Bombay Halwa House
Before I put pen down to paper to write this post I was wondering one thing. How on earth did I miss writing about Bombay Halwa all this while. I can say for sure that this is one place I have eaten more than at home. And this ain’t no joke. For starters who are wondering what this Bombay Halwa House is about, here it goes: It is a restaurant, atleast 25 years old, about 50metres from Luz Signal towards Vidya Mandir School. Their hallmark – Samosas and Chapathis. Their Halwas are good. Not for nothing they would call it the Bombay Halwa House.
Lets get into specifics. First the Samosa. No one makes it better than him. No one. The crust is so crisp, so smooth, that you could hardly find a wrinkle. Fried to a chocolate brown colour and is not one of those hurried half-baked stuff. The vegetable inside is nicely mashed potatoes. I guess he adds some beetroot too and peas and a sprinkling of onions. It is so finely cooked that you will never come across a half cooked potato like you do in most other places. The best part of it all the Pudina (Mint) Chutney with raw onions cut and served alongside. And voila, you have the most amazing samosas in town. The best time to have is around 1pm, thats when it comes out fresh and hot and yummm… A plate of samosa is today Rs. 12 and I have been having them right from the days it was Rs. 2.50. Before the days of the Pizzas and Cafe Coffee Days the samosas and the chat here used to be our birthday treats and favorite hangout.
Chapathis next. The way it used to work before is you get a plate of chapathis with a katori (cup) of plain dal and aloo subzi for Rs. 7. That was long long ago. The Chapathis are made from tawa and served hot and fresh and subzis and dal mildly flavoured acting as a perfect accompaniment. Offlate the guy has decided to make some money. You will have to order the Chapathis, dal and aloo subzis seperately. Should say the subzi portions are much larger. This way it works to a cool Rs. 40 for a plate with both the subzis. But one thing, quality is still the same. While some of we old-timers might feel that the place has lost its charm, I think we should give the management a thumbs up for keeping it the way it is and not moved over to cappuccino or a penne pasta.
So, next time you guys are in and around Mylapore, give it a shot and tell me how do you like the place. Apart from what I had mentioned the place serves pretty much all chat items, paratha, rotis and all your subzis from paneer to palak to bhindis. The food quality is good, cleanliness not too bad, the service pretty quick and not too heavy on the wallet.
Although, I’ve had Pav bhaaji’s and bhel puri’s many times, I actually haven’t eaten there. (Pick-up). The last time I had a pav bhaaji, the quantity of the bhaaji was too little, but the price is MUCH better than a certain fast-food joint of a famous Vadapalani restaurant. And the Bhel puri’s actually very dry…not much of chutney’s , I guess.
Will give the samosas a try next time. How many samsoas per plate? Btw, I’ve seen another Bombay Halwa house on Mount Road, close to Devi Theatre.
Since this is a topic on eateries, I’ll take some liberty to recommend Shirdi quick bites, inside the whatsitsname plaza next to Stella Maris.
Oh my god! They are absolutely the best,aren’t they? I was there the last time I was in Chennai and they haven’t changed one bit, thankfully.
Had a quick Panneer Butter Masala there while my wife was buying Happy-New-Year sweets.
Not at all bad, but not as good as my once-regular (when I spent more time in that district) VIP, further up the road in Royapettah.
The thing I wasn’t pleased with was the tea; I like my chai thick and creamy!
But, on the whole, I’d be happy to recommend Bombay Halva House for a quick snack. And, as someone who refuses to pay ‘trendy’ prices for ‘trendy’ food, I’m glad to see you guys talking about a ‘normal’-price place!
In fact, I seem to remember that the price was one of the best things about the snack!
Not too sure about BHH being the best place for samosas. Try Agarwal Bhavan in Parry’s (Govindappa Naicken Street) for samosas. AB also has the best gulab jamuns and lassis in madras. By the way, there is another BHH on Mount Road, near Khadi Gramodyog Bhavan.
Used to be my favourite after-school place for samosas. Also, there used to be this little place opposite it. I can’t remember the name of it for the life of me. Does anyone know the place I’m talking about? It used to be in a sandy courtyard type thing, right next to VMM surrounded by other shops I think.
Also, talking about SMC and Shirdi Quick Bites, my vote for that place. The parathas!
What’s VMM? If it’s something to with Vidya Mandir, what does that last M stand for?
Sandy courtyard opposite BHH, you say? Doesn’t ring a bell.
Bombay Halwa house does bring back nostalgic memories.
those bhel puri’s, Pav Bhaji’s, Chapati and Sabji’s :D
Those were good old school days (yeah, i was at Vidya Mandir )
i wholly second agarwal bhavan samosas. out of this world. rose flavoured lassi with malai heavenly. seating area is limited and the server brings u the samosas in tiny plates. they also bring the bill in similar plates where u drop the ‘tip’! wl def try BHH next time i am chennai.