Cafe Excelsior and Cafe Royal. Unless you've been living under a rock, you would have spotted, or even better, eaten at these two iconic spaces. For us, the former was always a stop before catching a film in our college going days where single-screen shows meant paisa vasool viewing.

The rolls, the brun and the hawa of Bombay that flowed inside (never mind the incessant honking right outside) added up to creating an impression of the city, quite literally brewed in a teacup - no-nonsense, charming and bindaas.