Mumbai street food | Enough is never enough

June 11, 2012

Mumbai street food | Enough is never enough

We live in a fast paced world, so it is very obvious that our food also has to arrive fast, thus it goes without saying that fast food chains are popular amongst our generation. Our parents and grandparents ate healthy food which was not injected to produce more and was less synthesised; this not only increased their life line but also made it worth living. But with the ever increasing population of Mumbai it is really possible to match our food demands?

Our lives are running on treadmills we don’t have enough time to spare for ourselves, then forget about being able to wait for an hour for our food to arrive in a restaurant. We are the multitasked generation, while munching on some fast food outside a fast food joint, we are busy typing BBM status about the yummy food or posing pictures on Facebook.

We need our food to arrive in two seconds, eat in three seconds and digest in four seconds. The quicker the better is our motto in Mumbai. As the food giants came to realize this fact they were soon to come up with chains of fast food restaurants across Mumbai and create an image of “the fastest” in our eyes so that every time we need that “quick service” the fast food chain is what comes to our minds.

A very good example of such chain of fast food is McDonalds. With time and understanding of people like us it has excelled to create the right perceptions in our minds. We drive with a McBurger, dance with a Coke Float and study with French Fries. But wait this is not enough so we add music, gossip, chatting, surfing and daydreaming to the list. Thus following in the footsteps of McDonalds many local vendors have also ostracised their old ways to adapt to the younger generation's need, like the Frankywala outside every college, the famous Momo aunty in every locality, the Maggie stall at every trekking junction, the list is endless.

As much as I am drawn to this colourful, handy food options, I can never get over the charm of real Mumbai street food - Vada Pav, Samosa Pav, Poha, Sabudana Khichdi, Bhajiyapav, Bombay Sandwhich, Gola, the list is endless.