When a person comes to Mumbai, the usual
list of places that they would generally want to visit would include tourist
spots like Gateway of India, Marine drive, Haji Ali dargah, Chowpatty,
Bandstand, Siddhi Vinayak, Leopold’s Café, Udipis and various Parsi Cafés. Now
there is another addition to this list, Candies. Candies is an eating joint in
Pali Hill, a mere five minutes auto rikshaw ride away from the Bandra
station.
Just calling Candies an eating joint, is
not saying anything at all. Candies is the new watering hole for the young
generation of Mumbai, but don’t get me wrong, you get in Candies people of all
ages, shapes and sizes. To say it more poetically Candies’ combination of
customers creates a “human tapestry”. It is not just a place to get food, but
also a place in this constantly running city, where people can actually sit
back, relax and unwind.
Candies is a happy combination of good
food, good music and good ambience. It has five levels and leaving the first
and the second levels all are open air. Each open air level has beautiful
seating arrangements and green plants all around which, in the Mumbai rains,
give a fresh feel to the place, a sense of being away from the traffic and
pollution of the city. Candies boasts of a menu with over 250 items which
include a little bit of everything, Chinese, Italian, American fast food,
Indian, continental and all this along with a massive variety of desserts which
literally take up half the counter.
The owner, Allen Pereira, named candies
after his daughter ‘Candy’. He wanted to start a place that was accessible to
the younger crowd of Mumbai and catered to their taste. This can be seen in the
beautiful decorations and mosaic tiles placed all over the walls. There are also
posters of music bands on the walls and interactive white boards, where people
can write messages.
The assistant manager of candies ‘Sylvia
Nirmal’ has been working at Candies for three years now and says, “ It has been
an enriching experience,” She has been in Candies only for a short while but
says, “I have literally seen Candies grow”. She mentions that, the Bandra
Candies, had started out in a little room, which is now the second level of Candies,
and from there on the other floors have been added on and Candies has never turned
back since then. The fifth level, in fact, was added only a few months ago and
while all this construction has been going on as a constant process over the
years, Candies never once shut down.
On being asked how she ended up working at
Candies she said, “I did not start out as the assistant manager but worked my way
up from level zero.” After her first baby, Nirmal felt jaded and lonely at home
so she decided to apply for a position in Candies and says “It was a stroke of
luck that the other girl who was interviewed backed out and I got the job, I am
very lucky to be here”. She started out as a packer, moved on to become a part of
the home delivery service, then worked at the counter taking orders and now is
the assistant manager. She believes that luck has favoured her and she has
always, “worked her best”.
Candies has seen a regular flow of
celebrities, and Sylvia Nirmal fondly remembers the time one and a half years
ago when John Abraham had walked into Candies one fine Sunday and everyone had
gone mad over that. But celebrities or no celebrities Candies does not need
that sort of publicity and is on its way to becoming one of Mumbai’s hottest
spots.
Some of the most delicious treats at Candies
are the quiches, sandwiches, the salads, and of course the specials, which
change daily. Talking about the dessert section is impossible because of the
sheer amount they have on display, plus all the suspected goodies in the
back.
It is admirable the way the space has been
used in Candies. Not being able to expand the structure horizontally, they have
gone for the vertical. Candies just keeps going up and up and somehow even with
all the places to sit, one never finds a spot till they reach the topmost level,
but it is worth the climb. Everyday in Candies is a working day and every hour
is rush hour. Candies is truly one of Mumbai’s icons. It defines Mumbai, the
life here and is the best place to observe the different types of people who
live around Mumbai. It is like Mumbai’s personal melting pot.
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