped me figure the reasons for my ever increasing figure.
Anyway, here goes my next installment on places to eat in Mumbai. Since in my last post I wrote about the up-market, elite places serving mainly continental food; I decided to dedicate this post to some economical yet amazing eating places serving particularly Indian food in Mumbai.
First stop, 7 bungalows - Andheri. The place is called Mista Paaji and happens to be mine and my friends’ weekend lunch place. This place is not exactly economical but it features in this post because I have not found any place of a similar stature as Mista Paaji, serving delicious jeera-aloo, daal makhni, curd and hot phulkas for 90 bucks. We are such religious patrons that one weekend when we came later than our scheduled lunch time, the manager actually asked us if we were not intending to come. The manager has a complaint with me and my roommate that we do not try out anything else other than the jeera-aloo platter – which is what the combination described by me is called. But the jeera- aloo platter is so scrumptious that we just don’t think of anything else. Other dishes to try are the aloo paratha, gobi paratha, Punjabi kadhi – chawal, kheema paratha, butter chicken (for the latter two, opinions are based on feedback from my omnivorous friends). The décor is that of a dhaba but it looks way more sophisticated than a dhaba, however, the multi-coloured zari pieces adorning the walls are quite chic. The food is served in metal plates which look like brass and water and masala chaas in large glasses the kinds of those which you get on roadside dhabas.
Now let’s go to Charni Road. If you really want to enjoy this experience, my suggestion will be to board a local train and reach Charni Road. A quaint restaurant awaits your taste buds very close to the station. The place is called “Crystal”. Kheer enthusiasts swear by the kheer you get here. According to patrons of kheer, which I am not, you apparently get world’s best kheer here maybe just next to what your mom might make for you. Again, my criterion of enjoying food has also a lot to do with the ambience. I have no idea how old this place is. But it is among the few places which are not jazzed up and you enter a non-descript place with plastic tables and chairs and ceiling fans on the ground floor while the “so-called” mezzanine floor has table fans to do the honours. The mezzanine floor is slightly difficult for people like Xi Shun to fit in, hence the “so-called mezzanine floor” in the statement before. The owner of the place or so I assume is this old gentleman sitting in a white kurta pajama at the entrance. One of the few places which does not play Kenny Gee and plays old hindi movie songs. And now the best the part – the food. My favourites are baingan bharta with roti or rajma chawal or gobi paratha. Simple, no-fuss, home – like food which is incredibly reasonable. A meal for two which includes 2 veggies, around 7-8 rotis, raita and dessert will cost you some 100 bucks. The place has many patrons in the elitist as well. The place is packed for dinner on weekends with people from all ranks of society. The place serves only vegetarian food and I am not complaining at all.
So, as I always say, Happy Eating!!!
Technorati Tags: Mista Paaji, 7 bungalows, Crystal
, Xi Shun, Charni Road,
3 comments:
Cool Post... Looks like you will start giving some serious competition to Rashmi Uday Singh in some time...
I'll second that ! You should seriously start posting on ur food expr. For ppl willing to experiment it'll be an awesome resource .. plus being a foodie myself .. i can vouch for your recc. I loved Mista Paaji, last time i was in India ... looking forward to more such posts .... get kedar(or some1) to cover non-veg too !
well i hve been in mumbai for almst 3 n hlf yrs and been to best of places to eat ! but as is said at times not so famous/hep eating joints turn out to be churning tasty food ! will definitly try plcs u mentioned...afterall it is recommended by someone who luvs food the way i do :)
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