A foodie day out in South Bombay!

It was meant to be a a true-blue touristy day, akin to my day in HK with K. I wanted to be the Fairy Godmother to VS's Cinderella and show her the unseen wonders of South Bombay - the fact that they were unseen being a shame, considering that both VS and I have been born and raised in Bombay.

But I digress.

So, the agenda was to do a proper 'Bombay Darshan' walking tour - with carefully chosen refuelling pit-stops on the way, of course. :) But what the day turned out to be was a foodathon, with some sightseeing thrown in. :D There you go!

Our day began bright (and not so early) at 11:00. And we hit a roadblock (literally) almost rightaway - traffic snarls! It took us more than an hour to cover the 10-odd km we had to travel! VS, who is the most easily carsick person I know, looked kind of green around the gills by the time we emerged at Kala Ghoda. Given this, and the delay in our schedule, we struck off the heaving-and-lurching ferry ride from Gateway of India to Elephanta from our itinerary!First stop - was the Jehangir Art Gallery.

Neither VS nor I get modern/abstract art (if anyone gets the symbolism behind these kinds of art, please please teach me!) so most of the exhibits were lost on us, but there was one painting in one exhibit which had us both yearning for it - a simple oil-on-canvas of an old-style oil lantern perched in a window. It was so realistic, that the brightly lit gallery was transformed into a cold, windswept night on the moors with the solitary lamp in the window beckoning us home, toward warmth and comfort. "Me want!" was the acquisitive buzz in our heads! :)

One cannot visit Jehangir Art Gallery without a quick break at Samovar- the quirky cafe at the gallery which has fed and soothed a lot of avant garde artists before they became famous.

Made famous by the rib-ticklingly warm movie Chhoti Si Baat, Samovar is poky, narrow, and very 60s in its decor and ambience. Bright yellow marigolds in vases, hot pink hand-painted napkin holders, old-world lanterns hanging from the columns...there's no place quite like Samovar!

Even if you aren't hungry, do visit just to sip on the mint tea. Delicious! Of course, VS and I had more than just the tea. :) We made short work of the chicken roll that was oily, tasty and chock-full of tender shreds of chicken in a spicy sauce.


Next up was a leisurely browse through the legendary Rhythm House, the Mecca for music lovers (and film lovers. too) This old store underwent a facelift a decade ago to resemble modern trade formats- shelf upon shelf of cds, dvds, tapes, vintage film posters, and state-of-the-art listening stations to try on some music before buying it. But at heart, its still a haven for true afficionados- a place where the owner and the floor staff are connoisseurs themselves and more than willing to share their knowledge with you, to make recommendations, and to hunt down that elsuive album for you. This is what separates Rhythm House from newer, fancier, roomier and soul-less stores. The feeling that you have come home, where people not just speak your language, but can debate in it too. :)

After shopping our hearts out at RH, we took a short walk through the meandering bylanes of Kala Ghoda to locate the much-acclaimed Kala Ghoda Cafe. We found it in a impossibly narrow alley called Ropewalk Lane (isn't the name charming?!) after passing over it a couple of times - so discreet is its signage! KGC is a tiny eatery with a high ceiling - it looks like a refurbished barn/stable, complete with a high, over-the-door window and whitewashed, rough-textured walls. A complete contrast to the modern starkness of white chairs, white tables and golden-brown wooden banquette along one wall. Clusters of cheery red and white balloons floating from the ceilings add warmth and colour.


VS, who is a careful eater, at once gravitated towards the salads on the menu. Her choice was the Med Salad ("Why? Why? Why? Why, when there's chicken rosti on offer?" clamoured my brain, but I shushed it, feeling virtuous about nibbling on salad). And was it not a great choice! One of the best salads I have tasted, the Med Salad was a harmonious blend of roasted/grilled peppers, zucchini, and non-sweet sweet potato, tossed through with lettuce and dressed with delicious vinaigrette. Nestled on top of the heap of salad was a fat chunk of creamy feta. Oh, the glorious taste of a forkful of salad and a sliver of feta atop the crunch toast served on the side...bliss!


Just when I was feeling amazingly good about being able to enjoy salad for lunch, VS catapulted and ordered the waffle for dessert. Oh, well. :D The waffle was a vision of buttery gold and the little pot of chocolate sauce was just the right degree of bittersweet.


After lunch, we walked across to the Asiatic Library (whose iconic steps feature as ‘High Court/Supreme Court’ in so many Bollywood flicks), and tried in vain to locate the stone marker proclaiming that point as ‘Sea Level’. A rib-tickling photo-op at the Horniman Garden (known as the Bombay Green during the British Raj) later, we were combing the lanes and alleys of Colaba to find (what I believe are mythical) Colaba Woods. How can one heavily wooded park remain hidden in the tiny pocket of land that is Colaba? If anyone one knows their location, please let me know!

The Asiatic Library

Loved these little parapets at the Asiatic Library!

The lovely sculpture/installation at Horniman Garden

The search for the woods-that-weren’t left us feeling low and dispirited. A quick stop at the sublime-but-overpriced Theobroma on Colaba Causeway to share a lemon tart was ample consolation. :D

Droooool.....

Evening was approaching, and with it came the threat of heavy north-bound traffic, so VS and I beat a hasty retreat from SoBo and made a beeline for the shopping haven of Phoenix Mills. Two hours later with aching feet and shopping bag-laden hands, we headed for the last pit stop of the day – Café Moshes at Palladium.

I know, I know, you CANNOT believe we took yet another refuelling break, but we did! This time we shared the Chicken Harissa wrap (divine! As good as the Chicken Harissa sandwich I’d sampled at Café Moshes at Kemps Corner) and a wedge of the gooey choco-orange flourless cake.

Needless to say, the next step was bed. For the next 10 hours! But the day was totally worth getting tired…I cant wait for VS to get here again!