I feel like it’s been forever since I checked in with you all. Sure, there have been posts… but we haven’t just chatted in a while. 2019 has been exciting so far – I’ve been on a few trips! Saw a new country. Created a bunch of videos that I’m quite proud of (one of them went sorta viral recently!)

Oh & I turned 27. That was a big one, or at least it felt big? Every birthday after 25 feels big, I guess. But I spent it in Goa with family & cake, so that was nice. A quick little two paragraph update on the last few months. I’ll be spending the rest of April playing catch up. And now, back to the noodles.

There’s something you may or may not know about me – I love noodles; I’m bordering obsessive about them. I take cheesy photos eating noodles, I follow the #noodleworship hashtag on instagram & no matter where in the world we are, if there are noodles on the menu, I will try them.

A couple of weeks ago, we were invited to Hello Guppy in Mumbai to for the noodle fest. I’d been there once before, but we only tried the sushi & edamame. Needless to say, I was excited.

Can I take a second to talk about the décor? An authentic Japanese restaurant brings to mind a certain kind of aesthetic. But Hello Guppy is less minimal & staid, more playful kawaii speakeasy!

We started off with a cocktail, sake of course. The Nippon Cooler is perfect for summer day drinking.

i’m wearing –oval sunglasses // cherry earrings // velvet top // mom shorts // wrist watch // suede platform sneakers

For lunch – I knew I wanted ramen. It can be a hearty meal, so we skipped starters (a wise decision imo).

I got the miso chashu ramen with pork, mom got dry ramen with chicken (all of the trappings that come in a ramen bowl, minus broth). We also got some udon noodles.

They were good noodles. Now I’m not going to pretend to be some kind of expert, my experience with Japanese cuisine is still limited. But the portion was hearty, the broth was creamy & the pork + eggs were both the perfect texture. I vlogged that day too, if you’d like to see video of that perfect bowl.

The Hello Guppy Noodle Fest is on till the end of April. If you can’t make it this month, most of the dishes are on the permanent menu, but if you’re a true noodle aficionado, you won’t want to miss the special dishes that are available for a limited time only.

Hello Guppy, Jet Airways – Godrej Building, Bandra Kurla Complex, Mumbai (google maps /website)

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Britannia & Co. in Fort had been on my wishlist since forever, but since it’s in Ballard Estate (the old business district) I had just never got around to going there. Recently mom & I had a boring errand to run in the area & it was the perfect reason to finally visit for lunch!

Simple, iconic signage to know that you’re in the right spot.

Britannia & Co. keeps it simple – it’s open for just four hours daily, from noon to four (mainly catering to the local office goers) & only accepts cash payments.

The main floor was packed when we arrived there, luckily they also have a mezzanine & we got to inaugurate it for the day. It did offer a great bird’s eye view of the going-on’s in Britannia & Co.

Irani Restaurants & Cafés are devoid of many modern comforts that many eateries offer- there are no air conditioners, just fans (although some do have a separate AC room with a higher priced menu). You will get a kind of old world hospitality that’s unmatched with any more modern place, though.

First order of business of business – get some drinks! Britannia is one of the only restaurants in Mumbai to serve Pallonji’s, a homegrown Indian soft drink brand that’s over 150 years old (yes, I did my research).

We got raspberry & ice cream soda, both were so good! I wish these flavours were more easily available.

The menu is conscise but still offers a good deal of variety although I hardly had to look at it because I had just one thing on my mind – their iconic Berry Pulao, a rice dish with lots of caramelised onion & sweet / sour dried berries. It’s available with prawn, chicken, mutton, kheema (mutton mince), veg & egg options – we chose to try the mutton & it was indescribably yummy (I’m not the most articulate when it comes to writing about food!)

Almost as famous as the restaurant itself, is it’s 93 year old owner, Mr Boman Kohinoor. Even though his son looks after the running of the place, he’s still always around, cheerfully greeting everyone & bragging about his age (he want to break the world record for oldest man alive!)

I asked if I could take a photo of him & he agreed as long as he took a photo with us, too! It was just so lovely meeting him.

We walked out of there with happy hearts & full stomach (& a doggy bag, because we are lightweights when it comes to eating!)

Speaking of doggy bags, I was so delighted to see the folks at the restaurant let a stray dog in the area take shelter near the cash counter. Most people seem to react to stray animals with suspicious, fear & disgust. It’s rare to see sensitivity & kindness like this, it warmed the cockles of my heart.

Eating at a place like Britannia & Co. is not just about the food (even though it was amazing!) It feels kind of like an exercise in history or anthropology, it’s like taking a step back into the Bombay of decades ago, very little seems to have changed over the years & I hope it stays that way!

Britannia & Co., Wakefield House, 11 Sprott Road, 16 Ballard Estate, Fort, Mumbai

If you’d like to know more about the Mumbai’s Irani restaurants, you can check out this NYT editorial from 2009 – A Taste of Persia, and Old Bombay. irani chai, mumbai is also a really great blog talking about almost all the Irani Cafés in Bombay although it hasn’t been updated much in the last few years.

Ending this with a picture of my mom being super cute in the tree lined streets of Ballard Estate.

I didn’t intend for this post to be this long. I really didn’t want this to just be about the pictures because the story is so much more important. If you live in Mumbai or are visiting, I’d highly recommend taking the time to visit this restaurant or one of many other historic Irani cafés in the city! x

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Right after visiting the Gateway of India with Ada the Globetrotting Doll, we decided to have lunch. I’m the kind of person who tends to just favor the nearest fast food joint, because it’s easy & familiar but this time we to eat to eat at one of the many Irani restaurants in that general area (didn’t know exactly where, just knew we definitely weren’t going to Leopold’s). Then we saw Piccadilly & since it was fairly early (& hence empty) we went in. We were lucky enough to get a seat by the window too.

Though the decor / vibe is pretty much like any Irani restaurant in the city, they specialise in authentic Lebanese food. We just ordered two things, but they were both so, so good, it makes me wonder why I even bother with the newer, yuppie restaurant when the city has gems like this.

And now I realize writing this post on an empty-ish stomach probably wasn’t the best idea. I’m off to fix breakfast now.

Have a great day!

Update (2017): Picadilly shut down for renovations in late 2015 but reopened as Persepolis in May 2016. More details are here. I haven’t been to the new space yet – if you’ve visited, feel free to share your experience in the comments!

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