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| Pav bhaaji which er called in from Soam |
My first office in Mumbai was at Dadar’s Mhatre Pen Building in the late 90s. It hardly had any food options around. Forget good ones. Then I switched jobs and things looked up …
My next office was at Nariman Point’s Nirmal Building in the early 2000s and I was surrounded by great food options. Bay Bite for Kashmiri pulao dal on Wednesdsays, the Status Annexe for veg korma paratha with unlimited chutney, Rajesh juicewala with his mango milkshake in summer, strawberry in winter; packed with real fruits and a mountain of glucose powder, Mysore dosa at the dosa-wala on the pavement opposite, bhel and sev puri down the line; opposite whatever the Trident was called then, ham sandwich at the Oberoi arcade, chilli chicken and fried rice at the Mafco jhunka bhakar stall, chilli cheese toast at the sandwich-wala, fruit chaat in the evening, fresh vada pav opposite the LIC building on the way home.
My absolute favourite at Nariman Point was the pav bhaaji at the stall opposite our office. Its owner would not pour his bhaaji out of a bucket unlike others. He would prepare it fresh instead each time one placed an order. And then jazz up the pav. Rs 12 a plate. Rs 13 with an extra pav, which a then flat bellied me would ask for.
You would take a bite, look at the sea and mouth ‘Mumbai ke raja kaun.’ Feeling like Bhiku Mhatre while you wiped your plate clean, no matter how passé your day was.
My next job was back at Dadar. Nothing much had approved. Then at Voltas House at Chinchpokli before I moved to the depths of Andheri East, but not before a last tango at South Mumbai when I worked out of Laxmi Building at Fort.
It was on a rainy afternoon back then, while taking refuge under a blue plastic sheet that I locked eyes with Ashok, the pav bhaaji wala at the Khao Gulley (eat street) opposite the Kashmir Emporium. I kept going back to him over many lunches and later, when I began my food walks, I’d often stop at his cart which won the hearts of many westerners on my walks. Ashok was a permanent fixture on my shoots at Fort. His pav bhaaji still remains the one I judge all pav bhaajis by.
