Food Review: Narrating Our Delicious Journey From Haldiram's Train Coach-Themed Restaurant

Don’t have a train trip planned, but still wish to enjoy some food from the pantry? You could treat yourself on the Haldiram's Express, which has arrived at the Borivali (East) railway station, that too without a travel ticket. 

Open 24X7, Haldiram's train-themed restaurant has transformed an abandoned train coach into a paradise for foodies.  

Since Haldiram's is known for its namkeen and chaat delicacies, we asked the staff about their speciality. Kausar Ansari and Sunita Yadav echoed to say it was 'Raj Kachori.' Soon, it was on our table, and it looked appetising. It was kissed with sweet curd and sev — the two ingredients that dominated the preparation. 

We crushed it, because the kachori was soaked in too much curd, which could have made us messy eaters. This helped us discover the secret ingredients that made Haldiram’s Raj Kachori special. It had a sprouted moong dal based stuffing, along with medu vada pieces. The kachori base was quite unique. “While most restaurants use maida, we use besan (gram flour). We ditch the traditionally-used ingredient to make our dish special,” said Chef Naresh Kumar Yadav.

We, later, tasted the Dahi Samosa, — a mashed samosa soaked in chilled curd. Chef Aafaq Shaikh said, “We mash the samosa so that the chutneys and the curd mix well with the samosa stuffing, which might hit separately (and not so great) if we served it otherwise.”  The dish had the crispiness of the samosa and left us tickled with its red (sweet) tamarind chutney. It was served with an impressive garnish of pomegranate seeds and boondi, where the fruit’s tangy sweet taste blended well with the salty and spicy flavour of the fried snack. 

If your chat cravings say Dil maange more, you could also try Aloo Tikki Chaat, Kurmuri Chaupati Bhel, and the much-loved Pani Puri. However, we asked for a grilled sandwich which romanced corn and spinach. The grilled look and its smoky aroma excited us. Its taste was dominated by sweet corn and the seasonings, while spinach added some subtle notes to complete the dish. Chefs Nandu Pande and Amrish Kumar credited it to the magic done by the mix of basil and oregano flakes. 

Next, we tried their Chole Bhature, which had an impressive size and texture. The bhaturas weren’t too oily, and the chole had a subtle aroma of freshness, and it made us go finger licking due to the perfect blend of the spices. The dish was served with a dessert, a rasmalai, which felt like a complete meal. 

We chose to sip the paan-flavoured lassi to end the meal, over the kesar, rose, and dry fruit versions. It had crushed betel leaves which felt like enjoying a banarasi pan after a meal. 

We were seated on a window seat of the Haldiram’s Express to try these delicacies, enjoy instrumental music and appreciate their themed structure. Wooden interiors were a tribute to iconic places of Mumbai. It also virtually transported people to stations like Pune, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Jaipur, and New Delhi.  

The outside look of the restaurant stood for its theme, more than its interiors. The restaurant looked like a train that had arrived at the Borivali station to ferry foodie passengers. It carried the name plate: ‘Haldiram Express, Swaadisht Safar Ka Aarambh.’

Notably, the restaurant coach was placed on a rail track specially created for the purpose, which added to its appearance alongside the undisturbed buffer head of the coach.

While the train coach-inspired ambience would attract you to the restaurant, it's definitely the food that will leave you with flavourful memories asking you to revisit the foodie destination.