OCOW Top 5 – Street Food Places in Mumbai

Mumbai eats to live, lives to eat and we love to live n Eat and Eat n Live! We have our own tastes, likes, dislikes n food habits, our “ughs! and our yums!” With zillions new places cropping up like mushrooms in every nukkad and corner, opening and shutting down. How does one keep up!? Even the good apps have trouble keeping up.
Confusing na? Thats what we felt we set out to cover Top 5 street food places in Mumbai. What else could we begin with for our new section OCOW TOP 5
How does one come up even with a list, catering to the tongues and stomachs of Mumbai! Suddenly it was all clear, we went with the ones that catered to not only the above but the hearts too!!!! Bullseye!
By now you are probably thinking, yet another Food Blogger in town or are they from the breed of Food Critics?! No No jee, Hum toh simply Mumbaikar hai bhai! We decided to ask Mumbai we know. Apne dost log, “femily peoples” apnaich jaan pehchaan vala publeeek, and asked them what they liked? What better way than going the OCOW way and asking Mumbai!

So, Get Set and Loosen Your Pants and Nadas, as OCOW takes you through this very interesting gastronautical journey. (Wah!)
In random order… here’s OCOW TOP 5 Street Food Places in Mumbai…

OCOW TOP 5 – Manoj Kumar Pasta
Some of us probably may not know this place exists and some are regulars who probably will swear by it.
A late night visit at 11 pm left one unsure of it being open but we insisted on finding it in the quiet but otherwise buzzing during the day  lanes of Cuffe Parade -World Trade Center. Found it, and how! We were pleasantly surprised to see a pile of cars, bikes and large groups thronging around this street food joint for their favorite italian midnight chomp! Pastas, nachos et al! Loud voices echoed on the street, “ek pasta red sauce mein, muje ek nachos dena bhaiya.”

And when your order does come, Oh boy, it’s a treat! Huge portion(one is enough for two) of piping hot pasta laden with at least two storeys high layers of cheeeeeese. Come on ya…one day don’t watch your weight, just wait and watch it disappear into your belly.
A young chef busy at work on this live counter on the streets of Mumbai is a must see and try!
Manoj kumar pasta, Cuffe Parade outside World Trade Centre, Mumbai. Since 2000. They started with corn, sauted american corn with cheese n Mongolian corn famous till date.
The place is run by Manoj ji’s son, Sonu Gupta n mom along with the assistance of 8-10 more people
Average Cost – Rs 250/- (Prices may vary) On the Menu – penne Italian, arabiatta penne, macaroni pink sauce, Mongolian pizza, gravy pizza, pasta, maggi, nachos, pizza, khichiya…(only vegetarian)
They take party orders too and travel all over India for orders.
Timings – 5pm to 11.30pm

OCOW TOP 5 – DEV Momo – Worli
When we travel up north or north east  parts of India or visit our fav local chinese restaurants, we dabao this scrumptious starter. We even spot travel show hosts eating dimsums on the streets of the same cities. But as street food in Mumbai, t’was not a given until now.
We visited Dev Momos in Worli and found out why!
Mumbaikars(not all) we can be sticklers for our vadapaos and bhelpuris (our fav naasta or “snakes”) but when we were asked to try it, and we welcomed this refreshing change! Recently doing rounds in media and probably in the food blog circuit too!
Momos made by a group of Nepalis tell us we need to pop the entire one in our mouth and wait for the flavours to pop!
Owner Name: Dev Thapa, Origin: Nepal, Started since 2011
How many people behind it: An army of four men
Time: 5.30 to 10.30
Momo Type and Prices: Chicken n Paneer Rs. 60, Veg Rs. 50 Free Home Delivery from Worli to Prabhadevi. (Prices may vary)
Stall Address: Abdul Guffar Khan Road, Worli, Near Flora Restaurant. Landmark. Near Worli Seaface, Mumbai

OCOW TOP 5 – Shankar Pani Puri – Khar 
Walk into the Khar signal lane and you will spot a crowd around this man serving pani puri with gloves in his hand. Fancy cars with flashy aunties, professionals after a long day at work or college students on their way back from classes. Mumbai, stops by n picks up its usual mix of evening snacks or daily dose of chaat of the likes of panipuri, bhelpuri, sevpuri Oh ya! we forgot the occasional chauffeur popping by with a list of orders for someones home or office.
The quality of the chaat is simply the best! We can see a lot of you jumping up in your seats! while reading this. Well, you see Mumbai loves to argue about which pani  puri wala is the best!
But seriously guys, everyone talks highly of the hygiene levels maintained by Shankar and his team All of his family members take care of the business and are as hard working as Shankar himself. Humble and reserved. He works really hard not forgetting his humble and struggle days when he started. He has grown and earned his place in the city and a shop of his own too.
“The puri is really awesome and crispy and the curd is just perfect.” said the group of girls giggling away when we visited, before she popped a “teekha – meetha pani puri in her mouth. “We have even eaten in the monsoon season and not fallen sick!”
Pricing may be a tad bit higher than others but its total value for money (there are guys in the city who charge more too)
Go shop at linking road as the sales are on and then go experience this chaat… says OCOW!
Pani Puri, Sev Puri, Bhel Puri, Sukha Bhel, Dahi Puri, oh man we ate when we visited! Approx 30/- to 40/- bucks a plate (prices may vary)
Shankar pani puri, 14th Khar Danda Road, Khar- West, Mumbai Near Costa Coffee
Serving us since 1998, Shankar and his family members.

OCOW TOP 5 – Zaika Delicious Fast Food
(This one’s for the meat lovers!)
Generally, a few people think that it is only in the Holy month of Ramdaan that this particular side of town must be visited to enjoy the delicacies of non vegetarian and meat heaven.
Zaika, the heavenly treat for Non veg lovers for those who love their meats, and highly recommended by our Muslim brothers, sisters and friends.
To see how delicious it is, visit Zaika between 5 pm and 1 am, but parking here is big task. Take away is the best solution to wish to aaraaam se enjoy these mouth watering treats. They are super fast and are a serious bunch away at work, but when you can catch their attention you can see that concentrated look turns to a smile. “Sir time hi nahin milta muskarane ka 🙂 sab ko bhook jo lagi hoti hai” lekin acha lagta hai jab aap jaise log humien thank you bol ke jaate hai,” said one of them
The food here is full of flavour. The extremely yummy well marinated chicken tikkas are a must try with Tandoori chicken leg besides the long list on the menu.

Zaika does even have a small seating area but its always occupied…a high recommendation, stop there and grab your quick take away
Sheikh Arafat the Owner has been serving mouth watering treats for over 20 years now!
Maulana Shaukat Ali Road at JJ Hospital Junction…Mumbai 400003 Chicken roll Rs. 28, Beef Roll Rs. 30, Beda roti Rs. 30, Naan sandwich Rs. 25 (prices may vary)

OCOW TOP 5 – Mamledar/Tehsildar’s Office Canteen – Misal Pao – Thane
Since 1946 Mumbai has been enjoying the ever famous Maharashtrian cuisine favourite, Misal Pao! Narsinha Murdeshwar first started, Mamledar and its now run by his son Laxman Narsinha Murdeshwar and called Tehsildar office canteen. Now our next question, how hot do you like this snack? Can you handle the spice is the question? Or Is it tooo hot to handle??

“Misal (meaning “mixture” in a Marathi is a delicacy in the western Indian state of Maharashtra. The dish is eaten for breakfast or as a midday snack or even as a meal. It remains a very popular snack, since it is easy to make, is relatively cheap and has good nutritional value. The taste of misal ranges from mildly to extremely spicy. Misal is also a popular street food.”

They don’t take any orders for functions or parties but you can pop by and eat there or take away after chosing the spice levels that you can handle!
Mamledar Misal Pao – Station Road, Besides Tehsildar’s Office, Opposite Zilla Parishad Office, Thane- West, Mumbai.

So grab you keg of water… hahaha…and head to Thane! Sssssssssssss!!

– OCOW TEAM

(OCOW Team is open to ideas and suggestions on topics to cover in this section. Feel free to write to us at info@ocow.in