With six days left in the 10 day long celebration of food and drink in Burnaby Heights, we were at yet another participating Crave the Heights restaurant. This time it was Mumbaiyaa for their street foods. This is the only spot for Indian cuisine in the Heights, positioning themselves as a go-to for lunch or a snack on the go.
This is a smaller shop that is self serve. A casual setting with smaller cafe chairs and tables, surrounded by walls painted in red and black, decorated with cartoon versions of their menu items.
You seat yourself at any of their available tables, grabbing one of the menus at the counter. When ready to order you ring the bell to call a staff member. You pay first and your food is brought out to you.
Admittedly I am not too familiar with the cuisine, but their Crave the Heights specials were a nice introduction. The main feature is the Chai Thali. This is a tasting set with traditional Indian tea served alongside assorted savoury and sweet bites. Butter Vada Pav, Butter Dabeli, Bun Maska, and any 2 Chai of your choosing.
This is listed as being $24.99 during Crave, however is the same price normally, as pictured on their regular menu. I thought this sort of diminished the Heights menu, and the drive to come in between September 11th to 20th to try it. You are better off coming in on any given Thursday where this is their daily special at $19.99, and you save $5 off for your troubles.
This platter set was a great way to try a few of their more popular snack items. Each a bun stuffed and eaten like a slider.
The Butter Dabeli is sweet and spicy potato filling in said bun with crunchy peanuts, onions, pomegranate seeds, and a sweet and garlic chutney. Filling with the sweet potato, its dense starchy texture given a lovely pop with juicy pomegranate and some crunch with the peanuts. I enjoyed having this in my mouth more than I did its taste.
The first bite is the best, but it did get one tonal after that. This is where I reached from some of their house made spicy green cilantro chutney and the sweeter tamarind to add interest. I would use both for everything else.
The Classic Vada Pav is fried potato fritters in buttered buns, smeared with green chutney, and dry garlic chutney with Chura. This was visually appealing with its bold green hue, but another dense starch in starch combo. I ended up separating potato patty from bun to have separately, each their own bite with chutney.
The last bun was Bun Maskaa. It tasted like a regular store bought bun with butter. This felt out of place and I found it lack lustre by comparison. This wouldn’t be something I would pay $4.29 for one of, especially when I can get a bag of buns and tub of butter for a little more. Nonetheless I still ate the bun, alongside by Chai like tea and biscuits.
We got the Saffron and cardamom Chai and the Kadak Chai. The latter was described as being “strong”, however we found both versions similar and more cream than spice. This is ironically considering the menu states that they already use less milk in their chai to enhance the tea. Sadly, I did not get that and would have liked a bolder bouquet of ginger and spiced heat from my chai, and therefore was disappointed.
A more complimentary drink would be one of their lassis. With three different options to choose from, you can select the right one based on your preference for either fruity flavours, floral ones, or grassy green notes. Mango Lassi, Rose Lassi, or Khus Lassi, each a refreshing creamy and contrasting break in all the flavourful bites above and below. Especially helpful in cooling the spicy chutney. During Crave the Heights each is $7.99, saving you 30 cents from their regular menu price.
This was not enough food for two, and since this was my first time visiting, we ordered a couple more plates to share, to get a fuller look at their other menu items.
The Mini samosas were fun bites. Crispy and dense at the corners, with equal parts filling to crust. It had the familiar filling of potatoes and peas, with the much needed tamarind chutney. I liked these the most out of everything we tried today.
We also shared one of their Manchurian Frankies, which is basically a wrap. This one is rolled up with green chutney, gravy, dry Manchurian balls and topped with sliced red onions, shredded cabbage, and chat Masala. Like everything else this was vegetarian and the balls were made of vegetables and lentils. “Manchurian” is used to describe the Indian take on Chinese cuisine with the use of salty soy and having a sweeter flavour profile.
This was also listed as being *Not for minors* on the menu. Not sure why that was the case. It was a tad spicy, but for even more heat you can substitute the green chutney with Schezwan Sauce. And for a more filling wrap you can also add in noodles. I was contemplating making this a combo with fries and a can of pop, but for $5.99 that felt like a little much.
One of its kind in the Burnaby Heights area, but I felt like I had to know of the food to make an informed order. However, they are a solid solution for a fully vegetarian restaurant in the Heights.
Mumbaiyaa Street Foods – Pure Vegetarian
4160 Hastings St, Burnaby, BC V5C 2J4
(604) 327-4941
mumbaiyaa.ca
