The Irani Heritage

The food culture of Mumbai is changing. With Indian and International Restaurant chains fast growing, you see a plethora of them in and around the city. But amidst these newbies, resisting this change, the remnants from city's old Culture still stand tall.

And when you talk about the popular hangouts from the bygone era, you simply can't miss the Irani Restaurants.

Kyani and Co. is one such restaurant near Marine Lines which represents the Restaurants of yesteryears.

As you enter the restaurant, you find a septagenerian handling the counter. When he says, "Paanch-Dus minute rukna padega"(You will have to wait for five-ten minutes), a sense of satisfaction is clearly visible in his eyes. A satisfaction that even after being into business for maybe more than hundred years, they are still running full houses.

As you happen to wait for a table to get vacated, you start observing the surroundings. Everything around you seems to be from your History textbook. Be it the wooden tables and chairs or the old Grandpa Clock hanging on the wall (although from lost time, still shows today's time) take you back in time. The antique telephone with round dial on the counter reminds you of Graham Bell.
Forget about the airconditioners, the fans too are not like what you see today.
The old hand painted advertisements of their "No.1" products reveal the efforts that needed to be put in those days when "Ctrl C + Ctrl V" was an alien phenomenon. But the presence of a Lady on these hoardings clarify that alike today olden days marketing too was predomintantly influenced by the Female Power.
Behind the counter, there is a handwritten parchment stuck on a wall which says, "Credit Cards are not accepted". This very line brings your time machine back to today's era as you realize that your wallet is full of plastic cards but you hardly carry any cash.

It is when you are summoned by a waiter, your table is ready. As you search for the menu card, you happen to look at your table and you are surprised to find a menu card under a glass sheet. Looking at over hundered variants of Irani and Parsee cusines, you are now totally confused. You finally settle down for maximum variety of delicacies each of which comes with 'Pav' as complementry. It is not that you like the taste of all the varints but your tastebuds that are accustomed of usually eating Paneer Butter Masala or Veg Kolhapuri or for that matter a burger or a pizza whenever you go out eating get a sense of newness. Gradually you start developing this taste and before you could even realize, you have devoured four odd Pavs. As your plates get empty, the waiter approaches thinking you may ask for a bill, but he doesn't know your capacity and thus eyes you suspiciously when you say, "One Brun Maska, one Irani Chai and two Faloodas".

As you eat, eat and finally reach the climax of this food saga, you find a cold drink being served which you had seen when you were a school kid or a mere toddler, well how often do you find a Dukes being served in the era of Red Bull and Mountain Dew? But as you are already full, now you want to stop and ask for the bill. You have eaten like a monster and now you are asked to pay a meagre 330/- Rupees. You are contented. Since it is far well within your budget, you happen to check out their Bakery. Biscuits, Kharis, Nankatais, Cakes, Pasteries they have them all. You end up buying a few of them home.

One last survey tells you that even if everything here belongs to Bombay but the machinery used for cooking is from Mumbai. The fact that the place is listed on Zomato is a certificate that it's popular even today.

While you move out, you can't stop the photographer in you clicking every possible moment, every possible nuance.