No Sharmana, Have a Shawarma !!

Shawarma is an Arab meat preparation generally made of lamb or chicken. But that is just the basic and very insipid way of describing it. Shawarma is a blast of various tastes especially of meat & spices in you mouth when you take that first bite. It is beyond explanation and penning it down will be a big injustice.

Shawarma was initially a very rare sight in Mumbai but off late it has been welcomed with open hands, grabibng at every opportunity to satiate those taste buds. As often is the case it takes a bit longer for the Mumbaikars to make a place for foreign foods on their culinary timetable and shawarma is not different.

Just to maintain the sanctity of the blog, I will try to describe the 'Shawarma'. Well when you first see it, it appears to be some kind of a meaty roll with meat tit-bits hanging around. The outer pita bread is the more conventional one and holds all the stuffing together. Meat which is marinated is placed on a spit and may be grilled for as long as a day. Shavings are cut off the block of meat for serving, and the remainder of the block of meat is kept heated on the rotating spit. These shavings are often mixed with potato wedges and are stuffed in that pita along with different choice of veggies. Veggies are of unique range with zucchini & chilli as the main ones. There can be variants of zucchini with beet & cucumber or tomatoes and also onions or bell peppers and yeah olives too !! Everything is topped up with tahini which is a sesame seed paste and hummus which is a chickpea spread.

The cool thing about Mumbai Shawarma is that no two places serve the same tasting shawarma which makes foodies like us try every nook and corner. There are many top & awesome places which serve some of the tastiest shawarmas in town.

Carters Blue near Carter road is one such place which serves wholesome shawarmas for some time now. Freshly made and moderately priced, this joint also has good number of varieties. There are Arabic & Greek varieties and even a Mexican one. There are options for the vegetarians too with Falafel.

Pritam Dhaba at Dadar also serves a wicked shawarma but lacks varieties. The taste is worth though and there is an overload of ingredients.

Maroosh is chain of outlets one of which is at High Street Phoenix has got decent shawarmas and is a strictly ok place. When it started, it was good but now it seems a bit overpriced & down with value kind of thing.

Cafe Biona in Bandra is another place for good shawarmas. They have the olives variant and kind of works well. However off late, not sure as to how its been. Need to check soon !!

There are many others like Tezz & even the Muhammed Ali road one among others. Mumbai has been swiped with this Lebanese tide. Every area has got one now with its own speciality. 

So dont just sit and ponder,  go have one of this Lebanese wonder !! Waah waah !! I leave you with this food quote !! So long !!

Chocolateria!!!

I had been meaning to check out this place in Bandra -“Chocolateria San Churro” ever since a friend expressed his craving for chocolate cake and chocolate churros, and about 2 months back I finally got a chance to do so. As soon as I entered, the very aroma of chocolate wafting in the place was enough to put me in a chocolate haze. The interiors of San Churros is perfectly designed to give u the feel, that you have entered a chocolate land. It’s a multi leveled Spanish joint, with the ground floor having a few tables and a large counter showcasing the sinful pleasures of the place - chocolate pastries, truffles and churros, creamy cakes. Wow!!! It’s just chocolate, chocolate and chocolate.

Well, just to give u guys an insight, Churros are Spanish doughnuts. They’re deep fried to make them crunchy, And u enjoy the churros with melted chocolate.

I had been to this place with a friend and we ordered a dessert for each..!! We ordered a 7 layered cake!! A complete bliss! This particular piece was soo huge, that a person alone would find it difficult to finish it all..!! It was indeed very delicious! As the name suggests, it was a 7 layered pastry with layers of chocolate cake, a layer of the rich Spanish chocolate, chocolate mousse, a dark chocolate layer, tiramisu layer, again a layer of chocolate and one of chocolate cake..!! Loved the look of the cake which when served was warm and decorated with thick melted chocolate. It is a huge piece of pastry, but one of the best I’ve had till date.

The Strawberry Bizcocho was another story!! It was delicious right from the first spoon and would want you craving for more. It was rich in fresh strawberries, custard, nuts and chocolate cake and served in a glass. (I’m craving for it already just by thinking about it!!) Beautifully presented and every bite of the combo makes you yearn for more. 

This was just a snapshot my friends. San Churros has an extended menu. Here, you’d get anything you’d ever wish for. The die for chocolates is served in forms of shakes, coffees, hot chocolates, coupled with churros and yummy savories

The coffees, (though I'd like to try one myself) looked as if blended rich in chocolate. The hot chocolate was thick and creamy giving away a strong aroma of the coffee. I was amazed to find different hot chocolates drinks and shakes and coffees with various flavors on the menu. At San Churros, they have experimented with different kinds of flavors originating from different lands and created their own legendary blend. There were various ones like a milk based couvertures, dark hot chocolate (my vote for this), a caramel based hot chocolate, a mocha, an minty infusion and many more flavors. The icy chocolate shakes were not less amazingly appealing. As tempting the hot chocolates are, the coolers were an add on to the menu. The classic shakes are a combination of chocolate with milk and ice-creams and cookies and various fruit flavors as well.

They also have the taste plates in which you are served an entire range of chocolate delights. And last but not the least, this hangout has an assortment of delicious truffles made up of Spanish couverture chocolates!!

But I would always say, that it’s a lil over priced and should go there only on occasions or when you’re actually ready to die for the rich desserts and chocolates!! J

Well just writing this much about San Churros has got me yearning for more chocolate and would love to indulge in some hot chocolate or coffee from the menu!!

So all you chocolate lovers should go there once and try out the chocolate delights there. C u soon..

P.S.: the picture in my 1^st post with the Chocolate Cake is the “7 Layered Cake!!” J

Website: www.sanchurro.in

Address: shop No. 11, silver Pearl, Waterfield Rd, Bandra (W).

Another Store is at Breach Candy as well. 

Mocambo Se Khush Hua !!!

A carnivore sniffs his food from long and then goes on that trail till he attains solace and tummy full of meat. This was precisely the actions of mine in my adventure to satisfy my meaty taste buds. And then Cafe Mocambo was given a shot and then onwards it has become a regular pitstop on my culinery journey.

Cafe Mocambo situated in Fort serves some of the best and delightful Continental & Italian dishes. Add to that some servings of beer and wine and an amazing array of desserts and you have a Heaven for the Hungry !!!

Denmark Sausages &
Cracker Jack Prawns

Starting with the starters .. ohh thats a cliche, there are some amazing dishes too look out for starting with the  Denmark Sausages which are nice deep fried Chicken sausages served with garlic sauce, Paprika chicken which has awesome pepper & cheddar flavours, Cracker Jack Prawns (again deep fried .. ohh I am loving it ) and a delectably nice Fish n Chips. For the herbivores, there is nice Bruscetta but the dish which beats the rest is the French Fries with overload of Cheese. Foodgasm !!!

There is a variety of soups & salads for the kind but if you are here, please forget the diet at home and just indulge into awesomeness i.e. Food !!! A special mention is the Bacon & Mushroom soup which is creamy and tickles your palate in a nicer way. Salads of what I have heard are worth a try as well. Disclaimer: I am not a salad person.

Con 2 P

The Sandwiches & Whoppers are a must have if you are here for a quick snack. The Piggy Feast takes your normal BLT to a new level with extreme of Ham, Bacon, Salami & Sausage. However I was personally disappointed with the portion. The Fries made up for it though. The Chicago Grill is a club sandwich made in  meat heaven and is a top recommend for the meat lovers.

There is huge range of Pastas and ably named Pasta factory. Salsa one being a creamy delight and Florentina  acting as a nice change as well. The Pizzas are nice too.

Chicken Cordon Bleu

But Cafe Mocambo stands out for the signature continental dishes.The Chicken Cordon Bleu is a Chicken breast stuffed with Ham & Cheese and BBQ sauce. What can one ask for !!! But theres more .. Country style Chicken & Mixed Grill is another of those scrumptious dishes with lots of chicken, bacon, stripped sausages & juicy ham served with mashed potatoes.Con 2 P is another dish to look out for which is grilled Chicken but in a mushroom & white sauce. All in all a gourmet delight !!!

There are more such delights calling out to you but the tummy refuses. I wont even mind if my tummy explodes when I am on this journey to meat heaven.

Country Style Chicken

There are a number of lamb varieties as well to look for and of what I saw as a part of sneak peek onto my neighbouring table, the lamb looked very succulent. Even the beef for that matter is very well prepared, not that chewy. Vegetarians will not find a hard time as the non meat food is good too but I did not even have a glance. Wicked me, but that is what meat makes you do !!

The beer & the wine acts as excellent accompaniment. Not a huge range of wines but nice to satiate those liquor pangs.

Gooey Chocolate Cake

Last but not the least, the Desserts !!! The Gooey Chocolate cake lived upto its reputation. The Walnut Brownie was strictly ok however the Cheese cakes stole the show. The Blueberry one was the standout with the Lemon coming a close second. There are some nice Mousse cakes to try as well. The best dessert of the lot has to be the Irish Bailey which is must have. It truly justifies the movie title 'Gone in 60 Seconds' as that was the exact time period in which it reached my tummy.

All in all a satisfying experience. The service can be a bit better but if there is food on the table who cares.

How to get here:

23/A, Sir Pherozeshah Mehta Road,  Fort , Mumbai

A short walk from the Churchgate station via Flora Fountain

Ek Garam Chai Ki Pyali Ho...

"Chai Garam, Chai Garam....!!”, I had heard these words several times during my recent travel in one of the long distance trains. If you are a tea person, that call would surely tempt you to respond with a "Oye bhaiya, Ek chai", but those words got me thinking about the national drink of our country (unofficially, of course). 


Chai is a savory concoction of milk, sugar, ginger, masala and green tea boiled together in a large steel kettle and served steaming hot.

Tea as a drink has now become almost synonym to the small 'tapri' (roadside stalls) in Mumbai. A small stall with the least investment, it’s a very common sight to see vendors, workers, middle-class men, and nowadays call center crowd flocking around these tea stalls during their free time. They seem to be around every corner. From outside multinational company complexes to railway and bus stations, from new construction sites to industrial areas, these stalls are making their mark everywhere.

Tapri chai is a fix most office-goers can't do without. This is a place where friends gather during the day in true convivial spirit to partake of this hearty brew and catch up on the local gossip. It’s usually served in small tea glasses, but you haven’t really enjoyed it until you pour it on an empty saucer and simply slurp. Tapri also gives solace to a lot of college going kids who find it the most affordable place to pass time between classes (...or during classes). The easiest way to recognize tapri is firstly by seeing a group of people around it and secondly by their kerosene operated stoves.

The Mumbai tapri chai is also a relief to many of the Mumbaikars who go to Siddhivinayak temple every Tuesday morning on foot. This tea is the energy drink that drives these religious ones to their destination. Many generous stalls provide free cups of tea to these regular walkers at various stops on the way. 

One of the oldest restaurants in Mumbai known for its tea is the 'Tea Centre' at Churchgate. It’s not only known for its variety of tea, but more for its ambience. Even though it’s very different than the standard tapris in Mumbai, the experience there can transfer you from today to the olden days with small silver bells on the table to call out to the waiter, beautiful surroundings and old-style furniture. The Tea Centre was initially opened by the Tea Board of India to promote the drink.


I however have never been able to come to terms with the ability of certain people to spend more than 10/- for a cup of tea. So to find out what is the thrill all about, I decided to find out how it felt and went to one of the coffee shops and ordered Masala Chai. Eventually I ended up spending Rs. 40/- for boiled water in a stylish cup, milk, sugar and tea bags given separately. But that of course is a different story. At the end of this little social experience, I had to go to the nearest tapri to enjoy the feeling of having a true masala chai. 

Mumbai is known as the city of dreams, but the tapris of Mumbai are the alarm clocks that help people wake up to achieve those dreams. Its just difficult to imagine a city without few of them around the neighborhood.


As the monsoons enter Mumbai slowly our visits to the nearest chai tapri double up. Mumbai’s cutting chai warms the gullets of many-tired souls on the streets. Blended with an indigenous mix of ingredients, the chai is a must-have for those forever on the streets – throw hygiene out of the window of course! 

Chotu- the Chai wala

Vapours of scented brew stroke the air as the morning sun warms the dusky mud. Sounds of chirping birds mixed with the starting roar of engines and honking rickshaws clamour together. Chotu’s tired eyes are alive as he holds the boiling tea glass and pours it into another, repeating the action with a suave vigour. The first tea of the morning is given out to an anxious young man formally dressed and seated comfortably on a small rugged stone seat. Chotu tea boils in its vessel. Another customer appears saying; “boss, cutting dena!” and the process repeats itself as the day starts filling in rapidly. 

Chotu, the owner of a small shed next to the popular call centre, is just one of the many tea stall owners in Mumbai city. Their lives at the stalls are identical. The day begins at 5am every morning. Passers-by, idlers, busy employees taking a break, watchmen, groups of talking friends and almost every kind of people become a part of that stall and that tea stall a part of their daily life. And only when the city dampens its spirits - around 2am, does the stall shut shop. But the spirit of ‘cutting-chai’ only pauses. After the stall or shop shuts, significant workers of the stall are sent with kettles of tea and coffee on bicycles

Some renowned chai's: light chai, kadak chai, adrak wali chai, adrak-elaichi wali chai, masala chai, Irani chai, doodh wali chai, cutting chai, two by four chai with friends… the list is long and endless…

A lot can happen over coffee.” A good ad line. But tell you what let the copy-writer visit a road side tapri and he will realize that "Everything can happen over a cutting chai!!"

Vada Pav .. Ashok Vada Pav - The Mumbai Burger

The 'national' food of Mumbai is the Vada Pav and it would be very cruel if the food blog related to Mumbai does not start with it. Hence the Vada Pav or the Mumbai Burger arrives.

The mention of Vada Pav cannot be complete without the name of Ashok Vada Pav which serves one of the best vada pavs in the city. Voted the best of the lot for so many years, one of the scrumptious delicacy day in day out. I was and am still blessed to be in the vicinity of this savoury delight. This eatery is located near Prabhadevi, off Cadel road near Kirti College.

The vada pav is the best item on the list and it is an explosion of all tastes trapped under the pav or the bun. The intricately cut pav is splattered with two chutneys one spicy and other sweet. The spicy green chutney is the usual one with lots of green chillies, coriander & mint. The brown tamarind variety is the sweet one but this unlike other vada pav is a bit sticky which is the only downside for me personally. There is also a third dry red chilli powder in bits here and there which adds nice flavour to the entire delicacy. Then comes the vada which is mashed potatoes with spicy concoction fried in gram flour. However the main ingredient is the 'chura' or the small crumbs which remain wayside in the kadhai after the vada is deep fried. They are added to the mix to give that extra edge.

You can actually get the chura pav too which is the same except the vada. Trust me, its a heaven in itself. There is an interesting story behind it or atleast what the people say it is. Owing to large demand of vadas and 'frequent getting over as soon as they come out of kadhai' syndrome, people were even game for the chura pav as it gave them the same satisfaction. Yeah its true !!!

There is also Samosa and Bhajji pav but the vada pav stands out. But if you are at the counter at Ashok's anything coming out of the kadhai is divine.

If you are a true Mumbaikar then a visit here is a must and with the rains arriving now is the time people. I would suggest one Vada pav and one Chura pav should do the trick.

How to reach here:

Ashok Wada Pav Stall, Off Cadel Road, Kirti College Lane,  Prabhadevi , Mumbai

Going the Food Way...

There are two things I love best about life: Food and People.

Talking about Food : I love to shop for it, cook it, serve it to people, enjoy it with people and take pictures of it. For as long as I can remember, food has been a big part of my life!

I grew up in a Gujarati Family, which says it all about my association with food. Being a Gujarati by Mother tongue, but a Mumbaikar by Heart, food has always been my first love.From having my home style Khaman Dhokla to Thepla to amcha Vada Pav to the finest cuisines of the world, to the yummy mouth watering Desserts I just love to eat all.

Taking my love for food to a next level, I graduated from one of the finest Hotel Management Schools in the world, learnt about many cuisines and cooked  a variety of food. I just love experimenting different cuisines, or lets just say, wanna need somebody to try any food, I am the one to contact :p (P.S : Strictly vegetarian though). I just love to cook different dishes, rather experiment, serve them and enjoy it with fellow people.

A lot of fun is gonna happen on this blog, stay tuned to keep yourself hungry.

That's it for now, stay happy stay hungry!!

Happy Eating.. :)

The Journey Begins

Born and brought up in a Gujarati family in Mumbai says it all – “A complete foodie!!”  

At all times obsessed with good food and a critic of fine taste. Extremely passionate about the different cuisines right from the rich Indian flavors to the blandest of all. Love the countrywide cuisines as well as the international ones.  I simply adore experimenting and amusing my taste buds with different dishes every time I enter an eatery. Always ready for anything to pacify my hunger pangs at the thelas or bistros or restaurants or any place else. And how can I forget the desserts and the beverages. Not a big fan of liquor but I can vouch for the coffees and the mocktails. And crave for sweets all the time, be it the chocolates or Indian sweets or the western desserts. I hope that I put across the right kind of food destinations for you’ll.

Cheers!!