Mother-In-Law’s First Trip to India: Eating in Bombay

February 12, 2013 By Meghan Hunter

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Emily: I love eating in India! There are so many different types of foods and the service is excellent in the restaurants. And the prices are cheap.

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One of our first meals was at Gaylord which is near Churchgate railway station.

Gaylord serves “Western” food as well as Indian food. Daraius’ family wanted to go out to eat “Western” food since they eat Indian food at home.

We were so hungry that we ate our food without taking any picture, but I did take a picture of the fingerbowl which is a very nice way to wash your hands after a meal! The fingerbowl is customary in many Indian restaurants.

Another day we had lunch with Daraius’ family in the same building where his parents, grand-parents and great-grand parents lived! It is an old art-deco building and full of character.

I loved hearing the story of how his grandfather met his grandmother standing on the balconies of their separate flats and talking!

We had a sumptuous feast for lunch.

There was saas ni macchi, which is traditionally made with fish, but they made it with chicken because of my fish allergy.

There was baked chicken, mashed potatoes & fried egg with white sauce.

There was Daraius’ favorite Dhansak.

And the all important kachumber.

We also had rice and chapatis with our meal, and we were stuffed by the end. However, there was also dessert which included blueberry cheesecake, chocolate cake, regular cheesecake, chocolate and coffee mousse, and chocolate candy. They sure stuff us when we visit India!

Another evening we went for a Parsi Navjote, which is kind of like a bar mitzvah for Parsis.

We had a few drinks when we arrived, and then we danced a little before our friend arrived and we had dinner.

Dinner was very interesting. There was a “seating”, and you sit down and face in one direction. On the other side, the waiters each have a different specialty and will give you a banana leaf first as a plate.

The banana leaf is the plate for your food. With your leaf, you also get a glass, silverware, and a cloth napkin.

Then you are served various sauces and small bites, and then the main course which consists of different curries, fried chicken, and fish.

I avoided the non vegetarian options because of my fish allergy, but heard the food was excellent. For dessert, we were also served custard and kulfi, which is Indian ice cream. I really enjoyed the custard….the kulfi was a little too frozen and therefore hard to eat!

After dinner, we posed for pictures and then went for more dancing. It was such a fun night!

Another favorite restaurant of mine is Tea Centre, which is again near Churchgate railway station.

We love the iced tea here, and this time it was the only thing we ordered. We got peach tea, mango tea, strawberry tea, melon-watermelon tea, and black currant tea.

They have other flavors as well, such as lemon and mojito, which we didn’t try. My favorite was the strawberry tea, followed by the peach, and then the melon-watermelon or the mango.

I had a jalebi which I had bought from Asiatic across the street.

Their teas are especially nice because they are made with fresh fruits. Each tea costs 85 rupees, or around $1.50. They are a little expensive since they are served in small glasses but it is worth the taste. Yum!

The next day we went to a traditional Indian restaurant, Samrat and ordered thali.

A thali is a large round tray, and in the tray are several small bowls.

The waiters then come around and serve you different foods in the small bowls: potato curry, dal, and so on.

My mom and aunt Judi liked the potato the best. Thali also comes with naan and a buttermilk drink of chaas.

They also served you gulab jamun for dessert.

Another evening we went to Ayub’s for Kathi rolls.

Kathi rolls are grilled chicken wrapped in a roti, which is like a tortilla. It was delicious, cheap food. The chicken was so fresh and juicy, like it just came off the grill. Ayub’s is different too because it’s just a drive up (or walk-up) restaurant.

On our way home, we stopped at Bachelor’s and got some ice cream & juice.

My mom got almond ice cream, while I got a sweet custard apple milkshake.

Another day we went to Delhi Darbar on Colaba Causeway for lunch. The food is delicious but it’s very oily. For starters, we had several different types of kebabs.

To drink, we had mango lassi, strawberry lassi, and a falooda, which is adapted from a Persian drink, usually made with essence of rose, raspberry syrup, tapioca pearls, and rice flakes.

We had butter chicken, mutton, cheese naan, garlic naan, and buttered naan.

It was a wonderful Indian meal we shared together!

For dinner, we went to China Garden which is my favorite restaurant in Bombay.

China Garden serves Indian Chinese, which is a lot like Chinese but has more spices and sauces.

It was really delicious!

We ordered corn curd, which is like fried creamy cornbread.

gin chicken, noodles with vegetables.

…spicy beef…

and orange chicken. I loved it!

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