A new food truck that operates in central Mumbai needs to start strong with its fusion fare if it hopes to win over patrons
Customers are served at The Rolling Cafe. Pics/Suresh Karkera, Dalreen Ramos
The word cafe evokes many memories - first dates, working on a group project (even though you're the only one working), or simply, the love for coffee. Which is why when we hear of The Rolling Cafe food truck making its way through the city, we can't help but feel the caffeine rush.
Cheese burst vada pav
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While their claim to be the first food truck in South Mumbai is debatable, the menu does pique our curiosity - there is no coffee, even though it's a "cafe". Instead, we see six items neatly listed on a laminated sheet – cheese burst vada pav, all fries, corn cheese shots, special samosa, Maggi and burger.
We are told that the idea behind this menu is to introduce fusion food on wheels. So we try hard and think of a few names on the menu that seem a bit inventive. But we fail. So, we settle on the shots, vada pav and fries. The opening is grand, as promised, with the food truck parked opposite a garden to make seating space for family and friends. The truck being induction-based, permissions for it were secured from both the fire department as well as the Regional Transport Office. Co-owner Abhishek Kokil quit his job in an IT firm to begin his full-time venture with the truck. Paying rent in the city can be a bitter pill to swallow, and the idea of a food truck seemed economically viable.
All Fries
A long ordeal
A slew of people struggle to place their orders even after being warned that there is a long waiting time, which is reflected in the 15 minutes our vada pav takes to arrive. The pav is cold and so is the vada, which is a little less than half the size of the pav. We had hoped for a cheesy moment from the first bite itself. But all we get is a potato overload, which isn't worth the Rs 25 tag, considering it is hard to find a vada pav in the city that disappoints so greatly. The rush, we gather, is because of an item that isn't even on the menu - vegetarian pizza. With all items on the menu available for Rs 50, this one sounds like a good deal.
Veg Pizza
Feeling fried
After an hour of waiting, we get the all fries, which is merely fries with some mayo and chilli sauce. The fries are bland and raw - even the sauce fails to add any amount of punch to render the dish satisfactory. Our shots don't arrive either, so we switch the order with the pizza that everyone seems to be ordering.
The food truck's kitchen
But the truck continues to churn out dishes that are nothing short of insipid. Although the pizza fares better than the other two dishes when taking its price into account, one cannot taste anything beyond the finely chopped bell peppers and onions. The cheese is also deprived of creamy texture.
Abhishek Kokil
But, there is no end to the crowds even as the stocks keep diminishing. "Can we at least get the tissues quickly?" a little boy tries to make his voice heard. We return home with no answer to that question. The fast and the fusion - both are definitions that the café needs to grasp as it rolls forward in the future.
TIME: 8 am to 5 pm (Lower Parel) and 7 pm to 11 pm (Parel)
AT: near Peninsula Corporate Park, Lower Parel; opposite Ashoka garden, Dr SS Rao Road, Parel.
CALL: 9773418770
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