Bombay street food? How is it different from North Indian food, the uninitiated might ask. If you’re not from Mumbai – or haven’t visited and soaked in the city’s vibrancy and energy – you might assume it’s just another familiar style of North Indian fare, the kind that’s already commonplace in Singapore.
I had some sense of what Bombay street food truly is – having sampled these delicious bites during my work trips to that buzzing city.
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Masalaa Bar* brings this to our doorstep in Singapore, and in such a FUN way! We were in for a treat.
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PANI PURI SHOTS (SOBER)
This cute presentation, wheeled in on a little tabletop cart, saw each portion of the potato-filled puri sitting on a glass of the pani, a liquid mixture flavoured with chutney and tamarind. The sweet-sour tamarind sauce was served separately. I poured the pani and a wee bit of the tamarind sauce and popped it into my mouth. YUMM! It was an explosion of flavours, with a hint of spice, not overpowering. If you’re new to this dish, remember, for the best experience, you should pop the whole puri in your mouth and savour the flavours. Kind of like ondeh-ondeh or xialongbao! |
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VADA PAO SLIDERS (3 minis)
Soft buns which had a delicious potato patty in the middle. The description makes it sound bland but it is anything but. The spices kick in after the first bite and then take hold ! If your tolerance for spice is not so high, then you could ask for a bit of yogurt mint sauce to place a little dollop on top of the patty. I tried it with the sauce and that takes it to a whole new level. It’s that marriage of flavours in such a simple snack – spicy, piping hot textured potato paired with a chilled mint yoghurt sauce – a great snack! |
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MONSTEROUS MB PAPAD
When the manager placed this gigantic flying saucer in front of me, my eyes went as big and round as saucers, too! Star Wars music was playing in my mind, as I pictured this to ba the Millennium Falcon . I remembered that I had this giant papad on one of my trips to Pune. It was a HUGE sharing portion. Such an adventure on our taste buds- and a riot of colours -purple onions, green coriander leaves, yellow peppers and chat and a sprinkling of red chilli powder! This is excellent bar food, and such a communal experience! It’s like breaking bread with friends and family at a reunion. |
GOAN FISH CURRY
We came down to earth with comfort food after that. This fish curry, made with fresh sea bass, spices and enriched with coconut milk, was so delicious. Being hungry, we had it with rice, garlic Naan AND the buns. The fish curry had just a slight hint of spice and the sea bass fillets were fresh and clean-tasting. Delectable.
GARLIC NAAN
You’re wondering why I am commenting on just the bread that is used to mop up the curry. I think it deserves mention on its own. The naan had wonderfully charred pieces of garlic on it. The garlic taste shines through, but in a very understated way. You can tell though that the garlic is there. Scrumptious!
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KHAU GALLI KHEEMA PAO
This curry is spicy. By Singapore standards, it is spicy. It was again a myriad of flavours- chilli, various spices and a hint of tomato. A yin-yang balance tipped to the spicy side ! My kind of food. It goes well with the pau or the naan. The mutton was not finely minced but rather chopped so you could discern the pieces of meat. Great one for meat lovers! |
TULSI MURG TIKKA
This was such an unusual preparation! It’s light flavouring with the tulsi made the chicken taste so fresh. Straight off the tandoor, the green hue on the chicken immediately catches one’s attention – no fire engine red tandoori chicken. The taste was light on the palate, and paired with the lime, it gave a nice tang. Once again, great bar food!
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LONAWALA CHIKKI ICECREAM
A more traditional tasting Cardamom flavoured ice cream – with the crumbling of jaggery and peanut brittle. The chef gave both the brittle bits and bottle powder – just a sprinkling, which really balances the taste of the ice cream. Being quite full by this time, we shared 1 portion of the dessert. |
DILLLIWALA GULAB JAMUN
Ok, I have to admit, I’m not a huge fan of Indian desserts. I find them to be sickly sweet and I see myself being a diabetic before my time! So I usually skip dessert and just have a cup of coffee or masala chai.
But this one?!! Oh my, it was a treat. The gulab jamun was not overly sweet and had a lovely surprise in the middle— chopped cashews and a sprinkling of pistachios — how unusual! It countered the sweetness even more and gave a lovely crunch to the gulab jamun! Delicious and a wonderful way to end a gorgeous meal.
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GARAM CHAI KI PYALI
We ended off with beautiful masala chai- served from a colourful kettle straight into chai glasses. It was a lovely bit of theatre paired with buttered sugared buns to dunk into the piping hot tea.
The Masalaa Bar is definitely a place to go for superb food, presented in a very unique way. They offer vegetarian options, as well as cocktails, beers, and whisky for those who crave an alcoholic beverage. For Singaporeans and others who do not know about Bombay Street food, you can try it in a fun way! |
Address: 723 East Coast Road, Singapore 459071
Opening hours: Every day ~ 12:00 PM to ~10:30 PM
Phone contact: +65 6282 4648
*Menu is designed by Chef Milind Sovani
For more information, please click this link Masalaa Bar
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