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I have lived in Mumbai for most of my life and had heard about this place and the food fest that it assembles during the month of Ramadan. However I never bothered checking this place out. This year though, things were different. My lunch group from work place was enthusiastic about paying a visit. A populace of mostly non-vegetarians definitely helps. To add to this on of our team members - Saquib - not only observes the Ramadan fast but also pays a few visits to this place during the month. Saquib obliged to being our guide and so after the Friday work day, we went ahead with our plan.
The Intoxicants
As planned all of us assembled outside Shalimar restaurant at around 9.15. Just as the night sets in the crowds start pouring in for the food festival. As we closed onto the Mohammad Ali Road there was the smell of smoked meat all over the place. The smell itself was quite appetizing. Then of course was the site of several road site stalls selling a variety of stuff. Tandoori chicken , biriyani and a bunch of recipes, for which I don't know names, on the meat menu and maalpua, rabdi and again a bunch of sweets.
First up we went to a shop which I am told is an ice-cream parlor on normal days but changes to a full scale restaurant to cater to the huge demand during this month.
The first dish we ordered was called Chicken-65. A huge plate full of spiced and marinated chicken , deep fried and of course served hot. We were 8 people so within no time we had finished the plate. Next up Saquib suggested we have some Kaleji (liver) and gurda (kidney) fry and a plate of bheja (brain) fry with some bread. This was a first for me in terms of tasting internal organs instead of plain goat meat. Again the both dishes were consumed as quickly as they arrived. Thus Saquib was kept busy (placing orders) and so were the waiters. This was going to be the story of the night.
After having gorged on a lot of meat we moved out to look for more to eat. Next was the turn of several sweets. Again my vocabulary falls short of names. Maalpuas were there, followed by rabdi, rasmalai and a few more sweets which I think the more knowledgeable foodies can name. All we did was sit and eat till we could eat no more. This time though the stomach felt quite heavy. By now I had quit trying to pull my stomach inwards to give an impression of a flat belly. Instead I was happy looking at my pot belly. All the food had given me a high. It was like being intoxicated after having a several shots of tequila - except that we hadn't been drinking. Who says you need alcohol for intoxication. Lots of good food can do that too.
The intoxicated
As if all this food was not enough a few of us were still looking for mutton biriyani. The one thing that we hadn't tried so far. So we decided to go to another restaurant determined to fill the empty pockets in our stomach with the biriyani rice. However when we got there we realized that every one had enough already and we just took parcels instead. While we were waiting for the biriyani parcels, there was on item left - the falooda. The falooda was like the perfect icing on the cake.
As I end this post, I would like to thank Saquib for being the expert and guide, the rest of the guys for making it a fun outing, Jai for the capturing the moments in his camera (the pictures posted here) and all of the people who make for this intoxicating food fest.
