The Modern Hindu Hotel

Little did the late K.S.N. Hebbar know that more than eighty years after he started the Modern Hindu Hotel, office goers , businessmen, tourists and hundreds of other Mumbaikars would line up at his boarding house in South Mumbai to eat simple South Indian’ meals on the banana leaf .

Hebbar came to Mumbai after leaving the Vishakapatnam hotel he used to work in when the owner refused to give him his monthly four annas salary. Using his brother’s savings, he set up Modern Hindu Hotel in 1926. It used to cater to the lodging and boarding needs of the textile traders who frequented Mumbai from Chennai, Tirupur, Cochin, Erode and towns in Andhra Pradesh during the cotton textile boom.

Modern is nestled on the fourth floor of the 1900’s built Apeejay Chambers on Wallace Street close to the Sterling and New Excelsior theatres in Fort. It would be better to take the high wooden steps than the lift as you can build an appetite and do justice to the meal that you are about to experience. You will pass by their lodging facility on the third floor and see a television belting out a south Indian channel being keenly watched by the lodgers... After you have taken a coupon from the counter you will pass the spotlessly clean kitchen to your left and come to two rooms with old style wooden chairs and tables which can seat twenty two people at a time. Take a seat by the verandah and through the grill you will be able to see the old and heritage building tops of the Fort area.

Modern serves simple South Indian meals on the banana leaf at a very affordable Rs 45. A typical meal consists of unlimited dal, vegetable, sambar, rasam, chapattis, dahi or buttermilk, papad, pickle and a mountain of rice which the regular South Indian clientele lap up with relish. .

Although Hebbar hailed from Kattingeri, a village near Udipi in Karnataka, he incorporated cuisines of the various South Indian states in the food. They vary the vegetable preparation, the rasam and sambar style on a daily basis. The sambar is made in the Tamilian style with shallots or with raw masala or fried masala and sometimes with or without coconut. The rasam could be with any one of these flavorings… horsegram, tomato, pepper, green chilly,ginger or simply the normal rasam. Amongst the vegetables you will be able to eat Avial, Morkootan, Koot and many other varieties or any popular vegetable prepared with coconut in the Manglorean style. Be sure to take an extra rice papad which is crisp and light and sourced specially from Chennai.

Modern feeds more than 225 people daily on week days and don’t be surprised if you have to wait in a line to have your meal during peak lunch hours. Regulars like Sudhakar Shetty; an insurance investigator who resides in Mira Road, a distant Mumbai suburb has been coming here for the past twenty five years. He likes the food as it is simple, light, tasty, hygienic and very homely. Prashant Chopra, a corporate executive who has come here once before liked the food so much that he brought his colleagues along this time. “Awesome” he says and adds “ This place is clean and has simple food seeped in old tradition, something that we are losing in today’s modern and fast world”.

Though there is no sign that says “The owner eats here”, A. K. Hebbar has been having his afternoon lunch at Modern ever since he took over the running of the place in 1966 from his father.” You will see me eating my meals here at 2:30 pm every day”. This is because he wants to know what his last customer has eaten to ensure that the same quality is being maintained. He says that Modern will be around maybe for maximum of five or ten years more. The business is loss making due to the high taxes and rising prices of ingredients and as his father had started the place with the objective of ‘community service’ , he does not want to drastically increase the price of the meal. Secondly his well settled sons are not interested in carrying the business forward.

So hurry and go to Modern Hindu Hotel for a simple South Indian Meal seeped in tradition before it is too late.

Modern Hindu Hotel
12,Wallace Street, 4th Floor, Apeejay Chambers,
Wallace Street, Fort, Mumbai 400 001
Tel: 22072992/22072778

Timings: Lunch: 12:00 – 2:30 p.m.
Dinner : 7:15 to 9:00 pm
(Had written this for Touchdown Mumbai)

Madhavashram and Modaks

Little did Dhondu Vishnu Savale and Parshuram Pandurang Mahajan know that hundred years later Madhavashram would be the only ‘khanaval’ serving ‘brahmani’ style’ pure vegetarian Maharashtrian food in South Mumbai. Others like Narayan Bhojanalaya near Mangalwadi and Puran Poli House at Mugbhat closed down years back. Vinay Health Home, B.Tambe, Panshikar and Kolhapuri Chivda are not ‘khanavals’ but restaurants that serve snacks or meals.

Madhavashram was opened in 1908 by these two gentlemen who hailed from Are, a village in the Ratnagiri district of the Konkan region. They started a small place in Zaoba Wadi at Thakurdwar, moved into an one storied lodging and boarding place at Mohun building near Majestic and finally settled at their current location on Parekh Street near the Girgaum Court in 1917 where the third generation continues to run this lodging and boarding place.

Ramesh Parshuram Mahajan remembers the long struggle that his grand uncle and father went through to establish and successfully run Madhavashram. As they wanted to use only fresh ingredients, they purposefully set up a farm at Saphale near Virar and all items were made by using home grown vegetables and milk from this farm. Mahajan continues to monitor the food cooked by checking on the taste of each item prepared. His daughter Mrs Gauri S. Velankar has already been inducted into the day to day running the place.

Madhavashram serves unlimited meals at Rs 45 with two vegetables, varan, rice, chapati or puri. Don’t miss their Modak meals (also unlimited) priced at Rs 80 which are available only on Sankashti Chaturthi days which come by once in a month. On Sankashti Chaturthi one is supposed to fast for the whole day and break it only after moon rise.

Today is Sankashti Chaturthi and Madhavashram for the first time will host a buffet meal on their terrace where people can see the moon rise and break the fast. A typical Sankashti Chaturthi meal here would not contain any garlic or onion and comprises of two vegetables,varan, rice,masale bhat,amti, farsan (batata wada or alu wadi), buttermilk, chutney, papad, pickle, koshimbir and ukdiche modak. Ukdiche modak are sweet modaks with a coconut and jaggery filling. They are made from rice flour, steamed and are best eaten with dollops of ghee on top.

Behram and Rekha Shroff have been regulars for the Modak meals. “The food at Madhavashram is very homely and not spicy or oily. Mr. Mahajan makes you feel at home as he personally goes around serving modaks like a good host. I end up eating at least 5-6 modaks as they are really very delicious” says Rekha.

If you want a simple yet tasty and homely meal with lots of ukdiche modaks thrown in, head to Madhavashram today and you will be able to enjoy it on an open terrace in the moonlight and that too on the auspicious Sankashti Chaturthi day in Madhavashram’s centenary year.

Address and timings

Madhavashram. 18, Parekh Street, Near Girgaum Court, Girgaum, Mumbai – 4
Monday closed. Open for meals at night only and Modak meals on Sankashti Chaturthi. Time : 8:00 to 10:00 pm

Important Sankashti Chaturthi dates -October 29, 2007, November 27, 2007 (Angarika) & December 27, 2007.

Food with a Mumbai 'chaap'

Many years ago when the dosa wala near August Kranti Maidan was sprinkling soya sauce and noodles onto a sada dosa calling it Chinese dosa, I could believe it as this is what Mumbai does to its food. She invents it here, hands it over to the others and doesn’t even patent it. This is just what happened to Nelson Wang’s Manchurian and we have many examples of Mumbai introducing quintessential food and leaving a Mumbai chaap to it. And that is more than our Vada Pav, Pav Bhaji and Bhel which has got its due and is dished out in many towns as Bombay Bhel or Bombay Pav Bhaji.

The Iranis might have brought the know how of baking from Iran but the Bun Maska ( soft , sweet bread with butter), Brun Maska ( hard bread with butter) and Khari would still remain Mumbai brands. Bomi Hormusji Irani whose grandfather started B. Merwan and Co at Grant Road confirms this and says “ You will find the Brun , Bun and Khari ninety percent in Mumbai only” He says that these must have been introduced somewhere between 1910-1914 when Irani café’s were being set up. .

One more drink very distinctive to Mumbai and to Pune is Raspberry which was introduced by Parsi owned beverage companies like Dukes, Rogers and Framroze & Co in the early 1900’s. This is a dying brand whose availability today is restricted to Parsi weddings and some Irani Cafés.

Juices like Ganga Jamuna , a mix of orange and sweet lime juice and Mara Mari, a mix of sweet lime and pineapple were introduced in Mumbai in the seventies says Ramesh Sondarva, one of the oldest employees of Bachelor’s at Chowpatty which claims to be the oldest juice centre in Mumbai. These were introduced long after the juice outlet opened in 1940. Shekhar Pujari of Sukh Sagar Juice centre adds that it was due to ‘public demand’ that they started serving these two cocktails. The name Ganga Jamuna might draw a parallel from the confluence of two rivers as both the fruits come from the same Citrus family. Mara Mari might have been due to mixing of two fruit juices from different fruit families.

And lastly good ol’ Cutting chai which may be another name for tea but has a unique Mumbai chaap to it. The road-side tea stall in Pune would serve you Amrutulya chaha but the consumption of Mumbai’s cutting chai which actually means cutting one chai into two, not only makes it lighter on the pocket but also lets you finish it off very quickly so that you can get hurriedly refreshed and set off to keep up with Mumbai’s rapid pace.

Sardar

When Vivek Prabhu’s grandfather opened Sardar (named after a title which was conferred on his father) in 1932 in the heart of Girangaon to cater to the mill workers little did he know that the fabric of the area would change 75 years later and the mills would be replaced by corporate parks and high rise residential buildings. However painful it might have been Sardar had to keep up to the changing times and adapt to become what Vivek calls a true Bombay restaurant.

Sardar (not to be confused with the Tardeo Pav Bhaji serving namesake) is located at the junction of the Kala Chowki signal near the Voltas building on the main Babasaheb Ambedkar Road at Lalbaug. It is a simple, no frills moderately priced place and is open from 6 am to 9 .30 pm. Like all old restaurants, they too opened a mezzanine section for ladies and family in the sixties.

They have some very good Maharashtrian dishes on their menu. Try the vangi bhajiya (brinjal pakoras), kanda and batata bhajiya, masale bhat, alu (colo leaves) wadi, kothambir wadi, batata wada, sukha usal, batata poha, sheera, bhatsal (a mixture of batata wada and misal) and ofcourse misal. Vivek boasts that he serves the best misal in town. His misal still follows the recipe handed down by his grandfather and its masala consists of a concoction of more than eighteen freshly ground spices, dals and an ingredient that no one else adds to their misal… onion bhajiya that is fried, ground and added to the masala which lends the misal its unique and different flavor.

Modern culinary tastes of executives from neighbouring corporates like Voltas, P.N. Writer, Khandelwal Laboratories, A. C. Nielsen and Tata Tele Services and NGO's like Akanksha who started frequenting Sardar during lunch time compelled Vivek, a chartered accountant by profession to innovate his largely traditional Maharashtrian menu to a broader one. He introduced a range of ‘garlic’ dishes like various Dosa variants with Garlic such as Garlic Sada and Masala and Garlic Rava Sada and Masala. He also introduced Chaats and bread based items like Burgers and Sandwiches. Try the cheese and garlic grilled sandwich named ‘Sania’ and the cheese garlic baked bread named Navin. Their tossed American corn with butter and garlic is also a favorite.

They keep pretty busy during lunch time and sometimes you might have to wait to get a place. Their lunch time mini meals are light and complete. At Rs 25 you will get three chapatis, unlimited dal, one vegetable and chaas. They also have various sabzi’s on the menu. Their just launched next door take-away outlet “Viva Kitchen” will also serve you Oriental and Punjabi cuisine.

Upwas snacks are popular on fasting days and you can have Sabudana wada. Sabudana khichadi, Rajgira Puri Bhaji, Upwas Kachori and Upwas Misal.

You can also beat the heat with the range of fruit juices, faloodas,milk shakes, lassis,chilled fruit milk kokam sharbat, and limbu pani. Vivek will impress upon you to spend only Rs 17 on a similar but more concentrated Iced Tea you would get elsewhere for Rs 50.

Today, Sardar may not get any mill clientele for obvious reasons other than the retired mill hands that still drop in for a misal of nostalgia. But it has still managed to retain the principle of serving food from the heart. You will notice it when you see Vivek wander around chatting with his clientele who he knows on a first name basis. He says “we do not have any customers, only well-wishers”.

Diva Maharashtracha

The literal translation of Diva Maharashtracha is ‘Light of Maharashtra’. You don’t have to think too much on what I am talking about as it is the new Maharashtrian restaurant opened on January 1, 2007 by “Maharashtra Ratna”- Dr Suhas Awchat and “Maharashtra Gaurav”- Mrs. Deepa Awchat. Like a movie’s first day first show, we were eating here on the restaurant’s opening night.

Diva Maharashtracha is located at Mahim near City Light Theatre, opposite the Mahim Post Office just next to Goa Portuguesa and Culture Curry run by the same “Marathi hosts”. The facade is made to look like a Wada belonging to the Peshwa and is painted silver. It would have been better if it was painted brown to give it a wooden feel as in a Wada. The trees on the road on the either side of the restaurant have ‘mashaals’. A lady dressed in western clothing greets you and asks you if you have a reservation (We had called earlier to book and they had said that they don’t take any reservations??).

You are ushered in with a traditional ‘Namaskar’ by the same Captain who you would have seen before in a tie-shirt-trouser at Goa Portuguesa who now wears a Kurta/Pyjama with a khadi jacket. You pass by sketches on the wall of famous Maharashtrians ( some recognizable and some not ) like Sachin Tendulkar,Mahatma Phule, V Shantaram,Senapati Bapat,Smita Patil,Bal Thackrey,Dada Kondke,Sharad Pawar, Lata Mangeshkar and others. There is a Paithani saree flowing down a wall and all the waiters are wearing the traditional ‘mavali’ dress of a blue kurta-pyjama with a red waist band.

The introduction in the menu says that Diva Maharashtracha wants to go beyond what people think is Maharashtrian cuisine which is limited to Vada pav, Sabudana Khichadi, Missal and Malvani food. Thus they decided to serve Maharashtrian cuisine from Vidharbha, Marathwada, Khandesh, Western Maharashtra, the Ghats, Konkan and Greater Mumbai districts. CKP, Pathare Prabhu, Saraswat, Maratha, Bhandari, Koli, Brahmin and East Indian cuisine would also be served here. The food is Veg and Non Veg but I would cover the vegetarian fare here.

Welcome Drink

The welcome drink we had was a traditional Panhe – a drink of raw mango pulp and as it was not the season for raw mangos was not very refreshing. You can also have Shahaleche Limbu Sarbat (Tender coconut water with lime), Kokum Sarbat (digestive drink made from Kokum) and of course my favorite - Sol Kadhi. The Sol Kadhi here is one of the best served in Mumbai.

Soups

The only traditional Maharashtrian soup on the menu is the Tomatoche Saar made from tomato pulp, coconut milk and tempered with chilly, cumin powder and coriander leaves. It was very tasty with a good texture and consistency. The other soups were an extension of the Saar or non traditional soups like Pumpkin Soup, Tomato Beet Saar, Saar Pineapple, Green Peas and Spinach Soup.

Appetizers

Appetizers available are known ones like Kaju Kothambir Wadi, Thalipeeth (but with cheese?),Aluchi Wadi(Colocasia leaves rolled in chick pea flour, steamed and then stir fried), Sabudana Wada, Batata Wada and others like Steamed Hirva Watana Ani Kajuche Modak, Mushroom Modak(with cheese again?),Manik Painjan ( dumpling of wheat and besan with onion, ginger-garlic and spices) and Kolhapuri Sukhe Paneer.

Main Course

You can order Batata Sukhi Bhaji,Watana Batata Flower Sukhi Bhaji,Bharali Wangi ( Stuffed Brinjal), Wangyache Bhareet ( Baingan Bhartha without tomatoes),Dalimbi Usal ( A Koknastha Brahmin dish with vaal(type of a bean) with onion, coconut and goda (sweet) masala. They also have Sukhi (dry) and Oli (wet) Usals and Amtis (Curries) which can be made of peas, masoor, chavali, masoor or moong. (All pulses). They have Pithale (gram dal cooked with onion, green chillies and tempered with mustard seeds and curry leaves. Simple Dal (with just haldi and hing) which is called Varan is available and so is a variation called Ambat – God (sour and sweet) Varan. The Rice dishes avaiable are Masale Bhat with Katachi Amti. Katachi Amti as I understand is made from the Puran which is leftover after making Puran Polis. Sabudana Khichadi has also been listed as a rice item.

Etc

Try the Khamang Kakadi which is cucumber and groundnuts with coconut and tempered. The Aambe Dal will taste good in season with raw mango mixed with green gram powder and tempered. They give you the fiery Kolhapuri Thecha which was not at all fiery. You can choose between Bhakri (Thicker chapati made from Jowar or Bajra atta) and Amboli (pancakes made from fermented rice flour and udad dal)

Desserts

Try the Appe with Ice-Cream which were more like the south Indian Sweet (Uniappam). They also serve Doodhi halwa, Narali Bhaat (sweet coconut rice), Sakhar Bhaat (Sweet rice), Puran Poli and Coconut Karanji.

I didn’t feel very ‘trupta’(contented) with the meal as it did not taste very authentic (other than the Saar and Sol kadhi) and only a Ray of hope of improvement should take me again to the Light of Maharashtra.

Eating Out at Chowpatty

Had written a piece on Chowpatty before and wanted to include all the places that you could eat at in this area. I have eaten at all of them other than the new ones – Fine Dine and Nukkad. I do have my favorites and you will know which ones they are by the tone of writing. So, here is the list of eating places at Chowpatty. Bon Apetit!

Crystal: An institution by itself, it is very popular with the Wilson college hostelites, students and everyone who loves simple homely Punjabi food and doesn’t mind a no frills place. Many people would not know that Crystal started as a bhel/sev-puri place in the fifties and graduated to serving meals in the seventies. If you are a regular at Crystal, the blue uniformed, polite but harried waiters who have been around for a long time will recognize you. A vegetarian restaurant that serves Palak Paneer, Paneer Masala, Baingan Bharta (it’s really good), Alu Gobi, Alu Methi, Alu Jeera, Dal Fry and Makhani to be eaten with rotis, parathas and rice. They also serve a Thali. Try their kheer (rice) and Amras (in season) after the meal. All dishes are reasonably priced between Rs 20 to Rs 40. Do notice the old Hindi songs (Hemant Kumar/Mukesh/Gita Dutt) that you would hear in the background from a singular tape that the restaurant must have cherished for years.

Kulfi Centre: Located at the corner a little ahead from Crystal, this kulfi place does brisk business. It has a range of kulfis from Chickoo, Sitaphal, and Badam Pista to the plain Malai. Prices range from Rs14 to Rs 35 per 100 grams. There is also a Punjabi Kulfi Centre next to it but no one seems to be ever buying from here.

Café Ideal: This Irani vegetarian café with a beach view opens at 6:00 am for breakfast and closes at 1:00 am. More people come here for the beer than the food. They serve Indian, Chinese and Continental food. Try the mushroom/paneer chilli, sautéed mushrooms & chilli cheese toast for starters, the garlic cheese naan and the mushroom kadai. Avoid the continental food. They have a jukebox with a choice of old Hindi songs. Ghazals and limited English numbers.

New Yorker: Walk a little ahead of Café Ideal, if you want to have Indianised Italian, Continental & Mexican cuisine (Nachos, Enchiladas, Tortillas, Fajitas and Burritos), this is the place to be seen eating in. They also have cola floats, ice creams, sundaes and milk shakes. It is always teeming with people on the weekends so you will have to wait really long, to get a place.

Cream Centre: Located next to New Yorker, this old restaurant was renovated recently and has got a white look and a plasma TV. It is famous for its Chole Bhature and all the other stuff that New Yorker serves. Check out the paan wala at the entrance/exit who also keeps all kinds of ‘churan’ including the popular jeera golis.

Café Coffee Day: There are two Coffee Day’s in this area. One between the Sukhs Sagars and the other opposite Chowpatty, on the sea face. It is always full with college students smoking hookahs, gulping down coffees or just chillin’. This is one of the few cafes where you can sit out in the open. Try the Chocochino, which is a shot of Espresso with chocolate ice cream or the Vegan shake. Avoid the foodstuff and carry your own water as they don’t give you water for free.

Stalls on the beach: It would be blasphemy if you come to Chowpatty and not eat at the stalls but avoid eating here if you can’t digest street food. There are four kinds of stalls.. The Chaat stalls wherein the Sharmas and the Guptas will serve you Bhel, Sev Puri, Ragda Pattice, Pani Puri, Pav Bhaji and Dahi Batata Puri. The Kulfi stalls which will serve you Punjabi and Malai Kulfi with the usual and unique flavors like ‘2000 Millennium’. The Gola stalls which is a new addition (they weren’t there when we were kids) with different colored bottles with gola syrups lined up, each color meaning a different flavor. So butterscotch was Surf blue, Kacchi Kairi was bottle green, Blue Berry was purple. They also serve ‘Milkmaid golas’ Last are the Paan stalls which would be popular with pan eaters.

Anando: This Masala Milk place located on the beach is many people’s favorite. They serve many varieties of the milk such as Masala, Special Masala, Sitafal, Licchi, Khajur, Chocolate, Kesar, Mango, Fr. Strawberry and Thandai. They also serve Ice creams and Candy Floss.

Bachelors: Here, you would be tucking in hand made ice-creams and juices though a mild earthquake, sitting on a bench on the narrow pavement, a meter away from the railway line or sitting in a car almost blocking the busy Marine drive traffic. Bachelors has developed its own fan following and is open till late. They would also serve you exotic juices at equally exotic rates. Popular for its Strawberry/Mango with cream (in season) and some people love their unique ‘chilli’ ice cream.

Thackers: One of the oldest places in Mumbai for the Gujarati thali. The thali here is not as it used to be. Thackers is not very crowded so you are bound to get a place. The thali has chapattis, rice, dal, kadhi, farsan and two ‘shaks’ for Rs 80. It used to be reasonably priced till lately but the thali is simple and good for people who get bogged down with the huge variety offered in other Gujarati thali places in the city.

Sukh Sagars: There are four Sukh Sagar restaurants in this area, named after the building on the corner at the junction. The first Sukh Sagar to come up was the juice center and then the owner went on adding more. Listing them in order if you walk from Chowpatty to Sukh Sagar junction…. The first, a little ahead of Kulfi center has an air-conditioned section on top. This has a typical Udipi menu with Dosas, Pav Bhaji, Indian and Chinese dishes and Juices, Milk Shakes and Ice Creams. The second, Suk (yes it’s spelled that way) Sagar Snacks is famous for its Pav Bhaji. It also serves Idli, Pizza and Fried Rice. The third, Sukh Sagar Juice Centre has Juices (Rs 42- 75), Milk Shakes, Falooda Kulfi, Matka Kulfi, Ice Creams and Exotic Desserts. You can have these sitting on plastic chairs placed in two rows opposite each other. They also have Cadbury’s chocolate milkshake. The last of the Sukh Sagars is adjacent to the juice place in the building and you wont even know about it, as it doesn’t have a signboard. It serves more or less the same items as the first Sukh Sagar.

Kobe Sizzlers: This restaurant is only second to Touché (now closed down) at Breach Candy to have introduced the concept of Sizzlers to Mumbai in the late seventies and is still going strong. Go here if you want to be in a sizzling, smoky restaurant and eat food, which sizzles because of the butter that is put on a heated iron plate. They now have more vegetarian Sizzlers than before with prices starting at Rs 230. It is located on the Hughes road-side of the Sukh Sagar building.

Karma: Located in the place, which used to house the Bombay Cycle Mart, this restaurant has the most beautiful ambience in the Chowpatty area. It is dimly lit with candles on each table and the palms add a leafy ambience. It also has some lounge sofa style seating and one section with low seating on mattresses. Happy hours are on from 6 to 8:30 pm. They serve Soups, Salads, Risottos, Pizzas, Pasta, Tikkas and Desserts. They also have a Lebanese and Oriental selection.

New York: A place that serves alcohol and Bambaiya Chinese at reasonable rates. The non-a/c section is a long wide corridor with neatly arranged square tables with pink and white-checkered table covers. It has a touch screen Q Jam jukebox like the ones in Café Coffee Day with a good song-list but it keeps screeching in between songs. Women might feel uncomfortable, as you wouldn’t find to many here. Located at the Hughes Road junction diagonally opposite the Mercedes Benz show room.

Bharat Dairy and Juice Center: It now operates from an under construction building opposite the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. It is famous for its hand-made ice creams (roasted almond/sitafal are favorites), toasted sandwiches and Fresh Cream (seasonal fruits with fresh cream) It also serves Pizzas, South Indian snacks, Bhel and Sev Puri, Juices, Milk Shakes and Kulfi. Is always crowded on weekends and is one of the last eating-places to shut down in the Chowpatty area.

Govinda: Affiliated to ISKCON, this restaurant serves Soups, Starters, Punjabi and Chinese dishes. Its Juhu counterpart is famous for the vegetarian Thali whose items are cooked in pure ghee. The restaurant claims that it doesn’t serve the Thali here for want of space. Govinda is located in the lane, which leads to Soam and the Babulnath temple, opposite Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.

Soam: Located diagonally opposite the Babulath temple is this Swati Snacks clone. They serve in small brass thalis lined with ‘patravali’ (dried leaves joined together with twig pieces). Soam serves snacks like Sev Puri, Batata Wada (they call it Khapoli BW), Dosas, Pav Bhaji and also typical Gujarati items like Handavo-Chutney, Kand Na Chilla & Masala Poodla. They also have ‘shaks’ like Turiya Paatra, Kanda Batata Sambhariya and Methi Pithla. Try the Paanki and Fada Ni khichdi. In desserts, they serve Moong Dal Sheera, MohanThal and Shrikhand. I recommend the baby Kesar Jalebi that is crisp and just right.

Just launched

Nukkad: This newly opened restaurant is located a little ahead of Anokhi in the Metro Motor lane. It serves Delhi style food and hence its menu has sections, which read. Straight from Chandani Chowk, Karol Baug Se, Parathe Wali Galli Se and so on. So you will get Fruit, Chana, Papdi Pakodi Mix, Tava Aloo, and Samosa Chaats. (Rs 39-69) All different kinds of Pakoras like Aloo, Gobi, Onion, Palak, Mirchi, Paneer and funnily French Toast is mentioned in this section. All kinds of Parathas, Punjabi dishes, Tandoori items, Rotis, Naans, and Indian desserts.

Fine Dine: Located on the first floor in a building opposite the Chowpatty Bhelpuri walas in the place, which used to be Revival. It is a classy and expensive restaurant which also has a Lounge on the second floor. Serves Continental and Indian food and Soups, Salads and Main Courses.

Closed Down

Many restaurants/eating places have closed down in the Chowpatty area over the years. Vadilal’s had opened an ice cream parlour (Hapinezz), Kailas Parbat famous for its chaat, pani puris and chole bhature was here, a pub called London Pub (LP) which later became Copa Cabana was on the Chowpatty sea face. The Barista and Revival (Indo-Italian cuisine) housed in the same building also shut down and so did the Pizza Hut next door. The New Yorker management had opened a fast food restaurant called *Merica that became New York, New York and now houses the Café Coffee Day in its place. A big outlet of Croissants etc was also located on the Chowpatty Sea Face.

Gujarati Thali and Friend's Union Joshi Club

Good Gujarati Thali has come a long way since Purohits which was located at Churchgate shut down. Everybody remembers how Purohits used to dish out good quality Gujarati food in real silver thalis and katoris and probably not too many Thali places come close to match the original Purohit food. (It used to be better before it closed down and re-opened only to close down again)

In Bombay, you have many choices if you want to eat a Gujarati thali. The good old Thackers at Chowpatty (Birla Krida Kendra) serves a reasonably simple non-frill Thali for Rs 80. One advantage is that you will always get place here. Then there is Aram at Mahim (Opposite St Michael's Church), Thackers at Marine Lines, Rajdhani, opposite Mangaldas market, Samrat at Churchgate. Golden Star Thali near Charni Road station and Shri Thakkar Bhojanalaya at Dadysett Agiary lane at Kalbadevi. Panchavati Gaurav (near Bombay hospital) and Chetna (Kala Ghoda) serve a Rajasthani thali. The thali at all these places is priced between Rs 100 and 180 but I would recommend Shri Thakkar Bhojanalaya for its authentic taste and very good quality. Their thali is priced at Rs 130 on weekdays and Rs 150 on the weekends and the place is always crowded. Anil P informs me that Rasoi in Mulund(W) is also good and costs half.

Some days ago, my friend L had told me that Govinda, the restaurant run by ISKCON has opened a branch in South Bombay in the lane opposite the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan at Chowpatty. I have heard a lot about their Thali (not Gujarati) and we decided to meet there for lunch only to beat a hasty exit after discovering that they served pizzas, Chinese food and cheesecakes but no Thali. Thus, when L suggested Shri Thakkar Bhojanalaya, I readily agreed but as she had not been to Friends Union Joshi Club, we decided to go there.

Friends Union Joshi Club is located at Kalbadevi. You need to take a left at the Round Building junction (the junction on Princess Street where you have to turn right to go to Metro) and walk on the main Kalbadevi Road for 5-10 minutes and it's located on the right hand side on the first floor in an old building in Narrotam Wadi.

It is a no frills place and the dining room is a big hall with rows of tables with cushioned seating a and each table accommodates two. The place accommodates 60 people at one time. Like all old buildings, it has a high ceiling and huge wooden windows. The absence of air-conditioning is not felt as the place is well ventilated. We seated ourselves on the corner table and from our window we could see the hustle and bustle of the very commercial Kalbadevi road below. Just opposite the hotel, I noticed shops with signboards "Omega Dresses" and "Platinum Men's Attire"

The Thali here is served in a huge stainless steel thali whose diameter must be at least 18 inches. They serve 4 vegetables, one farsan, phulkas or bhakri (small but crisp and is called biscuit bhakri), dal (sweet or regular), dahi or chaas, rice or khichadi, chopped salad, 2 chutneys (I loved the tikha garlic one), fried chopped chillies (tastes yummy) and pickle. You get all this, unlimited for Rs 70. The sweet has an extra charge according to the one you choose. We had Gulab Jamun and Aamras and both were very good.

Like many other 'khanavals' in Bombay, Friends Union Joshi Club was started more than 100 years ago to cater to men who left their villages in Gujarat to come and work in Mumbai and missed home-cooked food. It is now frequented by businessmen in the area and is more crowded during lunchtime and weekdays.

Mr. Purohit, the owner whose father has been running the place since 1955 played a good host going around urging his customers to eat more. He came to our table and was offering me a phulka or bhakri. When I told him I was full, he said that eating here is about 'trupti' and not about being full and put the phulka into my thali anyway.

I was surprised when he told me that he was a Rajasthani (I always thought it was run by a Gujarati) and his father had taken over the place from Joshi. He had taken care to retain not only the taste and quality of the Gujarati food served but also the name because of the goodwill the place had earned over the years.

On our way out he showed us a newspaper cutting, which mentioned that the late Dhirubhai Ambani frequented the place, when he first came to Bombay and his wife Kokilaben was not in the city.

So if you happen to go to Kalbadevi and you are not planning to do any active work after lunch, do go and try the Thali here and then have a good siesta on a very full stomach.

Holi-day & New Srikrishna Bhojanalaya

Holi in the city and Mumbai looks like its been hit by a bandh. On my way to a meeting near Haji Ali, the roads were empty, buses non-frequent, colored people ( no racism here) moving around in groups - children racing around with phickari's of all shapes and sizes - regular water pistols to something that looked as huge & powerful as an AK-47, silver haired old men with green color on their heads, urchins and street children jumping into the sea opposite the erstwhile Lotus theatre and temporarily adding color to its dirty waters, stray dogs who must have been forcibly colored looking all red, blue, yellow and green, a young man who was already all colored up being carried by two others with a sense of purpose, a Pomeranian with green spots, young men standing outside a barricaded wine shop handing money to the guy inside in exchange for some booze and I was in this almost empty BEST bus with all the window panes down shielded from any future water missiles. Some window panes were wet indicating that some water balloon must have landed on it. Well, now you know why no one ventures out on a Holi-day !

After the meeting, whilst walking back to the bus stop, one of the street kid-color in hand, looked at me as if he was politely asking me for permission to put some color. I smiled at him and shook my head and off he went to throw it on his friends. As I was very hungry, I though I should have some Maharashtrian food at Dadar before going to the office.

Only after doing a pradakshina of Dadar from Plaza via Shivaji park to Gokhale road and finally Ranade road, I found that all the Maharashtrian restaurants( Prakash,Aaswad,Dattatraya) were shut . Groups of holi- colored men were eating bhaji's and wada pav's at street corners around Shivaji Mandir. I was dying of hunger when I remembered that there was a Maharashtrian khanawal on the first floor on a road that leads to Dadar station as I had eaten there many many years ago. Luckily it was open and it's called....

New Shrikrishna Bhojnalaya and Shakahari Upahar Gruh.

When one enters this bhojanalaya , it reminds you of the ones in Pune. Its a simple place with wooden tables and chairs and also a 'family room'.The items for the day in the thali are written on a blackboard. Looking at the menu , there is a choice between Sri Krishna Deluxe Thali(Rs50), Shri Krishna Special Thali (Rs 34) , Shri Krishna Thali(Rs 26) and Shri Krishna Mini Thali (Rs 20). The no of items in the thali go on increasing from the Mini thali to the Deluxe Thali which has 4 Chapati/7 puris/3 Bhakaris, Veg pulao/Biryani/Masale bhath,3 vegetables,dal,sweet,papad and Buttermilk. I settled for the Shri Krishna Special thali. The dal was very Puneri - a little sweet but nice. There was a dudhi and tomato subzi, a black pea curry with a coconut masala and zunka and the rice , chapatis etc. The buttermilk was good and so was the sweet - shevayachi kheer.

Don’t also miss the sign in marathi above the wash basin which translates as " Do not make loud noises here" which is a warning for people against making inappropriate noises while gargling or washing their mouth.! heh heh.

SKBSUG also serves snacks like batata wada/ misal and 'fasting snacks' on 'fasting days'. As many other Maharashtrian restaurants you will not get any cold drinks here but the kokam sarbat was good. They also serve other sharbats like amla,kaju,'jinjar lemon' and mango panhe in season.

SKBSUG is located on the first floor of Gokul Nivas on Ranade road in Dadar(W). If you are coming from Plaza turn left at the first junction and Gokul Nivas is the first building on the left else ask any local and they would direct you to it.