Form Marz to MahaNaaz- eating our way down memory lane.

by butterfliesonmymindblog, posted in Food, Glorious Food., Nostalgia

Food and nostalgia in the company of old friends- now that’s a combination that’s hard to beat. When my friends and I decided to take a walk down memory lane one Saturday morning, we were very clear that we would be eating all along the way.

The meeting point was an old favourite- Marz aka Marz-o-rin. It sits in a Heritage building that’s over a 100 years old and has retained its old world ambience. Over the years, it’s undergone several renovations, survived a fire, expanded its seating area and its menu to stay with the times. For a place that started out with basic, no-frills sandwiches and flavoured milk, it now has an array of items on its menu that’s quite impressive. I however, picked what I have been taking for decades. Nostalgia, remember?

Looks unassuming at first sight but there’s a world of memories inside!
The long narrow balcony has little round tables where one can sit and munch on sandwiches while looking at the street below.
The owners have done their best to preserve the best parts of the heritage structure.
And the inside is a combination of the olde (decor) and the new (gadgety cash counter)

A good thing about this place is that just a hop across the road there’s another old favourite- which has the crispest, crunchiest potato wafers in town. And they come in packets that contain only wafers, no air. Also a place that started with just good old, plain salted wafers- it now includes flavours like cream and onion. But here, unlike the ubiquitous Lays, the name of the shop is the brand. And it’s a brand that we grew up with, before we knew that even chips have brands.

And yes, this too occupies space in an old building.

Big brands and franchises are gobbling up the old family owned eateries. There are some which are holding out bravely, refusing to fade into the sunset. These places may not have gleaming decor, air-conditioning, piped in music and exotic items on the menu. What they do have is – soul. And loyal customers that flock to them in spite of the fact that they may have to adhere to fixed timings, stand in line and maybe even return disappointed. Kayani Bakery is one such place. It has stubbornly refused to adapt much to change or become more customer-friendly. And why should they? When they enforced social distancing- the line of their customers extended to half a kilometer outside; each one patiently waiting their turn. Usually the crowd at their single counter is 3-4 people deep, all wanting to buy nothing less than a dozen of their delicious cakes and biscuits.

Yup, when you’re pushing 70 years, you can show some attitude.
And here’s another that is almost the same age. But it has lost its awe and aura, unfortunately.

We continued on our way, passing many more eateries- old and new. Since it was quite early still, only eateries were open, all other places were closed! People were fueling up for the day, vendors were setting out their wares and we were ready for our next halt. Tucked away in one of those narrow by-lanes that can best be accessed on foot- is Husseny Bakery. Another no-fuss, no-frills place. Their bread is freshly baked, soft and White. No multi-grain or any other grain for them, thank you very much. They also have quantities of buns, cream rolls (both the soft and crispy kind) and Irani naan- which is a large, oblong object that looks a cross between a naan and a pizza base.

Older than Kayani and minus the attitude!

We continued on our way towards what was to be the main attraction of the tour- bun maska and Irani chai. At an authentic Irani cafe. Soon, there we were, parked at a table in Maha Naaz cafe, awaiting the arrival of the much anticipated goodies. Aside: I don’t drink tea and I had never sampled bun maska. And they are supposed to go together. Oh well, there’s a first time for everything!

Those are slices of large, soft, SOFT buns, slathered with a generous amount of butter. That’s it. Notice the spare, empty cup. Because there were 3 of us and only 2 cups of tea were ordered. It was assumed by the waiter that one wierdo would share the tea with the other two. But doesn’t deserve a saucer!

We decided to wind up our food trail at a stall that I had eyed longingly several times in the past years, but had never sampled the wares thereof. This was street food, not nostalgia, but we gave it a try nevertheless. IT- was these hot, crisp and crunchy sabudana wadas just out of the ‘kadhai’. Served with spicy green chutney and slightly sweet cucumber ‘raitha’, they have to be gobbled up before they get soggy. So there we were, perched on an iron bench by the side of the road, digging into yummy sabudana wadas. After so many years of walking past this vendor and his cart- I finally got to stop for that bite. My food trail was complete.

So, here’s my recipe for a lovely Saturday morning- old friends, food, and memories. Old memories to share and new ones to make… and share later.

One thought on “Form Marz to MahaNaaz- eating our way down memory lane.”

  1. Back in the late 1960’s we would spend our evenings walking up and down Main Street with a frozen Coco Cola bottle bought for 8 Anna’s from Sherier, the great owner of Marz-o- Rin. Kept sipping the coke as it melted.

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