Elaichi Chai— was an amazing hidden find for my wife @FalguniP and myself while we were out grocery shopping.
This place features Mumbai’s most iconic street food — Vada Pav — it’s a fried potato ball served inside a soft bread, kind of like a dinner roll, with sweet and spicy chutney inside the bread, served with a side of freshly fried and salted chili to bite into along with the straight-out-of-the-oil hot potato fritter. The heat from the spices and the freshly cooked process will, without a doubt, awaken your senses and make you feel alive — like a big shot of caffeine just hit you or a strong cold shower. It’s a very delicious and hearty street food eat for Mumbai people on the go or for anyone craving a delicious, filling snack.
Back to Elaichi Chai — this place truly serves it like it should be served back in Mumbai. They did it so well, even down to the fine details of serving it on a newspaper cutting (printed, not actual old newspapers), but the aesthetics were on point here.
The tea was a delicious, sweet treat, and the biscuit served alongside was even better.
We also indulged in their bun maska — sweet bread heavily covered with butter — a perfect evening snack with tea. It was a cheat-meal kind of event just with the bread-butter dish alone. I would encourage everyone to try it in a group or by yourself if it’s a treat-yourself moment. You will not regret it.
The other dishes we tried were their dabeli (bread stuffed with savoury sweet potato filling) and misal pav (vegetarian spicy curry and bread). These dishes were not quite up to the mark of Mumbai tastes but were nonetheless a much-welcome treat — finally finding some authentic Mumbai-specific street food in Vancouver.
This restaurant deserved a post because it was truly a refreshing change from what I’ve seen over the last 12+ years of living in Canada.
In the next posts, I will share more authentic and truly visit-worthy restaurants in Vancouver. Please do share your own recommendations — we’d be happy to try them out as well. Thank you all for reading, and I hope you check out the place yourself.
Take care.
I’m trying to take better photos with the help of my wife 
