The ham sandwich that won my heart
I drove us (K and me) to SOBO on Sunday, 5th Jan’25. We had gone to the Jio World Drive mall the Sunday before. These Sunday outings are new for us. I had hardly driven our car before this. I was not comfortable driving it as it has an automatic transmission, and I am used to a manual transmission. I took lessons in it and drove with our driver supervising, but I did not have the gumption to go alone. Things changed when we drove down to JWD the Sunday before, and I got the confidence to go to SOBO this time. The new Coastal Road from Worli has made driving to town a pleasure. The only hitch was when I took a wrong turn when we got off the Sea Link and had to return to Bandra and then turn back to go the right way!
Another reason why I don’t like to drive is because of parking problems. I had planned to park in the round pay and park opposite Rhythm House at Kala Ghoda. Unfortunately, a film shoot was on, and the parking lot was shut. One was at the mercy of the parking mafia, which charged us Rs 150 an hour and took our keys to park a lot. One had to hope that nothing would happen to the car. I was irritated but told myself we would have had to pay the same to park at a mall.
K wanted to go to Cafe Malido which mother and son duo, Kermeen and Neville Bose own. I had gone there as their guest sometime back and had the Parsi fare. I remember enjoying the akoori and the kebabs in particular.
We did not call before going to find the place to be packed. Luckily, Chef Jay Bhatt, the executive chef and manager, spotted us and gave us a table soon. K wanted a hot and soft scrambled egg as she had a sore throat. She called for an akuri, the Parsi version of a scrambled egg. She was over the moon with what she got, and it was hot, creamy, dreamy, subtly spiced…spoke of home. I took a picture of it but won’t post it here as the plating was not meant for instagram and the akorri did not look as tempting as it was tastyThey bake their bread in-house here, and she liked the wholewheat sourdough served with her egg.
A happy chef cooks happy food with Jay Bhatt.
I went for the grilled ciabatta Belgian ham sandwich. They have this in sourdough, too, and the original version comes with bacon, but they were out of bacon and hence the ham. I was tentative about my order, as grilled sandwiches can go horribly wrong when the filling is grilled along with the bread in a griller. No such worries here, as the ham was expertly grilled, as were the lettuce and tomato, and was served in freshly toasted ciabatta. The chipotle sauce was not excessive, and the sandwich was pure perfection.
We enjoyed our coffees—espresso for me and cappuccino for her. We ordered a lemon poppy seed tea cake, which reminded me of a poppy seed tea cake we had in a small cafe by a church in front of the red-light district of Amsterdam. Each bite spoke of a grandma’s love. We also tasted a chocolate truffle, which was technically sound and delightful.
The menu featured dishes that were ‘old-fashioned’, focused on taste, and not made for Instagram. This, along with the happy vibe all around—chef Jay went from table to table to ensure that everyone ate well—reminded me of eating out in Mumbai in the late 1990s and early 2000s, when eating out was uncomplicated and all about giving joy. And the food was good, not something that depended on nostalgia to wins ones hearts. That is what will bring us back to Cafe Malido. That is what explains the ‘yet’ in the headline.
Here’s to more Sunday lunches
Address:
15-17-19, Ground Floor, Bharthania Building, C Block, Burjorji Bharucha Marg, Fort, Mumbai
