Five on Five (5/5) Part I

Last Sunday my cousin from Delhi arrived in Bombay for an interview. Now I must confess even though we are cousins we’ve hardly met each other before. The only memory I have of us as kids was of the time we played cricket in his garden almost 10 years back from now (which he doesn’t quite remember!). We both were quite sceptical about being asked to hang out together by our parents. He very reluctantly asked me if I watched football, almost expecting a negative. To his relief I affirmed and asked him if he drank. That’s it! Now we both were comfortable as if we knew each other very well since our childhood! It is true indeed; Sports and Booze unite the world to make it a better place to live in!

An avid supporter of Man U (intended) that he is, he was very disappointed when Liverpool beat them 3-1!  Also, next morning was the interview, so we laid low and took it easy in the evening. This was the first time my cousin was visiting Bombay and as a host I had to take him around. I wanted to make sure that he had a good time and saw as much of Bombay as possible. I roped in a few of my friends on Monday after his interview and we all headed downtown Bombay. We took him on the legendary local trains of Bombay, a cab ride through the city showing the Rolls-Royce showroom, Haji Ali, The Antila for some reason, Chowpaty, the Marine Drive etc. 

My friends and I have often had these trips downtown on Sunday mornings, where we start off with breakfast at Cafe Mondegar along with a pitcher of beer, followed by pitcher at Leopold’s, then more pitchers at Alps along with pork sausages and chicken cheese burgers! These usually lasted from 10 in the morning till about 6 in the evening. Time was against us that night! So we started the evening with a visit to Alps, which unfortunately was out of tap that night. So we settled for a pint each and pork sausages with chips and chicken cheese burger. Alps has a simple yet soothing appeal to it. It looks something like a bistro, small, old fashioned and a little slow in service. We wrapped up Alps in an hour and headed off to Leopold’s. 

Now Leopold’s not only has a special place in our hearts cause of our Sunday afternoons but also because it represents the ‘spirit’ of Bombay! Despite being a Monday evening we had to wait for a while to be seated. As soon as we were given a spot, we ordered the ‘Tower’. Leopold’s has this amazing beer dispensing towers, so I asked my cousin to fill up his glass for him to get the feel of the tap! We also ordered barbeque chicken, the quantity of which was more than sufficient for the three of us not to mention it was quite reasonably priced as well. Leopold’s has this vintage feel to it, for it is over 100 years old and seems to be stuck in a time warp with time travellers from the future joining in for a drink or two. They still retain the scars of the terrorist attacks, perhaps the only thing that changed in Leopold’s since its establishment. Between Alps and Leo’s, Leo’s is more vibrant. We next moved to Cafe Mondegar.

Hash! It’s time for me to retire for the night; but I’ll be back with the remaining story soon! Time to hit another bar with friends and cherish some moments! That being said, take care and drink responsibly. 

Cheers!