During my short work stint in Mumbai, often after a long day at work or for just a casual meetup with friends, I’d often frequent the Marine Drive. Gazing over the horizon as the waves would crash in the boulder and a cool gentle Mumbai breeze blowing, the experience was surreal. These moments would become only more magical with Mumbai’s national snack by my side – Vada pav with chai.
Now I understand it’s virtually impossible to create a Marine Drive in Dubai, but there sure is a beauteous lake in JLT overseeing which the newly opened restaurant Khau Galli proudly stands. And for any foodie who hails from Mumbai, the term ‘Khau Galli’ evokes a strong sense of nostalgia.
Last week, I visited this place with my fellow foodie & friends courtesy a meetup organised by the restaurant.
Khau Galli is a Bollywood themed restaurant serving the lengths and breadths of desi food. From chaat to chowmein, they got it all. With brightly lit interiors and ‘dhinchak’ lighting for outdoor seating, the ambience screams quirk, and iconic Bollywood moments painted across its walls.
Save for a dish or two; the menu is simple, peppered with an occasional wordplay on famous filmy dialogues. Does make you chuckle a few times as you browse through it.
On my visit, our squad ordered:
Food: Chaat Platter, Tandoori Platter, Oriental Sizzler, Khau Galli Special Pasta, Samosa
Beverages: Rose Lassi, Masaledaar Soda Shikanji, Fresh Sugarcane, Ice Gola, Fresh Coconut, Fruit Cream, Chai
Dessert: Sitafal cream, Sizzling Brownie, Jalebi Rabri, Kulhad Chai
For the significant part, the presentation is quite simple and straightforward, but the choice of crockery they have is impressive. Notice the cart the server gets your samosa on or the star-shaped bottle to deliver your rose lassi.
Would strongly recommend going for the chaat platter. Primarily for two reasons, one it saves you the time to select one from their assortment of chaats, and two – the platter is good!
The Dahi Puri and Vada Pav stand are the star dishes for me from the platter. Having tried the sev puri & Dahi Puri (also known as SPDP in Maharashtra), I have been disappointed at most instances. Usually, because most places tend to bombard the puris with sweetened curd that dominates all other flavours resulting in a dud. Khau Galli cannot be held guilty of that as it keeps the use of sweetened curd to an optimum level creating the perfect blend of flavours pertinent to a good Dahi Puri or any chaat for that matter.
Also, kudos to the vada pav – it comes as close as a Mumbai ka vada pav that you’d find in Dubai. The pav smeared with the red & green chutney stuffed with a gram flour batter-fried spicy potato patty topped with green chilli is a great way to start your evening. Do order a cutting chai along with it. Equally, praiseworthy is the samosa.
If you are into the desi Chinese cuisine, oriental sizzler is something you would love to try. It is a combination of noodles & rice stir-fried with veggies and tossed in your typical mix of sauces with a side of fries served on a sizzling platter.
A lovely evening so far, it deserved an equally delightful end. Enter, the Sitafal cream.
My choice of ordering a Sitafal cream (a custard apple-based fruit ice cream) was met with initial scepticism by my table for not all of them knew what it is. However, the sceptics soon turned into a cheerleader as I offered them a taste. Bad decision, it never got back to me. So, order this when alone, or when your group is allergic to it. Oh boy, it is that good!
This winter if you are looking for a casual evening with a bunch of friends and reminisce old memories and create new, head over to JLT and grab an outdoor seat at Khau Galli.
Bhukkad Balak 