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Pratap Lunch Home Vibrant interiors of the 53yearold restaurant Every bylane in Mumbairsquos Fort precinct bears an unmistakable stamp of cosmopolitanism laced with countless tales of bygone times and working classes dreams However these dreams need grub to feed on and this is what a Mangalorean man from humble beginnings did to feed fellow dreamers as they toiled in the big city Pomfret King Fry is a wellguarded secret recipe at Pratap Lunch Home KC Amin an enterprising dishwasher cook and eventually restaurateur has been feeding Mumbaikars with seafood par excellence at the fivedecadeold Pratap Lunch Home ldquoMy father worked as a dishwasher at a tea house in Grant Road with Suneil Shettyrsquos father In 1961 his guru Bhagawan Nityananda from Ganeshpuri ordered him to serve food to peoplerdquo As we sip on one of the best Sol Kadis wersquove tasted in the city Prashant Amin our host and coowner leads us in to their kitchen tales Prashant Amin coowner PicsBipin Kokate Our brush with the Amin hospitality begins with a lipsmacking lineup mdash Chicken Sukka King Prawns Chau Chu Fish Tikka Kalamari and Pomfret King Fry with Neer Dosa Amin senior would look over every aspect mdash from buying fish to cooking with the staff in the kitchen At that time dishes such as Chicken Sukka were served but like the deacutecor that was jazzed up three years ago Amin has been introducing new dishes through his experimentations as he did last year ldquoWe have been innovating with our menu space and imagerdquo he adds Meanwhile Amin drops a surprise mdash in his 20s he was a musician who would hang about Atomic Forest one of Mumbairsquos first Rock bands By now we sample the popular Chicken Sukka which we are told has been cooked the same way for 53 years Post the spicy dense and rich treat we made room for the pomfret and fish tikka dishes The pomfret is one of the trickiest to be cooked across Mumbairsquos seafood kitchens Amin admits that mostly green masala doesnrsquot stick to the fish but he has managed a yum feast Our favourite is the meltinmouth Fish Tikka laced with peppered goodness The fish here is always bought fresh reason why patrons visit even during the monsoon There was no permit room until 1986 today it is a safe relaxed haven for women to enjoy their tipple Thanks to a reasonably priced alcohol menu families professionals and tourists alike throng the place Our joyful soiree ends with the delish Rose Kulfi that hit the right note like everything else ldquoI keep on cooking Since 1961 wersquove introduced Chinese Mughlai Punjabi and South Indian cuisines Dishes like Chau Chu are attempts to fuse Chinese flavours with Mangalorean cookingrdquo he summarises saluting his fatherrsquos legacy amid the glory At 79 Lucky Mansion Janmabhoomi Marg Fort Time 1130 am to 1230 am Lunch Home Specials A young Prashant Amin had once hitched a trip to Lonavala with several Parsi boys of his age While cooking the chicken the Parsis had made it so spicy that it inspired Amin to create a fiery version of his own The walls of Pratap bear Mario Mirandaesque cartoons Amin admits He liked the legendrsquos artworks and wanted something similar in his own restaurant A cook named Pujari who was trained by KC Amin is still around The Amin brothers Prashant and Pratap are toying with the idea of opening a branch in the suburbs as most offices in the precinct have moved out Cafe Military Peak hour at Cafe Military is lunch time around 145 pm Yusuf Anware centre in white shirt who is the cafersquos most trusted and oldest employee completes his 46th year here Fort despite being a business district is packed with oldworld character Precisely why we stumbled uponu00a0Cafe Military that opened shop in 1933 Popular for its Kheema as it is for the nofrills ambiance it was a frequent stop for writer Salman Rushdie and cricketer Dilip Vengsarkar Shahriar Khosravi owner Behram Khosravirsquos son helps him run the business To delve deep into its illustriousu00a0history city historian Deepak Rao plays delightful guide to the Iraniu00a0restaurant ldquoCafeacute Military opened when this building Ali Chambers was erected in 1933 An Irani gentleman who was the present owner Behram Khosravirsquos father bought this beautiful corner plot At that time Hindus didnrsquot buy corner plots because as per vastuu00a0shastra they considered these plots inauspiciousrdquo informs Rao au00a0regular here Their speciality Kheema and bread PicsSuresh KK In the early decades the cafeacutersquos menu served primarily European food with cold cuts salads egg fry and sandwiches such that Kheema was referred to as mince But when Behram Khosravi took over the reigns in 1952 he added a few more items including mutton chicken biryanis and mince was rechristened Kheema As we devoured the nongreasy and generous portions of Kheema with homemade bread and sipping to their refreshing Palonji raspberry cola a familiar sight in Irani cafes we were enamoured by the stuckintime vibe Even the servers have been around for decades like Yusuf Anware their oldest staffer whorsquos been with the owner since 46 years ldquoI wanted this place to retain its charm and hence I didnrsquot renovate it Even the glass paintings near the seating area were installed in 1933 and are still there I didnrsquot want to spend lakhs of rupees to change this place which would take away its identity and also leave us in a situation where it would be difficult to recover that moneyrdquo reveals Khosravi who is now helped by one of his sons Shahriar in the daily affairs of the cafeacute While most items are divided into special days when they get served Kheema is available from 8 am tou00a011 pm So take a walk down history while gobbling authentic Parsi fare At Ali Chambers Tamarind Lane Fort Time 8 am to 11 pm How did Military Cafeacute get its name The place where Cafeacute Military stands was called Meadows Street now Nagindas Master Road which extended up to Rhythm House Perpendicular to it are Ash Lane Oak Lane and Bell Lane named after the municipal counselors of the preIndependence era and then comes the Military Square Lane near Kala Ghoda It was where the military would parade and thatrsquos how Cafeacute Military earned its name Also at that time a board outside the cafeacute read lsquoIn bounds for military and navyrsquo meaning that military and navy personnel could eat here and it was healthcertified by the military No wonder it was popular among the military and navy mdash Deepak Rao