Rawte Days,Mumbai, Part 4: Eating out..Daily

One of the greatest drawbacks of Rawte was the lack of a proper mess. That left us guys with nothing but outside food to hog on... So in this post i just wanna visit all those places in and around Nana Chowk, Chowpatty, Gamdevi and Grant Road where u can eat as much as u can for Rs20/- to have just a bite for Rs150/-

Heroes Restaurant at Nana Chowk was the first place that i had visited. The waiters were such who had come to recognise us by names for every day at least 3-4 orders did reach Rawte. The chinese sucked but the chicken biryani and chicken fried rice was great... Just that Heroes food meant red finger nails because the colour that they used was terrible

The best food that all of us experienced was Crystal at Chowpatty. A shabby looking, dingy place but the food, just as mom makes at home. Rajma chawal, hot rotis, dal fry, aloo jeera. Never felt away from home there. Even though it was so shabby any guy wouldnt mind taking his girlfriend there for a date. The food was that great.

I still remember that shitty looking place just outside the hostel where u would find taxi drivers and watchmen eating. Why? Because it was all you can eat for Rs 20/- Watery dal, thick chapaatis, 2 god knows what sabzis... But as students when u run short of money there was no better option.

On the other side was this south indian outlet (again i seem to have forgotten the name) where i loved to have wada sambhar for breakfast. I still remember Rishabh ordering Onion Uttapa from there almost every day. The owner was rude but when you are the closest and cheapest, you can treat customers that day. After completing MBA will surely go back to teach him some managing skills.

The roadside dosa beside Patel Hostel was also fabulous. The chinese dosa, the pav bhaji dosa, the cheese dosa... They were mouthwatering. People got off Mercedes and BMWs to have dosas there... Miss that really..

Once u crossed Grant Road station we get into this small lane which had a Kerala mess. Loved the chicken pepper and paraathas and the fish and the mutton... And for a wholesome stomach filling meal Rs30-35 was enough. And then the bananas that we bought from the cash counter when we left.. Loved going there with Arjun and Aamer.

Some special days all of us we would take the bus to Mohammad Ali Road to have hardcore non veg. Sheek kababs, Chicken roast, Shawarma followed by the wonderful Rs5 watermelon drink we had. Even though we knew how unhygienic it was, who cared, till u enjoying.

Burgers and Pizzas no better place than MamaMias. I never had enough money to buy the Rs 100 better burger.Always managed with a Rs65-70 one. the best thing i loved about these burgers was the fries that we got along. Sadly i always ran short of sauce. Always told him send more sachets but that idiot never and i mean never even listened...

Another place that i miss terribly is the Gamdevi Farsan Mart and Azad Tea house. The farsan wala, Mukesh Bhai was such a gem. Every morning he would open the shop by 4 30 and we used to get out to have garam garam vada pav early in the morning. By 5.30 we would be ready to hog on tasty jalebis... By 8 o clock the first lot of cutlets would come out and time for some cutlet pav.. Rishabhs favourite, patti samosa, it was the one which had a vegetable filling instead of potatoes.... mouth watering..This accompanied by chai from Azad Tea House was the perfect way to start your morning..

Hey i forgot one more place, Guru Bar. Sorry guys i dont drink but loved the egg bhurji that they prepared here. This place also has wonderful memories because its here that we saw Yuvraj hit his six 6s and India and Dhoni lift the T20 world cup trophy. Since this particular channel wasnt available at Rawte, all of us used to go to Guru and sit with a cold drink for 3 hours till the match got over. The owner got so irritated that he threatened to throw us out and that also half way through the final. Lots of convincing and coaxing helped us see Dhoni lift the trophy and Joginder Sharma bowling that fantastic last over.....

In the middle days we also used to run off to the Wilson College mess to have our dinners. The attendants there were always troubled by the residents there so they welcomed us who, not being residents, always treated them with respect. Some of us found the food bad but some like me who had seen worse places was like, at least its eateable

There were 100s of other places that i might have left out but guys these were the main amongst them. These were my struggling days where none of us knew where the next meal was coming from (read ordered from). so much so that today my stomach is immune to all sort of shitty food and rubbish that i can eat from anywhere and eat anything as such.....