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| With Ms Shireen at Cafe Military, January 2018 |
My first visit to Cafe Military in Mumbai’s Fort was in 2011, with a couple of colleagues from a market research agency that I worked at then, and before a client meeting next door. This was a response from young fellow Bengali, Awrytro, to my tweet asking for suggestions on where next to eat at Fort took me there.
I fell in love with the caramel custard that he had recommended (indeed ‘best in Mumbai’) and the most well balanced kheema ghotala (eggs scrambled in minced meat) that we had too.
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| Kheema ghotala, caramel custard and pav at Cafe Military |
I fell in love with the languorous, frozen in time, feel at this Irani Cafe.
And with its most gentle and kind owners, Behram and Shireen Khoshravi, the elderly couple at the till whom I went up and said hello to.
I’ve returned to Cafe Military many times since then, primarily while conducting food walks in Fort, and everyone with me fell in love with it like I once had.
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| The #thinkheritage food walk that I conducted for Sahapedia in Feb 2018 |
I got the unfortunate news recently that Mr Behram is no more. I chanced upon Mrs Shireen at Cafe Military during a food walk last Saturday and went up to offer her my condolences before I left. I had a copy of my book with me and read out the part where I’d written about her and her husband.
She told me that she comes to the restaurant everyday to kill time rather than be alone at home.
I told her that she shouldn’t feel alone as the well wishes of all of us, lucky enough to have been to Cafe Military, is with her.
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| At Cafe Military during the bespoke Finely Chopped Food Walk that I conducted for guests from Bloomfentein, South Africa |
I returned a couple of days later to Fort to conduct another food walk and started with Cafe Military. Mrs Shireen was sitting at the table next to where we were. Before leaving, I hopped across and gave her the copy of my book that I had brought for her as a token of respect and gratitude.
Here’s wishing her good health and happiness.
My first post on Cafe Military
Link for purchasing my book, The Travelling Belly
