Bombay Cafe, Singapore

An Indian colleague of mine suggested coming here (332/334 Tanjong Katong Road, 6345-0070) for some of the best chaat in Singapore. So in that spirit, we went straight for the Sadak Chaap ("the famous street foods of Bombay") menu tonight, ignoring everything else they had like the dosa, rice, and tandoor items.

First up was the gol gappa, which is another name for pani puri. It wasn't just the name that was different though; this place gave whole shells that you had to poke a hole yourself into, after which you also assembled it all. The fillings themselves seemed more plain than I've had before, and the shells seemed a bit thicker than usual, but the taste was still pretty good in the end. I'm not sure if those differences came along with the alternate name or not, but there was a bit of a novelty in punching a hole into those things with your thumb and putting the little sucker together.

Next up was the papdi chaat, which was "layers of crispy savouries, potatoes, pakodis, sprouts, seasoned yoghurt and a blend of chutneys." The dominating taste of the yogurt and tarty-tasting chutneys was a bit reminiscient of a satisfying basket chaat, although of course without that big shell.

The next one, ragda patties, was a bit of a surprise in that it was piping hot (temperature-wise, although it was spicy too, with a few slices of freshly cut chili peppers in it). Finally, we got a bhel puri, which was a bit stronger in taste than I would have liked, but still tasty. I also got a shikanjvi drink, which seemed like lemon juice mixed with jal jeera or something.

Anyway, all of this place was definitely good (and there's a lot more that I'd like to try here), although I think I still prefer Raj's more delicate approach. Note to self: remember to keep chaat for lunch rather than dinner; I tend to get a bit carnivorous in the evening.