After spending our first night in Mumbai at the hotel and by the way, eating delicious food, we were all set for the second night. Time to leave the hotel and have dinner out. On the recommendation of a friend, we drove to Mirchi and Mime, a delicious and special Indian restaurant in Powai, Mumbai.
Traffic
To get to the restaurant, we decided to go by Uber. By now, it was eight in the evening, but no way we managed to get an Uber. The hotel we are staying at, Westin Powai Lake, is fantastic, especially the staff. So less than five minutes later, after we waited for 15 minutes, they arranged transport for us. So there we went, by car through Mumbai’s notorious traffic. Before you know it, a two-lane road turns into six rows of cars, buses, scooters, and rickshaws. You just have to trust that the driver knows what he is doing, after all, it is not the first time he has been in this crowd. Actually, they are great drivers, I’m sure we are worse off behind the wheel.
Mosquitoes
Arriving at the restaurant, it became immediately clear that it was a popular spot. The whole restaurant was full, and even outside on the terrace, there was no table left. We were lucky, and the waiting time was not too long, so ten minutes later we were sitting outside on the terrace. Many people like to sit inside because the air conditioning is on and the temperature is a lot more pleasant than outside. Sometimes even a little too chilly so if we can, we like to sit outside. Downside: mosquitoes! Those monsters don’t seem to like Jeroen, so, that means after two days in Mumbai, I have at least 15 bumps on my legs, arms, and under(!) my feet.
Mirchi & Mime
That was totally worth it because we had some fantastic food! Mirchi & Mime is the first restaurant by two entrepreneurs who made the plan to provide paid, sustainable and respectful work for 500 speech and hearing-impaired people. Mirchi & Mime’s motto: Good Food Served Quietly. Meanwhile, they have set up many more restaurants in India and abroad. “Mirchi & Mime is a trendy dining restaurant serving modern-Indian cuisine, the first of its kind in India, served exclusively by speech & hearing-impaired service staff. The restaurant offers seasonal and selects classical dishes from select locations across India with contemporary expression presented by a highly experienced kitchen team.”
Sign language
From the hearing-impaired server, we were given a big menu with basic gestures, making it possible to order. It is not only educational but also a lot of fun to communicate in a different way than you are used to. For instance, first, you have to use the gesture for the category you want to order in, i.e. vegetarian starters, followed by the number. Simple right? The main gesture: desserts, the most important one if you’ll ask me, I will never forget that one. Anyway, back to ordering food, this is still quite tricky. Not the gestures, but making a choice. The menu is full of delicious dishes and, admittedly, we don’t know exactly what everything is either.
Dinner
We ended up ordering the Mini Veggie Sampler as a vegetarian starter, a mix of four small dishes, such as mushroom kebab and chili with roasted goat cheese. Really delicious! And the price? INR 325, equivalent to €3.65. For the main course, I chose a roll of spinach with paneer, basmati rice, and garlic naan, and Jeroen ordered something else very delicious. The plates are laid out beautifully, then the server serves the dishes on your plate, and you can enjoy the different flavors. Somehow we manage to order too much every time, probably because we prefer to try everything. So after our dinner, we couldn’t have anything more, but decided to share a dessert anyway, the Nutella & Toffee Tarte Fine, for €4.10. Luckily we shared this, as this was two pieces of chocolate cake, one made of white chocolate and the other made of milk chocolate. Great again, hefty of course, with all the chocolate but refreshing on the other hand, after the spicy food.
Experience
In the end, we paid €40 for a starter, two main courses, a dessert, a bottle of water, and a drink. The food is delicious, you get a nice experience in return, and you contribute to the community, and that is for a small price. So highly recommended if you are in Mumbai and looking for a cozy restaurant with a great atmosphere and amazing spicy food.
