Street Food Of Mumbai

My face always lights up when my friend or sister asks me, “Annu, Coming for Pani Puri?”. There is no fixed time for this dish because any time is Panipuri O Clock. It’s the most loved street food of Mumbai and I just cannot resist it.

Can you imagine my excitement when a few foodie friends of mine decided to do a street food walk and included me too in their plans? I was very excited like a child. There is so much to discover even in the streets, every nook and corner has a food story to tell. This was our first of this experimental #HumPaanch #RaastaEats in Vile Parle-West.

Say hello to Jasleen, Shital, Shweta, and Vernika, we all met at McDonald’s and proceeded to our first stop. Starting off really hungry as some of us had skipped lunch to enjoy the street food and were waiting to get started.

A-1 SHREE KRISHNA

This place is famous for his Dabeli, and Frankie, and has been in the area for almost 3 decades now.  The hustle behind the counter had to be experienced, Frankie filling on the Tawa, Dabelis being Tawa fried in butter, and masalas being coated. The order was placed and in no time it was delivered hot on a paper plate.

First came the Dabeli, it was not only so perfect to look at but tasted sweet and spicy, served up with peanuts.  When we asked for a tissue the server at the stall pointed out to a bunch of well-cut newspapers and said, “Use the Indian tissue” in Hindi.

Next we tried the really deep red colored Chinese Bhel and Bhajiyaas, this was very spicy and actually left a fiery aftertaste on the palate with a leaky nose.

It was fun chatting up with the college students who vouch for Shree Krishna Frankie over any other in that street. That is how much people love Street Food Of Mumbai. They can travel from Churchgate to Vile Parle to savour their best Frankie.

Some like it hot, but most of us liked it cold. We cooled off the spice with Ganne ka Juice at the Naka.

It was tea-time so who could say no to Tapri Chai especially when it was prepared fresh in front of us. It was fascinating to see the tea stall man use a long ladle to stir up the bubbly broth and then strain it all into a huge kettle. Later serving it up in cutting chai glasses for us.

Barely a lane away from here was Bajaj Raod, a famous place for street food of Mumbai. There were stalls of dosa, chaats, and juices. Now we were hungry again and wished to try it all.

SAI SAMARTH DOSAWALLA

We skipped the sandwich guy at the corner and went straight for “Akhha India Mein World famous”  Jini Dosa. Ravi the Dosawalla making dosas for 30 years now, quite a jovial funny man he initially didn’t want his pictures taken.

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Later on, did a jig for us when asked why has he named one of his dosas on the menu “Jhanaj Jhanak Payal Bajje”. I am sure he is a big Bollywood fan. The Jini Dosa arrived from the huge Tava to our plate with loads of cheese. Oh, Yes Please !!

They do not serve sambhar but the chutney was enough to enjoy this finger-licking JINI.

GOPAL KRISHNA BHELPURI CENTER

The menu has such cute spelling mistakes, but I spelled it the way it’s pronounced. To name one ‘SHEV PURI‘ and we ordered just that. Perfectly spiced but the special part was the puri.

My advice – Don’t have it immediately, first click a few pictures of this colorful street food, even a few crazier selfies like me did and then sink your teeth into it. The puri gets soaked with chutney and other ingredients and the taste is just heavenly.

 APSARA ICE CREAM

Towards the end of our walking walk, satisfying your sweet tooth was a must and when my friend Shital suggested  Apsara Ice cream, I jumped for joy. It was my first time with Apsara Ice-cream, even though they are on the market since 1971.

Romantic Rose was a truly magical experience, the Spicy Guava was pure guava in ice cream with the Chili Chataka.

Save the best for last they say, and it happened right then. Before saying bye bye we came across this thela walla with all our childhood memories. From sweet tamarind to sour bors, starfruit and boiled peanuts it was a real treat.

This Street Food Walk was done right. A leisurely paced walk with plenty of food, fun and photos, the perfect way to explore the world of Mumbai street food. Can’t wait to explore more with this wonderful gang of foodie friends. Watch out for part 2.

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