Walking Around Matunga

Google Stores………………… Jo chaiye milega

Sameer could you get some Prasad Toast and Jeera butter and oh we are out of Amut butter too for Sunday and if you are getting these please get sachets of Bournvita for Bhakti and a pack of Digestive Marie and Diet Chivda for me….. This simple order by the Missus make you think should I order for home delivery then again who will come to deliver such a small order. So you decide to trudge down to the local “Google Store” . I call these small but handy local shops Google store for the simple reason they have wide variety and are easily approachable.

There are a number of such Google stores in Matunga. If its small purchases of foodstuff head to Nityanand at the Ruia naka. Recently renovated and upgraded to an AC store with an appealing sign board. I still remember this as the most frequented shop in Matunga catering to the sundry needs of the locals. Run earlier by Mahesh who passed off recently, a great Manglorean and a senior to me at the Khalsa College. This quaint shop was started by his father in early 1960’s stocking breads , eggs , biscuits and farsan items. Handed over to Mahesh after he passed out from college. He turnded this shop around with his sheer ability to understand the pulse of the locals and local market . Also with his effective skill of building vendor relationship he had tied up with vendors of running food items . At any give time of the day when you visited the shop , he would be there smiling and courteous behind the money counter , personally attending to each shopper who visited the shop. He not only stocked the usual biscuits like Parle G , Marie and Bourbons but dietiers special Digestive Marie or the Oats and honey biscuits or the Muesli biscuits. Then there was wide option of farsan like masala chakli , murukkus , butter chakli , bhanji chakli , Bhavnagri gathia , theeka sev. For kids he had the cheese balls , cheese rings , tomato or schezwan murukkus. You can be rest assured whichever item you picked was fresh and tasty. I still rember him introducing me to and insisting to try the fresh khandvi ,a gujarati farsan item made from besan and curd and made out into the softest rolls which melt in your mouth when you eat them. He had a knack of keeping the right food stuff at the right occasion. Be it the fresh jalebi and fafda during Dussera for the Gujjus or the Maharashtrian basundi at Guddi Padva. Or the fresh Puran poli during Holi time. Some all time favourite snack items were also kept by him like the A1 Samosa , or the mini idlis’s or sandwich dhokla or the sweet but fluffly yellow dhokla , even the patra items like alu wadi and mini kothimbir wadi he sourced were exceptional. Nityanand’s was and still is the go to shop for all these and other items when you are having a family get togher or are throwing a small birthday party at home. He started the trend of home deliveries much before any other shop did so in the vicinity. You could always rely on him for even those emergency moments like in the middle of a party the Tomato ketchup is finished or you have run out of cold drinks and need speedy refill. Or the ice cream pack you bought is fast getting over and you need an emergency back up. His delivery boys were quick to respond….  I miss this great friend of mine. May his soul rest in peace. Now the store is abely managed by his brother –in-law.

If you have  some groceries to buy , head to  “Food Arcade” just behind Kapole Niwas. This shop stores the usual grocery and sundries like soaps , detergents , fabric softners , rice , wheat , dal and pulses. A good variety of options in each item at good price points. But their speciality is all those exotics sauces and salad dressings which are trending today. So if you need to stir up some diet friendly salad or throw a night out party for close friends head to this shop . In a special section dedicated to sauces and dips you will find oyster sauce , Tobisco sauce , schezwan sauce , soya sauce or special Italian salad dressing with olive oil base. Or the various dips used to eat with your tortilla chips . For example the cheese dip , the mayo with oregano flavor. A lot of options on the tortilla chips itself , light corn with oregano , spicy falvoured chips or lemony flavourved corn chips. Then they keep lot of variety pasta , long ones “Buccatini”, small ones “Acini de pene” to used in soups,bell shaped “Campanelle”, ring shaped “Annelli” , Corkscrew shaped “ Cavatappi”. You will get lost in here.

All these items from the top brands in F&B sector like American Garden , Kraft Heinz ,Fun foods , Smith & Jones and Hidden Valley.

For the diet conscious they have huge collection of low cholesterol –high fibre biscuits like Oats , Museli , Raggi , Ginger –nut from McVities , Nutriechoice (Britannia), Unibic and Parle or try their collection of fresh breads whole wheat or multi grain  sourced from bakeries across Mumbai.

An added attraction of coming here is Bhola’s Chat corner ,let out by Food Arcade to Bhola the chatwalla. Earlier Bhola had a thela at the Five gardens from where he operated for years together with a very loyal foodie fan base. He entered into a mutually beneficial partnership with Food Arcade in which he gets to use a legal permanent premise from where he can operate without being hounded by the local Municipal authorities and Food Arcade gets additional income in term of lease and percentage in the profit. A win-win for both businesses. And a great treat for the customers. On any given day especially in the evening you will find a crowd of 15-20 persons eating at this stall. Enjoying the yummy dahi puri , or the tantalizing pani puri or the authentics Delhi Basket chaat. His chutneys are his speciality giving the right mix of sweet , sour and spicy taste. He also takes party orders for small get togethers or birthday parties with unlimited sev puri’s ,dahi puri’s, pani puri and bhel puri. A good option if you are organizing such parties at home and are bored of ordering the usual Roti –Sabzi or Biryani-Kebab’s.

Another google store in the area is a small but useful store going by the name of “Lucky Stores” specializing in Stationery ,arts and crafts items. This store is a gods send when your child tells you on a lazy Sunday evening that next day he / she has to submit a science project on Water Cycle or a work experience project on best out of waste. You are jolted out out of your slumber . You try to find the necessary material to start the project but most of the thing like chart paper, colored paper , crepe paper or even the basic marker pen is not available at home. So the next thing what you do is head to this shop. You rattle of a list of items that you require and the guy on the other side of the counter smiles at you and orders his shop assistant to give you the material double quick. You all must have faced similar situation numerous times and didn’t know where to shop for such materials. So if you are in Matunga walk to this shop near the Matunga Railway station and you will get everything and anything under the sun needed for school projects. Be it decorative stickers , glass pieces, cotton balls , craft papers , glues , glue sticks , marker pens , sketch pens stationery items like note books, long books , project books , journals, folders , plastic bags , zip lock bags etc etc. He even keeps fake notes for maths projects or photo charts depicting festivals , natural calamities, national figures , birds , vegetables , fruits and many more. During special festivals like holi he keeps the organic colors and the pichkaris that spread the magic of colors. During Diwali he keeps all sorts of fire crackers to help you light the sky . At Christmas he keeps the small X’mas trees and all the required decorative item like hollies, stars and those shiny balls. Being a Kuchi entrepreneur he knows all the current trends and keeps all those items that appeal to the huge student population in Matunga.

So next time you are in an emergency and want to shop for such items at short notice don’t just google them or shop online , just check into these Google stores and your prayers will be answered.

Walking Around Matunga

Summer Vacation ………………That crazy time in between annual exams and school reopening.

The house is a buzz with studies, temperature running high , kids not studying , Mamma’s shouting making them sit hours together for revision. Papa’s trying to avoid confrontation by keeping to themselves or taking tough subjects like Maths and Science to ease the load. Then the annual exams comes and goes like the proverbial storm. The last written paper is over and there is a sense of calm and peace like the battle of Panipat is over and soldiers are retreating. A breather for both the kids and their parents. You think finally its all over , all is well for a few days till the big question arises and starts haunting you. A simple question from the kid at home jolts you –Mamma I am bore what should I do ?

Even a question about the Big bang theory is easy to answer, but this one is a loaded question. If you answer with a suggestion like read some story books  or put on the TV. It is shot down with a stern look , a look that makes you feel you have sinned by giving a suggestion. Then you realize , that’s not what was expected of you. Kids today don’t want to do small things like playing with their friends and watching TV , which they anyways do during regular school time. But these were the only option during our childhood days.

I still remember the last day of school. A few of us kids would form a group , pre-decide a small sum each would bring on the last day , then after the exam was over rush the school canteen and blow it up on Burgers , Hot Dog ( veg cutlet in sausage shape stuffed in a subway type pav , sprinkled with chutney , tomatoes and onion rings…. A Great filling snack) and finally the ice cream candy. Hopping and skipping back home to world of freedom. During vacation we use to get up as usual, get ready have some break fast and then run to play with our friends, either in the common landing in between the flats or downstairs in the building compound. Sometimes during afternoon time when most of the elders were sleeping, we used to gather in some friends home mostly in our our flat or the ground floor flat of “Daddy” or third floor flat of our friend Kilol Bhuta and play Carrom , or table tennis using dining table or cards for a game of “Pach Teen Don” , “304” , Mendi Kote , or Memory game like “Not at Home”. On other occasions we would play board games like Business or Ludo or Snakes & Ladders

Coming back to today's kids , they are so wound up that each parent needs to think on how to channelize that energy into activities they will love to do and also earn in return. For a quaint place like Matunga , there a lot of option for kids to engage in activities to care of the Summer vacation boredom. At the Dadar club , there is facility to learn swimming at their in house  nice and clean swimming pool. The Dadar Club carries out swimming classes for 5 to 12 year old kids both boys and girls from middle of April to end of May every year. Training is provided by Rane sir an ex State level swimmer and his students. The class timings are also good there are 2 batches in the morning 10am-11 am and 11am-12pm and 2 batches in the evening 4pm -5pm and 5pm-6pm. The number of students per batch is also small around 5-8 in a group. So the instructors can teach their wards in a focused manner. Girls can enroll the help of Lady instructor  so there are comfortable learning the sport. The Dadar club also has facility of a tennis court. They also have coaching camps for tennis. The court is layed out on Cement but ok for beginners to learn the sport.

If sports is what you are looking for your kids you can try out the coaching sessions for Badminton at the Matunga Gymkhana. This indoor badminton court is as per professional / Olympic specification. Well layed out and made of wood ,unlike in other gykhana’s where cout is marked on normal or cement flooring. As a result even if you play for hours together there is no harm to your legs – knees and ankles in particular. They conduct special coaching camps during summer vacations in batches of various age groups. With quality instructors this one is a good option.

Another facility where you have good option to lean sports is the Savio Club in the Don School premises. They have wide variety of options. Like special batchs for indoor sports like Carrom and Chess. Or get your kids enrolled for Basket ball or Football. The Basket ball court in inside the main quadrangle of the school. The court is marked on tiled flooring and the basket ball nets on permanent structures. The court is very professional with flood lights and separate changing rooms for boys and girls. This facility has the pride of hosting state level tournaments for inter school competitions under the state governments sports department. Great court good coaches good sport to take up. For the football enthusiast they have a big football ground behind the school with good mix of green and red mud. Bieng a sports encouraging school , Don Bosco has heavily invested in sports facilities and all these are kept in good condition thorugh out the year. Coaching for football is carried out only in the mornings makes sense as the kids and their legs are fresh for an exhaustive session of football. They also teach roller skating to kid upto the age of 10 years at this club.

If sports is not the cup of tea or rather a cup of milk for your kids there are other options available in Matunga. Like the Speech and Dram workshops – PLAY (Perform Learn and Analyse Yourself ) conducted by Dipti Gala at Mahavir Building in the lane next to the Matunga Flower Market. In these workshops kids are taught to overcome their fear to perform in front of large audiences. Sessions mostly in the late afrternoons start with speech sessions or story telling sessions where a simple story like the Lion & the mouse is turned on its head by asking each student to continue the story by adding his or her sub plot. Then there are impromptu sessions like drawing objects exchanging them and building a story line on the objects prepared. Some sessions on group plays or dance. All these activities increase the confidence level , power of imagination and concentration in the kids. A great way to PLAY and learn.

Then there and some special classes like Origami and Calligraphy classes conducted by local homemakers in Matunga, turning their homes into  hobby classes. Teaching these special art forms to bring in a lot of joy and colur in the lives of the kids. Origami being ancient Japanese art of paper folding making beautiful decorative material out of colored paper , increasing the motor skills of the kids who take this up as a hobby. The other art form – Calligraphy is nothing but stylized way of writing , making use of variety of simple and special tools / pens to give a wonderful effect to the written words. An ancient art if you look at the written scriptures in old Modi lipi (font) in context of Hindu culture or for that matter look at the Urdu writings. A beautiful way of putting pen to paper to create a little bit of magic.

So the next time you are haunted by the question “I am bored What do I do ?” from your little one. You know where to head to in this magical place called Matunga…..

Happy Summer Vacations to the young ones and best of luck to the parents. As they say in Star Wars movies ------------Let the Force be with you…………(we all parents really need it )

Walking Around Matunga

Mamma mia Italiano………………….

Have noticed the change in eating habits of our children .Ask them what they would like to eat when we go our to a restaurant . Nine out of ten times the answer will be either MacDonalds burger or Pizza or Pasta. Why any one , even my little Bhakti loves these food which we qualify as junk food. But then if you still wish to eat healthy you have an option in Italian food . The pastas and spaghetti are a real hit with kids because of their cheesy taste and soft texture. Also you have options in soups and salads which can be tried to complete a healthy meal. To think of it even in Matunga you now have these option of Italian dishes in regular multi –cuisine restaurants like DP’s or Garnish. But if you want to try authentic Italian food do try the newly opened Café 792 or Chilliflakes in the Parsi Colony.

If you enter the Parsi Colony from the Dadar TT end on the Jame Jamshed Road in the premise of Dina Manzil you will find Café 792 a small but interesting Café serving Italian dishes. An interesting fact being it is named after the plot number it is located at. In Matunga you will find each address will have a distinct plot no. eg 283 or my residence is at 601/C . It becomes very easy for anyone to find a particular building by this plot no. An old but established area identification code laid down in the British era which is still useful. You will find similar examples of such unique identification in various part of Mumbai. In Khar you will have the road numbers like the famous landmark 16^th Raod Khar of Bollywood beauty Ashiwarya Rai before she married into the Bachhan household. Same is the case with Navi Mumbai where the entire geography is divided into Sectors and Building nos. Say for example Sector 17 in Vashi is the most popular and posh area with all the well known landmarks like the MacD’s , Vashi Bus Depot , the Vishnudas Bhave Auditorium and Navratna Ratna restaurant situated in and around this Sector.

Coming back to Café 792 it is a small but cosy restaurant . The interior is very simple with display counters and an open pantry. There is no seating space in the interior. But the exterior is done beautifully. The landscape is beautifully don with the seating space in the exterior. Sort of a gargen restaurant with pebbles, trees and pathways.Run by Jehan Norgolwala who’s father Gustad Dehmiri is partner in the Mumbai’s famous landmark Café Leopold .

Now coming to the food they mostly serve non vegetarian and very few options for veg food. Few dishes are pre made while some are made fresh in their kitchen.You can try their Chicken Lasagna a minced chicken dish with Italian spices and herbs and cheese for that tantalizing taste and served with pita bread . Very filling and good to taste. You can also try their Diced Steak with mashed potatoes , the steak is barbecued perfectly to make it succulent and soft served with the mashed potatoes which makes and great combination. This can be eaten alone or with brown bread or multi grain bread that they offer. Another interesting dish is the Chicken & cheese quiche, a crumbly fried katori of maida filled with cheese and chicken cooked with herbs and finally baked to perfection.Want to try some salads try out their Chicken Salad with lots of fresh veggies like celery , broccoli and mayonnaise. A good option if you are a weight watcher. They also have good option in sandwiches like the Junglee Sandwich shredded chicken and mayo and Pesto Mozarella sandwich for the veggy lover with bell peppers , cucumbers and mozzarella cheese. To try something different have their cold cut turkey sandwich so yummy it is sure to be polished of in few minutes of its arrival.

Another specialty of this restaurant is their Parsi dishes like Chicken Dhansak and Dhan Dal Prawn Patio , very authentic in taste from their Parsi kitchen.

If you want to try out some pizza and past do head to a small eatery near the Five Gardens called Chilly Flakes and now renamed as Areezos. Its small in the sense it operates out of a garage and has option for seating only 10 people at a time. The option in the menu is limited but what is served is lip smacking. If you love to eat Veg pizza’s , go for Fiama Pizza in  thin crust option with topping  of Sauteed Spinach, Roasted garlic, Goat cheese and Caramelized onions.The toppings are in well proportion so that the pizza  can be enjoyed rather than eating the dry base in some cases . Another unique preparation is the Verdure Pizza with raosted peppers , goat cheese , asparagus and fresh herbs. Or try their Truffle Pizza with Fontal cheese , white winter truffle oil , fresh parsley and black truffle salt.

For the non-veg lovers there’s the standard BBQ chicken pizza with chargrilled chicken , tomato sauce, peppers and fresh parsley to give that great after taste. Or try something special like the Bombay Masala Chicken – with home made chicken mince (kheema) marinated in Indian spices and mixed with smoked mozzarella cheese, onion , green chilies and chipotle mayonnaise. Another special pizza is the All American Pizza a preparation in lamb which is rarely offered by any other outlet that I know.

Another specialty are their Hot dogs and burgers (more  American dishes than Italian) but good option instead of the usual sandwiches. You can try their Classic Chicken hot dog with chicken sausage with mustard sauce giving that pungent flavor but nice texture. There is wide variety in Burger section of the menu like the Mushroom burger ( mushroom , potato and chilies) and Veg burger (potato and corn patty with ample cheese and mayonnaise). In non-veg you can try their Sloppy Joe Chicken with char-grilled chicken cooked in BBQ sauce and served  with smoked mozzarella  cheese  Or you can opt for their Works Burger with fried eggs , tender loin patty , grilled onions adding some crispiness and rocket leaves and saute mushroom giving added texture.

And to finish off you can order for their Penne Alfredo Pasta rightly done in white sauce  with fresh herbs and aged cheddar cheese available in both veg and chicken option and recently introduce bacon option. For that matter burger is also available in bacon and pork option , though not my personal choice in non veg items those who like their meat can try these options. Also they have Spaghetti Algi E Oleo – spaghetti tossed in garlic , chilly flakes and extra virgin olive oil with grated Parmesan cheese.

To cool off you can order for their coolers like Lemon ice tea or Lemonade or the orange cooler served out of small but cute jars .These can be enjoyed with your main order or just after.

Once done you can always walk off the extra calories wolfed down around the five gardens which is a hop and a step away.

So enjoy the Italian food and come out smacking your finger with a expression “Mamma mia Itliano”

Walking Around Matunga

One Matunga – Fun and Games on the streets….

Currently if you walk around Matunga you are likely to see lots construction activities , with a lot of the old  building being redeveloped into high rises . As result not just the bylanes but the main arterial road that is Dr.Ambedkar Road running from King Circle to Dadar TT being taken over by dumpers , trucks carrying construction debris , at the same time local BMC ward office taking up projects for water line extension and waste & sanitation line repairs. Most of the road is dug up and people residing here have to literally hop and jump to cross the road. All this is also adding to the traffic congestion in the area. Its becoming difficult for the senior citizens and children to walk , and sometimes I think if not careful someone would get gravely injured. Hope this chaos ends soon.

Among this chaos we had a brilliant initiative taken up by the One Matunga a local forum addressing local issues. The organizers are band of young and old residents of Matunga who have come together to form a pressure group to take up local issues with the local authorities be it the BMC or the police. With the support of these very local authorities they organized an equal streets program last year around same time to get physical activitivies and games back into the lives of the children in Matunga.

So today on a Sunday morning I along with Netra went out to check this festival on the streets of Matunga. As part of the program the organizers had cordoned off a part of the Dr.Ambedkar Road from Ruia College to King Circle with neatly arranged barricades and ropes. Starting near the Ruia Signal you had Adventure and Games zone. Kutch Trekkers – A trekking and adventure sport company had built a huge tower and a ropeway on which the kids with propoer safety harnesses could glide down to the other end where their volunteers caught the little ones and brought them down. Most of the kids were first timers and were thoroughly enjoying their little adventure. For the smaller kids they had bult a rope bridge between two trees and kept a stool to climb. Once on the bridge the kids had to balance and walk the length of the brigde to the other end where again their volunteers brought them down. The onlooking parents were feeling proud of these tiny tots as they crossed the bridge and cheered for them.

In the same zone they had put a football net and urged the kids and their parents alike to give a go at hitting the Football in the net. What fun. Then there was the box cricket organized near by with rule of underarm cricket , no hitting sixes or four but just tapping the ball bowled by the bowler at the other end and staying at the wicket as long as you can. On the footpath next to this were kept carom boards and chess for the kids to explore.

As we moved ahead we came across stalls set up by local activity centers / pre-schools / entrepreneurs with various fun and games for the kids and toddlers. Some of the stalls had organized drawing and painting with neat worksheets and art supplies given to the kids to paint. You had the option of colouring with wax crayons or with water colurs. I stood besides Netra who picked up a worksheet and started colouring with wax crayons. She was lost in her world for those 15-20 minutes , vigorously filling each detail with bright colours – pinks, blues , yellows and orange. The drawing was coming alive. And I was mesmerized at the colour scheme she chose. Once finished we took a snap on the mobile recording this memory for a lifetime. We moved to the next stall set up by Chinmaya Mission – Education through values. They were promoting their up-coming residential summer camp just outside Mumbai . Where the older kids either alone or accompanied by their Mums can have a few days of bonding and also enjoy some summer activities along with discourses on Indian mythology and culture. They gave some worksheets like word search activity and coloring pictures of Gods and labeling the weapons and other articles seen in their hands.

Some stalls were put up by group of teachers taking up activities like Origami (Art of paper folding ), Caligraphy (Art of writing) . A stall belonging to MADCAPS – the party shop a new entrant to the Matunga skyline had put a stall with volunteer making funny animals using balloons . Kids were thronging to this stall to collect colorful balloons . As part of promotion they were giving information of how you can get almost anything needed to throw that perfect birthday party for your child. With caps , shiny balloons, party masks and return gift items.

In between the stalls was a potter making small pots and diyas on his wheel . A group of kids was watching him make these pots , some of them wanted to try their hand at pot making and requested him if they could try it. He gladly showed them how to shape the wet clay into beautiful pots and diyas. Looking at this sight I thought how similar was this to molding these minds by exposing them to various cultures , activities and environments. Moving ahead we saw some live performances of dance  by small kids and their teachers on a make shift stage made by Purple Grape Dance Academy. Such grace and enthralling moves even I felt like joining them and having some fun. But I am no dancer more like a person with 2 left shoes. So we just watched them perform and gave them a hearty clap once over. 

A little ahead the organizers had marked an area for Desi Games. Few girls were trying their hand at Hopscotch , throwing a ticker on the ground then hopping on the asymmetric design made on the road. Looking at the fun these girls were having even their mummies couldn’t resist joining in the fun. What followed was laughter fun and frolic. Just next to this a tug-of war was going on between two teams of boys and girls pulling at a long rope. A referee was judging the contest. We wandered further . A group of kids were playing langdi – folding one leg and hopping to catch their friends. Some couldn’t balance and had to touch their leg on the ground ,the others shouting …out out out….

We moved ahead to live demonstration of Judo by girls in the locality under the observant of their master from Poddar Judo Club. With good and experienced faculty this Judo club in the premises of Poddar Commerce college conducts classes twice weekly. Teaching the kids  concentration and bringing out the inner strength to defeat any anomalies that they may face in life.

A few steps ahead were food stalls put up by locals . Some yummy delights like Somosa Pav , Sev Puri , Pani Puri. A stall had healthy pita bread sandwiches stuffed with paneer and veggies. The smell of these goodies made our mouths water. Just ahead was a stall put up by La Baker , where their cup cakes , brownies and protein granola bars were selling like hot stuff.

We Walked ahead to the signature board put by One Matunga for recording the messages of all who came to enjoy this street festival. Both me and Netra wrote our messages. And called it a day , heading back home with lots of great memories and a day well spent ….

Walking Around Matunga

Street Food and midnight hunger pangs…..

Matunga is paradise for 3 things Restaurant’s , Clothes Shops and Street food . You will find people well past midnight indulging in satisfying not just their sweet tooth but actually gorging on street food to fill their tummies. In that sense I salute the Gujarati Community for patronizing the dozen odd stalls in and around Matunga and giving these small time vendors, a right to business and livelihood.

The reason for these hunger pangs being their habit or their ritual of having an early dinner some where between 7.30 – 8 pm. They then have to find food to satisfy their growling stomach’s closer to mid-night. On any given day you will find certain areas in Matunga known only to foodies fully lit and busy with people hovering around as if bees hovering around nectar filled flowers. You will be amazed at the variety of food you get at these stalls or shall I say roadside eateries to satisfy every and any kind of taste you may satiate for.

 If you are a South Indian fast food buff, head to the by lane near the Matunga Flower Market. There right across the Nalli’s (Silk Saree Specialist) , you will find a make shift food counter well equipped with the stoves , gas cylinders and the special iron flat tawa’s to make the crispiest Dosas’s and Uttapam (you and me call them Uthapa , nothing related to Robin Uthappa the cricketer) . They also have the aluminum steamers for making the soft and succulent idli’s. And large frying kadai’s for making the crunchy Medu wada’s .All this at a very pocket friendly price of between Rs. 20/- to Rs. 30/- per plate. For that sum you get an unlimited supply of sambhar and chatni or untill you finish your dosa/idli. 

Walking a little further towards King’s Circle or now known as Maheshwari Udyan you have a small food joint by the name of Sai Nath Dosa Corner just next to Soham’s

Soham’s - the all in one shop in Matunga where you get everything from baby diapers to Womens’s latest fashion accessories to melamine dishes to sundry gifting items all under one roof. There are quite a lot of these all in one shops in Matunga I call them as the Google shops. If you can’t find something  at short notice during gifting season like Diwali or just before going to your relatives place for a family function. Which you totally forgot and your wife reminded you on the day you have to visit them….Then head to these shops and you will be pleasantly surprised. Will talk about them in my next blogs .

Coming back to Sai Nath Dosa - Here the variety of Dosa’s is quite large. You may try the Mysore Sada dosa , Mysore Rawa Sada dosa,  the common Masala sada dosa , or the Uttapam’s like Plain , Onion or Masala. Then you have special Schezwan Masala dosa with Schezwan sauce base and filling of beetroot , onion , potato and sometimes the Chinese Cabbage (the purple coloured cabbage which tastes a little funny ) . Then there is the special Cheese Sada dosa for the foodie who is least bother about calories.

Just opposite to this is BB Gupta Chatwalla, famous for his ragda based pani puri , ragda pattice (spelled as patis on his sign board) and dahi puri. The sweet chutney is right in consistency and just the right taste. Even his spicy chutney or red chutney is different. No seating arrangement here, you will have to take your plate, stand and eat or  find a place outside where nearby trees have an embankment . Some line up their cars on the roadside and eat in their AC environment. In Matunga you have definitely many choices for Chat . There is the New Pankaj with his loyal customers for boodiwali pani puri and soft sweet and chilled dahi wada. Then there is the Gupta Chat near the Matunga Railway station I spoke to you about in my earlier blog famous for his Sandwich sev puri besides the regular chat stuff. Also there is Bhola’s Chat behind Kopole Nivas and near Food Arcade (again a food stuff Google store where you get anything and everything related to food . Be it cheesy dips , mayo dips , nachos , taco’s  to Italian herbs like oregno ,rosemary ,thyme etc to the regular kirana stuff like dal , rice , cooking oils and pulses). Bola’s Chat is again famous for his pani puri and aalu tikki chat. He even takes party orders for Birthday’s , Mehndi , Sangeet . With combination of 5 dishes- Bhel puri , Sev puri , Pani puri , Ragda Pattice and Dahi Batata puri @120 per person with assurance for minimum 25 pax.

If you walk back towards the Matunga flower market , just near the newly opened ICICI bank branch is a Dabeli wala. Dabeli if you don’t know is a Gujarati dish similar to the popular Maharashtrian Vada pav and is made of Pav filled with a sweet-spicy filling made of mashed potatoes combined with onions , garlic, meetha chutney , masala peanuts and mixed with Anar dana ( Pomegranate) and grapes . Best eaten hot and greasy with dollop’s of Amul butter on a tawa. You get the regular , butter and jain dabeli anytime of the day and late into the night. But his specialty  is “Chocolate Dabeli” , filled with the usual filling plus  Chocolate syrup. This chocolaty and gooey dalbeli is a hit with his regular customers. Biting into this chocolate filled dabeli and after licking your fingers will make you ask for more if you are the Chocolate loving person.

If you happen to be hungry and its close to mid-night Walk to the pavement near King Circle , close to the VIP bags showroom and choose from variety of fast foods from the street food stalls .Here you will get  butter pav bhaji , Sandwiches , Veg Pizza’s even Tawa Pulav. Something unusual like the roasted Masala Kichdi Papad regular or with Butter and vegetable topping. It has that special smoky taste as the papad is roasted  on Coal Sigdi.

If you feel like having a healthy liquid snack , head to Parag’s Juice Centre at the Dadar TT Circle . Here you will get the freshest fruit juices – Sweet lime , Orange , Pineapple or the all time favourite Watermelon. Or try their milkshakes Mango milkshake in Summers and Strawberry milkshake in Winters.

After all this food if you are still game for some dessert , you can try the sweet and tasty Kulfi from the kulfiwalla on the same pavement as the Khichdi Papad walla or walk across to the opposite side of King Circle garden near the Aarey Milk Centre ,to a Kulfiwalla specializing in Rabdi kulfi with sevian and rose syrup. He has the best variety of kulfi’s – Pista , Mango , Gulkand, Chickoo, Strawberry and the most favoured Malai kulfi. Even though you have Ice Cream parlour’s like Natural’s ,      Havemor and Apsara Ice Cream . People line up in cars double park near the roadside well past mid-night and enjoy a cold and sweet kulfi even in Winters.

A special mention to a new Pizza joint in Hindu Colony specialist in delivery (under 30 minutes across Dadar Matunga Shivaji Park and Mahim) and  the only eatery which takes orders till 3am in the morning. They are the “Barbarian” . If you have friends over for late night party at home and don’t know what to order , try their Fire Zilla (with red bell peppers , jalapeno & BBQ paneer) or their Triplet (with Jalapeno , Zucchinni ,Green Chillies , chilly flakes and Cream cheese) or Spartan (with Green Chillies , Crispy Onion , Chilly flakes and minced garlic)……

So guys and gals one thing is for sure , with all this food available right past mid night , you can never go hungry and sleep on an empty stomach  in this wonderful place called ………………….Matunga.

Whew covered so many food joints today , makes me feel full in the gut, don’t know about you but I am heading out for a long Walk Around Matunga …………

Walking Around Matunga

 

Off Gardens and kids

 

You have numerous avenues in and around Matunga to Walk. With its broad and properly tiled footpaths . Thanks to BMC and local Corporators who have woken up from their usual slumber to do something for the common men , women & especially the senior citizens of this constituency. Matunga always had broad footpaths even in its bylanes right from pre-independence days but these had got into ruins over a period of time with neglect from the local authorities. The day local municipal corporator’s got 1Cr fund to spend on development work in their constituencies , they started work on  beautification of pavements , gardens and local heritage structure ,as if there was competition going on , on who was doing better developmental work than the next municipal corporator. Good for common people like us . Hail to the system… I know there always is a selfish motive and some small corrupt practices behind these works where ever the local politicians are involved. But if it is in great good of the locality and its citizens then I am all for it.

So if you want to walk , as in early morning or late evening walk for health benefits you can head to anyone of the numerous Gardens in Matunga. The B.N.Vaidya garden opposite IES School (Raja ShivajiVidyalaya) ,The Maheshwari Udyan (King Circle Garden ) , The Napoo Garden in Matunga Market  Or the best , the largest and oldest garden “ The Mancherji Joshi Panch Garden” or simple known as Five Gardens. It is situated the heart of Parsi Colony and spread across on a sizeable area. It has 5 distinct gardens each with its own characteristics and very well known to locals here .They know which garden to visit on which occasion. If you enter the lane from the Ruia College traffic signal end you will notice 4 large gardens encompassing a central garden which has lights and a water fountain. During my childhood days there used to be light and water show every evening in this garden. The water flow used to change with the change in colours and we used to love watching this for hours together.

Just on the right side of this central garden is a circular garden recently renovated with landscaping and a joggers track meant for Family and kids. Here you will find Dad’s & Mom’s with their kids enjoying with a fun game of Pakda-pakdi or Lukkachuppi (desi for Hide & Seek) . Some playing football , some playing with flying disc (Frisbee) or some just sitting on the green grass enjoying. And if it’s this time of the year that’s winter . You can enjoy the slight cold breeze blowing across your face and giving you the chills. Sometimes you find groups of people huddled in a circular shape sitting and discussing. These are people belonging to workers unions of old shutdown mills in Dadar and Parel-Lalbaug. If you visit this garden early in the morning you will find Laughter clubs having a blast of a time. Hearing them laugh loudly no matter how much you control yourself , you too start laughing or at least a broad smile comes to your face. And that’s just what the doctor ordered, a hearty laugh to bring down the everyday stress.

You will also find the serious walkers, totally engrossed in their music playing out in their ears through their mobile phones . Earlier the same music used to be played out from a contraption called the Walkman .Made very famous by Sony. Anyways some of these walkers are very particular , you will find them in trendy jogging track suits , the best off sports shoes and with classy head phones from JBL or Sennheiser connected to their iPhones / Galxy Notes . Huffing and puffing and jogging as if training for the Mumbai Marathon. And then you will find the same joggers / walkers enjoying a plate of Panipuri from the bhaiya near the Lovers garden.

Yes you heard it right Lovers Garden , where you will see lot of couples from the nearby Ruia ,Poddar&Khalsa Colleges and even the nerdy types from VJTI Engineering college. This garden is on the left opposite the family garden. This too is now landscaped but little differently. You will find small bushes and cozy benches. You might embarrass yourself once in a while, when you encounter some couples making out behind the bushes or on the benches. But then you remember your youthful college days and a Cheshire cat like smile may come on your face. There used to be long benches on the periphery on which these couple would be perched upon. These were removed by the local moral police types and single chair type seats were installed to curb this suggestive behavior. But as they say necessity is the mother of inventions. The couples got bolder. The GF’s started sitting on their BF’s laps which became more embarrassing and the garden authorities had to bring back the old benches to maintain some level of decency.

Just outside this particular garden you will find the Chatwallah – with his spicy and sweet panipuri’s or the tastiest Sev and Bhelpuri. Then there is the usual sandwich wallah and the peanut seller. Sometimes you will find the Ice –gollawallah selling the perfect Kala-khatta and rose ice gollas to kids and the old alike. If you visit this place early in the morning you will find a special juice wallah selling the most healthiest & fresh juices. You can drink the Sweet lime juice or orange juice or try the more exotic Beetroot and tulsi juice. Tank up on a healthy drink and move on.

Moving ahead on the left is a garden which is much bigger than the other 4 gardens and is like a Maidan. Lined with red mud and very open. Here you will find hoards of children and teens playing cricket or football to their hearts content. During Summer and Winter vacations when the schools and colleges are closed there is total chaos. At one end of the garden installed is an open gym by none other than Deno Morea (model , ex-BF of Bollywood hottie Bipash Basu ) and inaugurated by none other than Bollywood action hero Sunil Shetty. You will find the body builder types working out in this corner with chin ups , pull ups , shoulder bar dips , parallel bar dips ,tricep dips and weight’s chained to the equipment’s.

Just opposite to this is the childrens garden. A new, huge colourful play gym with regular slides , bumpy slides , helical slides has been recently installed . The ground below is covered with the latest soft crash mats meshed together like tiles to buffer the impact when a child lands on his bum while sliding. There are also some swings where the kids can enjoy the feeling of flying while swinging high. A little away you also have the see-saws and a jungle gym .

Personally I think a little thought should have been given to separate out the young toddlers& kids section from the older kids section (10 and above).  As this creates a huge mess on Sundays and other holidays when the entire Matunga ,Dadar and Wadala family population descends in this garden. Its nearly a war zone during peak vacation time . And if you don’t watch your child there are chances he/she may get lost here if the kid is below 5 years. 

Just outside this garden you will find lots of activities and games to entertain you child. You have the merry go round in the shape of cars or the giant wheel painted in the most eye popping colours. Then there is the shoot at the balloons game with an Air Rifle . But the best attraction for kids and their parents is the Horse Cart and the Horse rides around the five gardens. For a small sum of Rs.30 you can enjoy a Horse cart ride or have the kid ride on a Horse or a pony depending upon their age. You will find 1 black and 1 brown stallion a white mare and a pony available for these rides. The kids below 10 are co-ridden by the horse owners handlers (big boys from the family ) . The older kids can try their hand at horse riding on the Stallions or the white mare and perfectly handled by their handlers. Starting off with a brisk walk , then a trot and finally a speedy dash toward the end point. Most of the children love these horse rides and are regulars here .Riding for 2-3 rounds at times.

Most of the times when I bring along my daughters here.We enjoy a game of pakda-pakdi or Frisbee then a quick ride on the horse cart for my little princess Bhakti and a Horse ride for my elder one Netra. Once done we enjoy a sweet bhelpuri or some chips and a Energy (cold sweetened Milk ) and then sit on the grass for a long time just chatting about and catching up on the happening life of my lovely Netra. She will tell me about her wishes , off going to the latest movies or something that happened in school , about her friends , how some one teased her or bullied her and some moments of pride when she won a game or when the class teacher praised her . Looking at her I sometimes miss my childhood but then again I live these moment through her eyes and become a child again playing and just having fun with her. These are the best times when i am totally stress free from the regular work and other house hold chores. And  generally escaping from being an adult and behaving like a grown up. (A note to myself should do this more often )

I suggest you try it this week end , if your kids are still small do take them out to garden locally and have a blast.

Wishing all my readers a belated Happy Children’s Day and praying that the child in you never grows up……………..