Have you tried some Chin-jabi?

The tiny fast food and juice centre on Khar danda dishes out some familiar oily vegetarian food and fresh fruit juices that they promise are special

The tiny fast food and juice centre on Khar danda dishes out some familiar oily vegetarian food and fresh fruit juices that they promise are special

When a doting mother wishes her bred-on-ghar-ka-khaana son a tearful goodbye, as he heads for more lucrative shores, she has just one question on her mind: Mera beta kya khaega?

The hope is that he will not eat oily food that's been bruised, battered and fried beyond recognition. Expect to have that hope dashed at Nanak Sai.

The tiny vegetarian eatery squished between a bookstore on one side and a general store on the other, offers food that is cheap, convenient, and occasionally orange, as any eatery with 'Sai', 'Sagar' or 'Shiv' in its name often is.



The place is essentially a takeaway, but you can still opt to squeeze onto one of the six barstools, and stare at the whitewashed wall in front of you, in between shoving forkfuls of Gobi Manchurian and Hakka Noodles.
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We decided to order out and head home for the spoils, instead.

The usual suspects on the menu include dosas, idlis, pizzas, and the all-time signature cuisine of every desi fast food and juice centre Chin-jabi Chinese food, Punjabi ish-tyle.

To kill time, we tried a plate of pani puri (Rs 17), which, thankfully, is stuffed with aloo and moong, and not mushy ragda. The pani was chilled and spiked with just the right hint of masala. Good stuff.

Once we got home, it was down to business. We started with the Singapore Fried Rice (Rs 60), which was oily and orange. The cashews in the rice lend a nice bite to the dish, which is tasty but heavily spiced.

The Paneer Chilly (Rs 57) had chunks of garlic and spring onions floating in a reassuring layer of red oil (who says there's an oil crisis!).

The paneer-and-rice combo is just what a decadent Sunday afternoon spent in front of the TV should be about.

But it's the Idli Chilli that's the real winner. The sliced, deep-fried idlis cooked with capsicum and slivers of green chillies proved an unusual but tasty accompaniment to the meal.

Peas on pizza

Call it gluttony if you like (we'd prefer curiosity), but we felt compelled to include the Green Peas Cheese Pizza (Rs 47) in our order.
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Turns out, it tastes exactly as it sounds green peas on a pizza. So much so that we almost wished for a chapathi to tuck into the pizza with.

Nanak Sai also does juices, including some "special" ones. Prices range from Rs 30 to Rs 60.

We tried the pomegranate juice (Rs 42) that's nice as far as juices go, and the apple juice (Rs 40) that's plain avoidable.
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We decided to give desert a miss, but if you decide otherwise, they offer the usual fruit-jelly-icecream combos and kulfi.

Home sweet home

Nanak Sai is not about great food, it's about convenience. The place is in so many ways symbolic of the money-first-talk-later city we call home.

Stop by for service with a smile and food that's easy on the wallet, though perhaps not as easy on the stomach. So what if mummyji doesn't approve!

At Nanak Sai, Mangal Smruti, Junction of 14th Road and Khar Danda, next to Danai, Khar (W).
Call 64529360

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