Pali Naka, Bandra (W)

Had my first real pani puri today. Not quite on the street, but not quite inside the New Sindh Sweets shop either. Seemed like time, as I've been drinking the tap water for a week already, to no noticeable effect. I picked this place because the puris were all intact, in plastic bags inside the case: clearly fresh. First thing they did was replenish the bhartan with several blocks of bright white ice; the water had reduced to practically chutney (the flavor of which, incidentally, is just like the Chaat Masala Lay's chips). They beckoned me around to the right-hand side of the server, so that he could replenish the plate with the next puri as soon as I had picked up the last. But he stopped after just five. Not that I wanted more, but he deprived me of the satisfaction of saying, "bas, bas" and waving my hand in his face.

Will probably go back to dahi puri—water, even spiced, can't beat yogurt for a snack filling, or a filling snack. But there's something entertaining about the way a pani puri dribbles that makes the snacking seem more urgent.