I am not a big fan of Puri Bhaji but a visit to Pancham Puriwala, Fort, Mumbai actually made me one. This 150+ year old veg food joint is famous for its signature Puri Bhaji and other side dishes that team up well with Puris. The food joint borrows its name from a gentleman named Pancham Sharma who migrated to Mumbai from UP in the 1840s with a dream to set up his own eatery business. In those days Pancham Puriwala was a quaint little shop outside CST, then known as Victoria Terminus. Today, the shop has grown into a 2-storey veg restaurant dishing out ghee-fried, piping hot puri combos and other veg dishes. Open from 8 am till midnight, Pancham Puri’s simple yet classy restaurant layout can comfortably cater upto 35 customers at one go and is often busy during lunch time and evenings as office goers throng in large numbers to this landmark eatery. Over here good food scores above everything else, even the urge to sit in an AC environment. The service is quick and satisfactory. The kitchen is clean and hygienic. No matter what time you drop-in, you are sure to get piping hot puris prepared in pure ghee along with delicious accompaniments like bhaji(potato curry), chole(spicy chickpeas curry), mix-veg curry and other vegetarian curries. Over here you get to choose from three puri varieties. They include Sada Puri(Plain Puri), Masala Puri(Puri stuffed with spicy veggies) and Palak Puri(Puri with Spinach Stuffings). The single sheet, fairly priced menu comprises of puri combos, thali varieties, rice combos, veg curries and hot & cold drinks. A hearty meal for two at Pancham Puriwala will cost you approximately Rs. 225 which is indeed a steal. Especially in today’s times where you need to shell out at least Rs. 50 just for a light snack. The food joint is also popular among food critics and newspapers too. Pancham Puriwala has been featured in many popular dailies, social networking sites, news channels and food review shows. Almost all of them have given a thumbs-up to Pancham Puriwala and have shared their wonderful experiences. Whenever you feel like having Puri Bhaji, head straight to Pancham Puriwala. Nothing else comes close.