B.Merwans (Grant Road Mumbai)

A Date with History 

 It was a early Sunday for me. Having slept early the previous night I was thrilled to have woken up at 5 a.m. I love waking up early. I feel fresh, my thoughts are clear and watching the night sky slowly waking up leaves me feeling happy. The other half was participating in some 7km Green run and had left by 4 a.m. and so after a glass of my detox concoction I decided I wanted to download some of my official work and while it was getting downloaded I decided on a sneak peak of my wishlist of restaurants in Bombay since I am due to return to Calcutta in less than a week. On an impulse I was going through B.Merwan's reviews and the first one shocked me. It seemed it was due to close in 42 days. B.Merwan Closing its shutters. I was shocked. 

Alright I did not grow up in Bombay but I grew up in another historic city and I have read enough reviews about this classic eatery which turned a century old this very year. With more and more Parsi diners shutting their doors I feel terrible. When I came to Bombay I immediately fell in love with the history that these Parsi Cafes offer. The solid bentwood chairs, the beautiful marble top tables is more romantic to me than candies and roses. 

It was 5:45 a.m. and I decided I had to immediately get my breakfast from this place which is a witness to history itself. 

So a long train journey later I was stunned with my passion. I have been a visitor of this city for over 1.5 years and have never before mustered courage to change trains at the busiest station of Mumbai and yet I effortlessly pranced from one end to the other. Of course the number of people at 6:15 a.m. overwhelmed me. That can only happen in Bombay. Locating this eatery is really a piece of cake. You get down at Grant station and go to the Eastern side. The shop is right opposite to the station. 

At 7 a.m. it seemed there were at least 200 people buying , shoving, pushing trying to make themselves heard at the counter. I entered and found the place in total chaos. All the tables were taken and I stood there happily stunned when a server rushing by asked me to please enter the inner room and eat my breakfast. Even though he was in a  rush the 'politeness' of his words touched me. 

You have to experience this place with all your senses else you can never ever understand its beauty. There is beauty in those peeling yellow walls in the room where I was seated. As I sat down I wondered how many young lovers might have had their sly romantic tryst sitting on the solid polished bentwood chairs or the beautiful white marble top tables. The two massive mirrors on the walls are pieces of beauty you cannot simply take your eyes off. There was a huge family enjoying their breakfast and that left room for 2 to 3 other parties.

Now there will be no menu provided to you so be sure you check the blackboard in the outer hall listing the items. I simply ordered Scrambled eggs, brun maska , tea and caramel custard. Well this is one joint which actually serves 'bhurji' scrambled eggs and not the special Parsi scrambled eggs, 'Akuri'. While I was breathing in every detail of this iconic place my food arrived within 5 minutes of having ordered it.

Now coming to my food the scrambled eggs were made with green chilies and very few onions but it won me over due to its less salt content. You see the salt and pepper shaker is provided so that you might adjust the salt content as per taste. I declined the bread that comes with the scrambled eggs and instead opted for the brun maska meaning hard bun with butter. This bun has a crispy delightful outer coating and soft fluffy bread freshly baked and slathered with butter. The caramel custard was creamy and good but I have had better ones from other Parsi establishments. The tea is not overly sweet even though it has some amount of sweetness. All this at a mere Rs48 is surely the most economic breakfast you can have. Oh I almost forgot that the scrambled eggs was made with 2 eggs.

What amazed me is that when I asked my smiling courteous server where I might pay he showed me the counter and did not even come along with me. The man behind the desk simply asked me , 'Kitna hua ?' 'How much do you owe us?' I can understand why this place has had a faithful army of customers over the years. This kind of trust between the customer and the owner is rare.

The flaky delightful Kharis

I quite obviously wanted to take back a few goodies and asked him where I might get them and he pointed to the sea of men. Now here are a few tips if you brave the crowd to place your orders. Everyone is in a   rush and no-one behind the take-away counter shall entertain you if you want to take your time. I suggest deciding from before be it what you want or the amount you would like. After a lot of  pushing shoving I finally was in front of the counter and quickly ordered 10 mava cakes, Khari biscuits and bread pudding.

Early birds catch the worm here. At 7:45 a.m. their Jam puffs and sweet buns were sold off. I got back home with two massive sized bread puddings enough to be served to 4 people , 500gm of khari biscuits, 10 mawa cakes at Rs190.

With all that rush activity and demand I still cannot believe they are closing their gates.

The soft fresh hot Bread pudding 

Now coming to the goodies, the mava cake has a nice browned exterior with soft moist interiors and though I have had better ones I shall still say that these are excellent in fact the slightly browned exterior gives it a whole new character than the ultra soft ones. The Khari is flaky and delightful as should be. The bread pudding was creamy, moist , sweet with a dominant flavour of vanilla. I say pay your respect to this century old eatery and you shall be a part of history.

These mava cupcakes at Rs10 are addictive and delightful 

Of Farchas, Nan khatais and Bombay

Of Farchas, Nan khatais and Bombay

I have not been an avid blogger even though I have had an account for the simple reason of lack of time but recently something made me feel it would be truly sinful not to share that which is as good as what I had experienced. 

Calcutta's offer of culinary varieties can make one feel extremely happy. Staying in the heart of Calcutta I have never realized how much lady luck had favoured me until I moved to Mumbai. My second  impression of the city was initially a disastrous one. The plane lands in the midst of dirt and slums. The ride to Mulund was unimpressive. It was dirty and honestly I was sad. For the first few months I dared not move out of the house. I had done my research and found that to go to the market equivalent to New market of Calcutta I would have to travel some 30km and for someone who has hardly had to travel 2km to reach most destinations for all her 23 years it seemed impossible at first .  I abhorred the local trains but then staying away from the hub of the city drove me to the verge of insanity and I finally decided to take matters in my own hand and explore the city. 

I believe a city's heritage is upheld by three things, the architecture , the people  and most importantly its culinary offerings and for anyone who has read a bit about Mumbai or (Bombay as I still like to call it  ) Bombay and Parsi cuisine is inseparable. 

So one day I finally gathered the courage to board the local train at around 11 in the morning and  was pleasantly surprised to find it quite empty. Here I must mention that having that streak of culinary enthusiasm , I had already tried to visit Colaba Causeway within the first week of moving to the city and had made the massive mistake of buying first class tickets. Needless to say it didn't quite fit the budget. Being unemployed and paying Rs220 for the train fare alone seemed impossible but I was tired of having cookies from packets and terribly prepared food from restaurants near the place where we had rented an apartment. To make matters worse my husband is a strict vegetarian and being unable to cook delicacies in the kitchen was another reason for my depression. In Calcutta I wouldn't frequent restaurants because our Kitchen itself would become one.   

Of course things are very easy these days with GPS and blogs. I had done my research, noted down my directions and I was ready to devour the delicacies which Bombay has to offer. 

I had gone out that day to indulge in some Parsi food  and my initial destination was Kyani and Co, the legendary bakery and restaurant. Housed at Jer Mahal estate right on JSS road the place embodies the history of Bombay. The moment you enter the place you are transported back to a time when Mumbai was Bombay and  to a time of gentility. The beautiful bentwood chairs and marble top tables have a charisma of their own. 

The prices of the food is a complete delight. For Rs35 the famous Fried chicken called 'Farcha' is a deal which cannot be missed. When you sink your teeth in its juicy goodness you are in for a delicious surprise. You see , this is not your westernized fried chicken. Beautiful spicy flavour bursts out with every bite . While your taste buds are treated to the beautiful blend of what I felt was garlic, onions and a bit of coriander powder and cumin powder the aroma is exhilarating.  Having ventured out on a hot day I cooled off with some watermelon juice and then I went on to order some of the famous akuri. I have had eggs prepared in different styles but never have I tasted something as unique and delicious as this. It was kheema akuri where the minced meat was of a melt in the mouth texture. The flavour of ginger garlic paste , onions , tomato and spices  makes it a superb treat with buns as  soft as cotton balls to accompany this Parsi scrambled egg preparation. I finished off with some cherry custard. I have had custards before, made custards from scratch but I was in for the treat of my life. The custard comes in a  small rectangular foil dish and it is wobbly in texture. With the exact amount of sweetness and the beautiful blend of eggs and milk it was one that had been baked to perfection. I had my hearty lunch and packed some baked goodies for home and decided to explore the place. You see the walk from the erstwhile Victoria Terminus currently known as CST had fascinated me. The architecture made me want to explore every building. 

I was walking around the place admiring the beauty, feeling happy, taking unknown roads to unknown destinations when I suddenly took a turn and found myself in a narrow lane. I was searching for Our Lady of Dolor's church and suddenly I found a  signboard with the words 'Paris bakery' written across it. I went to the counter and was quite confused. There were numerous cookies in different shapes and sizes. The aromatic scent of bakery wafting through the air can intoxicate just about anyone. 

This is not your new age money making bakery. This is the place of genteelness. A place where customers are first treated to biscuits before they can decide on their purchase. I was initially shy but the constant offering from the bakery made me pick up a biscuit  and to me this is what a biscuit should be made of. Buttery with a melt in the mouth texture, it leaves no reside inside your mouth. Its flaky goodness was wonderful. The prices are wonderfully affordable. I picked up 3 varieties of biscuits, shortbread biscuits, almond squares and cheese bites. Grandpa Paris suggested I take the cheese nibbles which he said would be 'more cheesy'. His insistence on my tasting a greater variety of biscuits won my heart over. 

I picked up a loaf of mawa cake and headed home knowing fully well my tea time treats for the next 2 weeks was what I was carrying back . Here I must mention that drinking tea is an elaborate affair for most Bengali families. I firmly decided that Paris Bakery would be a must visit for me on a bi monthly basis for their delectable biscuits priced between Rs60 to Rs90 for 200gm biscuits.  Over the course of three months I had discovered their different flavours and loved all of them be it the Jam nankhatais which are crisp or the Shrewsbury which are big and round . The real treat was when I picked up the buns one day. Soft and plump these buns are made of whole milk and if you are a bread lover such as myself you would be won over. 

They have recently upgraded their menu and I was very sad to see that the garlic Melba toast is no more produced but instead there is a garlic onion stick in its place. They have a  new cheesy flaky twist with cheddar powder as informed by the owner which is bad news because you will gain weight and you will not be able to resist it. 

I am in Love with Bombay even though the rents of Mumbai and the dirt and sea of faces baffle me. To be fair in my recent visits to Calcutta I actually missed my Bombay and by that I mean the Parsi food. 

One cannot have experienced Bombay without a visit to these gems of the city. When the food is as good as it is in these heritage restaurants one cannot but share one's experience .