December 13, 2006
Storm in a coffee cup
This has appeared in today's Mumbai Mirror.
Expresso in my childhood days meant a frothy coffee with milk, halfway between a cappuccino and latte, that used to be served in movie halls and theatres. At home too, this was made on special occasions as a treat and like the new Bru ad, the fun was in getting the froth all over your face. Growing up, I then learnt to appreciate the dark decoction that Amma used to make, with milk and sugar, at least 10 shades better than similar stuff available in the Udipi joints in Matunga.
Traveling abroad in the mid-90s brought me in touch with Starbucks and I slowly learnt to differentiate my espresso from a ristretto. My all-time favorite drink however, remains the caramel macchiato, a signature Starbucks drink. Though, all the coffee I otherwise drink is black, without milk and sugar, the caramel macchiato, with vanilla, milk and caramel is the one exception.
Somewhere down the line, heavily influenced by Starbucks, came the Barista chain. The outlets were an immediate hit, with well-trained baristas who knew their coffee intimately. The Shivaji Park outlet has been my favorite. Sitting out, watching the world go buy, while sipping one Doppio after another, used to be a favorite past-time. This was the nearest Barista, until the one at Sion came up, a few buildings ahead of Sion Hospital. Despite this outlet being so near, it never had the ambience of the Shivaji Park outlet and the baristas were also less knowledgeable and though it hoped to be a coffee pit-stop for those on the way to the suburbs and beyond, it was never open early in the morning, when you were going to Lonavla or Pune and the take-away coffee, in any case, came in horribly thin cups, often too hot to hold properly, with lids that didn’t fit…I’ve spilt coffee on my lap at least twice.
A few years ago, on a trip to Dubai, I saw a Starbucks outlet and right next to it, a Barista outlet. It was a proud feeling, much like seeing a Jet Airways plane at Heathrow or Changi.
But, Barista never came to Matunga. CCD did. And how! When it started, it was the new kid on the block, loud (it still is), but with attitude, and obviously aimed at the college crowd. The coffee was cheaper, not as as good, especially the espressos, which were bitter and yucky. The service was slow and the food passable, and yet the college kids loved it. The juke-box was a hit, as was the outside seating, which also allowed girls to smoke.
And then Barista screwed up. It dropped its prices and started playing loud music. Instead of aiming higher, at the 40plus generation, which felt CCD to be too loud, they tried to become like CCD. And the last few times, I’ve been there, there seems to be a distinct deterioration of services…the baristas are undertrained, the espressos are bitter, granitas have not been unavailable and a couple of times, even the air-conditioning wasn’t working.
On the other hand, CCD has become more and more vibrant. Their espressos have improved, as has the food. They now sell their own brands of chips and cookies (my daughter loves their eggless chocolate chip ones). And most importantly, they sell specialty coffee powder (which, as I have earlier mentioned is far superior to the stuff locally available in Matunga), and now we even get single estate (like single malt) coffees, some of which are excellent, especially the new dark roast. It’s a pity the Monsoon Malabar is no longer available.
What does this have to do with Matunga? Most big brands don’t come to Matunga, because they don’t see potential. Barista didn’t see potential and CCD did. One is doing great and the other, at least for me, is no longer happening. Maybe there’s a lesson in there somewhere?
Posted by bhavinj at 11:19 AM | Comments (0)
December 03, 2006
Realty bites
This has been published today in the Mumbai Mirror.
I am still trying to recover from a shock I received last Sunday, which I still can’t stop talking about and really need to put in words as well. We had a meeting with a realty agent, when we overhead him talking with someone on the phone about his inability to arrange a flat for that person, at the earlier agreed upon rate of 20,000. After he finished his conversation, I asked him, whether he also handled flats in South Bombay. He looked at me quizzically and then explained, “Last month, a premium property in Five Gardens was quoted at Rs. 20,000 per sq foot and the owner has now upped it to Rs. 30,000 and my client is angry at me for this. What can I do?” he shrugged.
Thirty-frigging-thousand? 30 thousand…per sq. ft. …in Matunga? You have to be effing joking! But apparently this is not a joke! It seems that for some premium properties, these prices have become real. Its as if living in Matunga has achieved the same kind of status symbol for some people, as living on Peddar Road.
The exuberance of the stock-market and the subsequent real-estate boom would be able to explain some of the increased valuation. But in an area, where average prices have hovered around 10-12,000, to suddenly talk of 30,000 per sq ft, seems to be too big a jump to make sense.
Unless, Thomas Schelling is more right than even he would know. Last year around the same time, I had written about him and his game theory, which predicts that similar people tend to live together, thus explaining the formation of ghettoes and pockets based on religion, race or caste. Within a year, this has become even more pronounced in Matunga, which is now all about Gujjus and Kutchhis. Though I don’t have official numbers, it wouldn’t be a stretch if I were to put the Gujju/Kutchhi population in Matunga and the Greater Matunga area (parts of Sion, Wadala & Dadar) at around 90%.
So think about this! If you are an upper middle-class Gujju/Kutchhi living in the suburbs, and wanted to live in a place with PLUs (people like us), where would you want to shift to? Obviously…Matunga!. If you have lived your whole life in Matunga and now need a new house, because you and your brother have grown up and each of you wants his own space, where would you continue to live? Most likely, Matunga! Kind of like my sister and other people I know, who were born here, grew up here, studied here, married here and now even go to work here. In Matunga…the classic big village.
Where else would you have at least six good schools that would make any top 25 list in Mumbai, which makes it relatively easy to get admissions, unless of course you want to go to outside-Matunga schools or live in South Mumbai with its limited schools? Add 4-5 good science and commerce colleges, one medical college and two top-rated engineering colleges, all within a radius of about 2km and you get a combination that no part of Mumbai can beat.
With Sahakari Bhandar, Matunga Market and Chheda taking care of the shopping issues and Five Gardens, Maheshwari Udyan and a couple of other places giving us the open spaces that we need, the only things missing are, a large mall with good brands, a couple of fine-dining restaurants (though ITC Parel is almost our own backyard hotel) and a good multiplex with parking, which hopefully Aurora will become in the not-too-distant future.
The big brands have still not taken over the frontages on King’s Circle, but that is just a matter of time. And honestly, the reason Café Coffee Day rocks today and Barista is in suspended animation, can easily be traced to the fact the CCD has an outlet in Matunga and Barista doesn’t. And more about this..next week!
Posted by bhavinj at 10:52 AM | Comments (0)
