Monday, July 28, 2008

Bombay Burgers in Singapore

Wada Pav

I was thinking about this thing all day. Luckily, I found a lady at Lau Pa Sat's stall #60 (Makan Mumbai) selling a bunch of Indian snacks, including wada pav, sometimes known as a "Bombay Burger." This deep fried potato patty came with a tangy green chutney and some spicy red chili powder that all came together into a total grease bomb of a good time. It totally hit the spot.

I've never been to Mumbai, so I don't know how this compares to the real deal. And despite being vegetarian, there is no way something this oily can be considered healthy. But darn, was it good. I got so excited that I accidentally inhaled some of the chili powder as I took a bite. I practically had to cough up a lung in order to clear my throat. It was totally worth it though.

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love vada pav. When I was in Mumbai, I noticed it was the favorite snack amongst locals there - everyone will grab a couple on their way to work. I'm going to check out this stall.

Anonymous said...

I love Indian food, but I couldn't eat it every day. It seems the Western Style Indian food they sell in Indian restaurants is just fat and carbs. Delicious yes, but not nutritious.

What kinds of food do Indian people eat every day? Surely they can't be eating this stuff. Where are the fresh vegetables? The meals without loads of salt and fat?

Julee said...

The burger looks really delicious! Should really give it a try when i'm down in singapore again next month :)

Anonymous said...

This is totally unrelated. I got to know about Kyushu Jangara from your review and loved it. I recently discovered Ichiran, which is a tonkotsu ramen chain from Kyushu. They serve only one type of ramen but you get to set the thickness, fattiness, garlic level etc for the soup and the strength of the noodles. I think you ll positively love it, try it the next time you drop by Japan!

Anonymous said...

I never had this kind of burger before...Is the potato patty only inside the burger?

Anonymous said...

Vada Pav is not exactly a burger. It's basically a smallish potato croquette (highly-spiced) which is served inside a soft bun, slathered with 2 types of dressing: a sourish-sweet tamarind-based sauce, and a yellow, spicy mustard-like sauce. In Mumbai, the good vada pav stalls will have queues forming as people wait for fresh batches to be ready - when served really hot, the croquettes have a crisp crust which breaks to reveal a soft, moist delicious inside. Due to its small size, you'd normally vada pav by the batches (a minimum order is usually 2 vada pavs). Kinda reminds me of White Castle's mini burgers.

Miss Tam Chiak said...

This burger doesnt look appealing to me! haha, but well, i must try it some day!

daisy and tess said...

Hi

I'm a writer for a local paper, and i'm interested in hearing your thoughts. How are you contactable?

Thanks

Anonymous said...

I wonder if the stall is by the same Makan Mumbai at Far East Square? I quite enjoy the Indian food there, and judging from the Indian crowd during lunch, seems authentic enough. (Fridays they serve buffet!)

Anonymous said...

I wonder how different is this burger from the veggie burger in Komalas. Gotta give it a shot someday... And yes there is a lot of potato used in Indian cooking making it very carb-laden. There aren't many leafy-veggie dishes in restaurants and stalls. But most of these healthier dishes are home-cooked.

Unknown said...

hi i am besically from mumbai, wada pav is my fevorite snack, well it;s a pretty chip snack that is avaliable in mumbai, usually when somebody is hungry and having very less time to spend for eating will go to have wada pav, it's very testy, spicy and just 1 no of wada pav is enough for ur snack, it's made up of smashed potato's which are boiled and then added with crushed green chillies to make stuff for it then make a small ball of the stuff and fry with a gram flour over it, and add some chilly taste powder while serving, usually has to serve with cutted raw onions, to give a mumbai taste to it, i am now in singapore thanks for information i will go to have it soon

Unknown said...

actually my family was running one shop for wada pav, so i know it's recipe

Thamarai said...

@Buda - I am an Indian staying in Singapore. For the past 4 years I have been cooking my food at home and eat out only 2 meals, that too during weekends. For North Indians, the staple is mostly Chappathi (made of whole wheat flour), dal (boiled lentils with some spices) and stir fried spices. For South Indians, the staple us usually rice, with stir fried vegetables and lentil gravy called Sambhar or rasam.

When these are made at home, the oil is drastically reduced, the ingredients are fresh and actually the right combination of carbs, protein and vitamin/minerals.

So what you get in the food courts/restaurants is actually the unhealthy, highly spiced, oiled version which I myself cannot eat more than once or twice a week. That is why I cook my food ALWAYS and have managed to maintain a very healthy lifestyle :)

Esmail said...

I had vada pav in Mumbai, outside a famous hanuman temple. Queues were forming for this particular stall. In comparison to komala's patty, this is Very different. The patty tastes more or less like our local begedil but with a burst of spices. The chutney is tangy. And the bun is toasted with butter(ghee). I just loved it and I doubt you can find any vada pav as good anywhere in Singapore.