Back in early 2018, I spent three unforgettable weeks traveling through India and exploring its cities and historical sites, immersing myself in the culture, and going on as many street food tours as I possibly could.
I spent three days eating my way through Mumbai, the most populous city in India. In this video, I’m going to tell you all about the top 10 street foods you have to try when you visit Mumbai. You guys ready? Let’s do this.
Pani puri, which I first tried at Elco restaurant in the Bandra neighborhood of Mumbai. Panipuri is a round, hollow ball of crispy, fried bread that is punctured and then filled with a soup that can contain chili, tamarind chutney, chaat masala, chickpeas, onion, and potatoes.
Bombay duck, which is a local specialty in Mumbai that I tried at Mata Pita Da Dhaba on Madh Island. Now, you might be surprised to learn that Bombay Duck actually isn’t duck at all. It’s a fish that’s either deep fried or cooked in curry, and cut into strips almost like fish sticks. It’s soft, lightly battered, and crispy, and kind of reminded me of flounder.
Ice Gola, a cold, sweet, and salty treat made of shaved ice. The vendor molds the ice around a wooden stick and then dips it into a cup that’s filled with your choice of fruit flavorings. The one I had was blueberry and lemon, which I loved. It made for a unique and delicious combination along with the salt.
Kalidas Masala Vada Pav, a vegetarian Masala burger I tried in the Mulund neighborhood of Mumbai. The burger was made by mixing several ingredients together on a hot pan, including butter, Masala, coriander, and herbs, and cooking it until it reduces into a thick sauce or paste.
Nitrogen Biscuit, which I ate at the Ice Cream Factory, also in the Mulund neighborhood. It’s a freezing cold biscuit that’s been dipped in liquid nitrogen. Eating one of these bizarre desserts is a spectacle because as you chew the biscuit, the heat from your mouth turns the liquid nitrogen into a gas, which makes you look like you’re breathing smoke. My teeth were frozen afterward!
Ice Bhel is a cold, refreshing chaat dish that contains a mouthwatering blend of tomatoes, onions, puffed rice, garlic paste, and coriander. It’s crunchy and super flavorful, and not spicy at all, and is my favorite thing I tried on my first night in Mumbai.
Paneer Chili, which is a very popular Indo-Chinese dish I tried at Juhu Beach. It is made of cubes of deep fried cottage cheese, Chinese sauces, lots of vegetables including bell pepper and spring onions, chili paste, and a whole lot of deliciousness. I was told it would be really hot, but I didn’t find it particularly spicy. That said, it is bursting with flavor with every bite, and I cannot recommend it enough.
Chicken Lollipop, which I tried along Mohammad Ali Road. This is a fried chicken drumstick that’s covered in a red curry that’s so rich, it actually changes the color of the chicken. When you hold the drumstick upright by the bone, it resembles a lollipop, which is how the dish got its name.
Now, further along Mohammad Ali road, you can find the second-to-last items on this list, mutton and chicken kebabs. Mutton is the meat of a mature sheep, and the most common type of kebab is either meat or vegetables that are speared on a skewer and grilled over a fire. The kebabs I had were made of soft, spicy, minced meat and came with a refreshing salad on the side.
The last food on my list is another I tried along Mohammad Ali Road called Lassi, which is a creamy yogurt drink that was not only refreshing because of the heat in Mumbai, but it was also perfect for cooling down my mouth and throat after a long day of eating spicy foods. I tried two different flavors - the original and the saffron. I preferred the original, but my friends loved the saffron.
Now, if you’re heading off to India to try the street food, I highly recommend you take a dose of Pepto Bismol before breakfast and another before lunch every day so you don’t get sick from eating foods and spices your body is not used to.
Thank you so much for watching this video. If you liked it, please give me a thumbs up, please subscribe to my channel, and click the notification bell so you don’t miss out on any of my future videos!
Hi everyone, this is David Hoffman from David's Been Here.
Back in early 2018, I did a 3 week incredible journey across India.
I explored 7 cities, visited historical sites, immersing myself into the culture and going
on as many street food tours as possible.
If you love Indian street food and travel as much as I do, please subscribe to my channel
and hit the notification bell so you never miss an episode.
This was my first trip to India and I fell in love with the food and its people.
There is so much variety and there's so many different flavors when it comes to Indian
cuisine.
During my trip, I spent 3 days eating my way through Mumbai, the most populated city in
India.
In this video, I'm going to tell you all about the top 10 Indian street foods you must
try when you visit Mumbai.
You guys ready?
Let's do it.
Our first dish is Pani Puri, which I first tried at the Elko restaurant in the Bandar
neighborhood of Mumbai.
Pani Puri is a round hollow ball of crispy fried bread that is punctured and then filled
with a soup that can contain chili, tamarind, chutney, chaat masala, chickpeas, onion, and
potatoes.
The kind I had was dipped into two different soups and had a kind of minty flavor.
It was so delicious, I had to drink the rest of the soup straight out of the tray.
Next up is Bombay Duck, which is a local specialty in Mumbai that I tried at the Mata Pita Dhaba
on Mud Island.
Now you might be surprised to learn that Bombay Duck actually isn't duck at all.
It's a fish that's either deep fried or cooked in curry and cut into strips almost like fish
sticks.
It's soft, lightly battered, and crispy and it kind of reminded me of flounder.
Our next dish is Ice Gola, a cold, sweet, and salty treat made of shaved ice.
The vendor molds the ice around a wooden stick and then dips it into a cup that's filled
with your choice of fruit flavorings.
The one I had was blueberry and lemon, which I loved.
It made for a unique and delicious combination along with the salt.
Just beware, you might get brain freeze.
Fourth on our list is Kaladas Masala Vada Pav, a vegetarian masala burger I tried in
the Mullan neighborhood of Mumbai.
The burger was made by mixing several ingredients together on a hot pan, including butter, masala,
coriander, and herbs, and cooking it until it reduces into a thick sauce or paste.
Then the buns are opened and pressed upside down into the sauce to absorb into the bread.
More sauce is spread over tops of buns.
And finally, I placed a potato fritter in the bun and dipped it into a delicious chutney.
Talk about an out of this world vegetarian burger.
One of the most unique foods I tried in Mumbai is the Nitrogen Biscuit, which I ate at the
ice cream factory also in the Mullan neighborhood.
It's a freezing cold biscuit that's been dipped in liquid nitrogen.
Eating one of these bizarre desserts is a spectacle because as you chew the biscuit,
the heat from your mouth turns the liquid nitrogen into gas, which makes you look like
you're breathing smoke.
My teeth were frozen afterwards.
Another street food I tried in the Mullan neighborhood is Ice Bell.
Ice Bell is a cold, refreshing chaat dish that contains a mouthwatering blend of tomatoes,
onions, puffed rice, garlic paste, and coriander.
It's crunchy and super flavorful and not spicy at all.
And this is the favorite thing I tried on my first night in Mumbai.
Our next street food is another one of my favorite dishes in India, Paneer Chilli, which
is a very popular Indo-Chinese dish I tried at Yuhu Beach.
It is made of cubes of deep fried cottage cheese, Chinese sauces, lots of vegetables
including bell pepper and spring onions, chili paste, and a whole lot of deliciousness.
I was told it was going to be really, really hot, but I didn't really find it too spicy.
That said, it is bursting with flavor in every bite and I cannot recommend it enough.
It's so delicious.
Next on our list is the Chicken Lollipop, which I tried along Muhammad Ali Road.
This is a fried chicken drumstick that is covered in a red curry that is so rich, it
actually changes the color of the chicken.
When you hold the drumstick upright by the bone, it resembles a lollipop, which is how
the dish got its name.
The chicken lollipops I tried were incredibly tasty, not too spicy, and were served with
delicious ginger sauce.
I felt like I was in fried chicken heaven.
Now further along Muhammad Ali Road, you can find the second to last item on my list, Mutton
and Chicken Kebabs.
Mutton is the meat of a mature sheep, and the most common type of kebab is either meat
or vegetables that are speared on a skewer and grilled over a fire.
The kebabs I had were made of soft, spicy minced meat and came with a refreshing salad
on the side.
The last on my list is another one I tried along Muhammad Ali Road, it's called a Lassi,
which is a creamy yogurt drink that was not only refreshing because of the heat in Mumbai,
but it was also perfect for cooling down my mouth and throat after a long day of eating
spicy foods.
I tried two different flavors, the original and the saffron.
I preferred the original, but my friends loved the saffron.
Either way, it was a great way to cap off my first night in Mumbai and it hit the top
of my list of top 10 foods you have to try when you visit this amazing city.
Now, if you're heading off to India to try some of the amazing street food, I highly
recommend you take a dose of Pepto Bismol before breakfast and another before lunch
every day, so you don't get sick from eating foods and spices your body is not used to.
Speaking about India, I fell in love with the country on this last trip.
Food, the people, I mean, it was just like mind-blowing, so I decided to go back.
I'm headed back to India right now, November 1st of 2018.
I'm doing seven new cities.
I'm going to Pune, then I'm flying to Hyderabad, flying up to Amritsar, flying down to Bangalore,
then over to Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad.
Those are the seven cities I'm visiting.
I am so excited, and if any of you guys are from those cities, please leave me a comment
below of food that you recommend I try, places I should visit, I mean, just give me a list
of restaurants, et cetera.
I'm making a humongous list.
I cannot wait.
I'm going to do like 40, 50 videos on this trip.
I have like 18 days.
I'm going to try to do two to three videos a day.
Breakfast food tour, lunch food tour, midnight food tour, I mean, I'm going to go nuts.
I'm so excited.
The food in India is so amazing, the flavors, oh my God, I can't wait.
Guys, if you love this video, please give me a thumbs up, leave me a comment below and
subscribe to my channel and hit the notification bell, so you never miss any of the future
videos.
I'll see you on the next food travel adventure.
Peace.
