Flora Fountain
The Fort Area: Flora Fountain and Churchgate.
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Flora Fountain |
Flora Fountain (the fountain doesn't work, and the flora is non-existent) stands at the centre of several arterial streets which pin-wheel off its hub. The surrounding buildings (commercial banks and corporate offices) are stolidly Victorian and the area is reminiscent of London's Trafalgar Square or Piccadilly Circus. Going west, along Veer Nariman Road, past pavement displays of magazines, second-hand text books and pirated versions of international best-selling novels, and beyond the wheeled cart-stalls of ready-made garment vendors, lies Churchgate. From Churchate Station to the T-intersection of Marine Drive, Veer Nariman Road has a selection of restaurants which run the gamut from inexpensive to pricey.
 Stadium Restaurant and Cyber Cafe |
Stadium Restaurant, Veer Nariman Road. (Inexpensive)
This is at the lower end of the scale and belongs to a fast vanishing species of Mumbai eateries - the Irani restaurant. Even though the trappings are still there - marble-slabbed tables, a large mirror at one end, the counter stacked with an assortment of packaged snacks and crates of cold drinks stashed in a corner - the menu now includes pizza, burgers, milk shakes and a limited range of Chinese dishes (including something called "Chicken Chomin"). Some traditional favourites remain: mutton, chicken or fish biriyani, kheema gotala (a hodge-podge of highly spiced mutton mince, topped with a fried egg) and mutton or vegetable pattice (crumbed, egg-dipped, fried cutlets).
Kamling Chinese Restaurant, Veer Nariman Road (Upper Mid Range)
An agreeable place to have lunch or dinner. The prices are on the high side of mid-range, but it is air-conditioned, the lighting is soft, and the cuisine is superb. They offer a lunch-time buffet and for those with hearty appetites, it is the way to go.
Purohit, Veer Nariman Road (Inexpensive)
Almost alongside Kamling, this is a pure vegetarian restaurant which has been in existence since the 1930s. At one time Purohit's meals were served on silver thalis, (large round plates) but although these have been replaced by stainless steel receptacles, their food continues to appeal to those who enjoy typical tangy-sweet Gujerati cooking. Their specialty thali is heaped with rice, three different types of curried vegetables, kadhi (a yoghurt/chick-pea flour based sauce) dal (lentils), dahi (yoghurt), pickles, papads, puris and a sweet dish.
 Samrat Vegetarian Restaurant, Churchgate |
Samrat, Prem Court, J. Tata Road. (Inexpensive)
This is located off Veer Nariman Road, (still in the Churchgate area), on J. Tata Road and is another Gujerati vegetarian restaurant, where the prices and quality of food are comparable to that of Purohit. It is a newer establishment, however, and the décor is trendy, with murals depicting scenes from mythological tales, and Indian village celebrations. Upstairs in the mezzanine dining area, a bronze bas relief of elephants in procession at a grand Darbar adorns an entire wall.
K. Rustom & Co. (Inexpensive)
Situated at the western end of Veer Nariman Road, Rustom's ice-cream parlour is a Mumbai landmark. Unchanged for over forty years it consists of a single narrow room with few chairs against one wall facing a serving counter and a bank of freezers. They offer a conventional range of ice-creams, milk shakes, and fresh fruit juices (mango when in season) and their chilled sweet lassi (a yoghurt-based shake) is exceptional. A personal favourite is their sweet yoghurt. Served in small glass tumblers, it is wickedly rich and creamy.
 Sugar-cane Juice Vendor |
Chowpatty Beach and Environs.
Chowpatty beach lies at the northern end of Marine Drive. During the heat of the day, the place is deserted, but as dusk falls, the sands are thronged with people - families out for an evening stroll, balloon sellers, malish wallahs (street masseurs) and fortune tellers. Camels with supercilious nostrils carry mum, dad, granny, grandpa and an assortment of progeny for rides at the margin of the water. Tumbling boxes (smaller versions of Ferris wheels) are filled with shrieking kids and loudspeakers blare Hindi film music.
Food vendors come into their own on Chowpatty beach. Kiosks lit with neon bars, or hissing kerosene-fuelled lanterns, sell coconut water, sugar-cane juice, pani-puri, aloo tikkis and, of course, Mumbai's quintessential bhel-puri. The fare is tempting, but should be approached with caution, as there isn't much by way of hygienic standards here. Glass enclosures, for instance, don't mean a thing. Closer inspection will often reveal a small army of sugar-sated flies drunkenly crawling over the surface of jalebis or drowning in gulab-jamun syrup. Alloo-tikkis are prepared simply and effectively: the vendor squeezes the cold boiled potatoes to a pulp in his fist, massages in chopped onions and chilies, shapes the mash into little potato cakes and drops them into a vat of suspiciously smoky, black oil. If you must have fresh sugar cane juice, bring your own tumbler. The glasses at the stalls are usually murky, having been rinsed cursorily in a bucket of greyish water.
New Kulfi Centre, Sardar V. Patel Road. (Inexpensive)
This is across the street (Marine Drive) from Chowpatty beach. Despite the name, there is nothing 'new' about this kulfi shop; it has been in business for the better part of half a century. There is invariably a queue of customers on the sidewalk, and a line of cars parked alongside the pavement. "Waiters" in baniyans (cotton undervests) bend to the drivers' windows to take their orders.
Kulfi malai, is an Indian ice-cream with an exquisitely smooth texture. The richest of cream, crushed almond or pistachio nuts, sugar and kesar essence (extracted from saffron grown in Kashmir) is churned and frozen in conical canisters sealed with flour paste. Although replicated in paler shades in London's Southhall, Toronto's Gerard Street and in Vancouver's Little India, kulfi malai has to be experienced in India. At New Kulfi Centre.
Also off Marine Drive in the Chowpatty area is an insignificant stall which sells paan - a betul-nut leaf folded into a samosa-like triangle and stuffed with a variety of condiments including supari (betul-nut). Some paans are sweetened with rose petals and honey, others are acrid with tobacco and lime. By and large they are affordable, and even lower middle-income customers enjoy them as an after-dinner treat. Like rare wine, however, gourmet paans, can cost up to $80.00 per leaf. Some are reputed to have aphrodisiac properties, others are passports to altered states of consciousness. The paan-stall off Marine Drive has no name. It doesn't need one. Mumbai movie stars, producers, directors, corporate mega-millionaires, all pull up to the curb in their chauffeur-driven Porches and BMWs.
 Paan Vendor in Churchgate |