Recently, I read an online guide to eating out in Mumbai. One of the sites clearly targeted the firang tourist who, oddly enough, seems to come all the way here from Copenhagen to eat sushi at Wasabi. (Exchange rate arbitrage? Can you export sashimi? Can I get venture capital funding? I can make a PowerPoint!)
Illustration: Jayachandran / Mint
But if you are a domestic gourmand looking for a little food tour of the city, I have the perfect thing for you. A little half-day programme that is both light on the pocket and requires nothing more than your time, your appetite and a sturdy pair of walking shoes.
First, you must catch a cab, bus or train (best!) and come to Wadala.
Wadala is what they call a “Central Suburb” in Mumbai. That’s because it’s located just perfectly so that no matter where your office is in the city, Andheri to Nariman Point, you will make it to work no more than 15 minutes late.
More kindly put, Wadala is to Dadar what New Jersey is to New York.
And yet it is the perfect launch pad for a culinary tour of the city, nay, of the country itself. That’s because Wadala is nestled perfectly between Matunga with the south Indians, Dadar with the Parsis and Maharashtrians, and Sion, which is rapidly going upmarket, what with the branch of Crossword and all.
We start at a nameless dabeli stall near the HDFC ATM opposite Wadala station. The lanky, young dabeli chap is very friendly and has a great memory for faces. His masalas are proprietary and made to a recipe from his hometown in Gujarat. Dabelis bring together all that is good for instant cardiac arrests: Peanuts? Check. Butter? In little rivers. Potatoes? That’s what the filling is made of. Carbs drenched in fat? Toasted mini-pav gently nurses the filling while you bite down. Excellent value at five bucks each. No need to drop in at the nearby HDFC ATM at all.
Walk down the road a while till you reach one of two chaat shops next to each other. Yes, yes, popular Mumbai opinion is that the Elco place in Bandra has the best chaat in town. Just don’t tell my true-blue Dilliwaali wife that. She will immediately exhaust intense Punjabi rage on your kneecap or shin. And then, after a short break, resume on that soft spot near your temples. The pani puri wallas at Wadala are even worse than Elco. The puris are okay by themselves, but the chaat aficionados will fume at the cooked chana he ladles in first.
Let’s wash it all down with a cup of coffee from the cookie cutter Café Coffee Day that is to the right of the junction in the road ahead. It is a 10-minute walk and bang opposite Don Bosco. If you are a carnivore, then my sympathies. This is a vegetarian outlet, as are most of the eateries in the area. The café is ok. The food can be temperamental. Muffins are safe bets.