Oh Wow O'Pao
This is a story about a boy who had dream. A dream to do something different. A dream about Pao.
Never heard of it?
Pao or Pav as it is also known, is a Mumbai street food staple that actually originated from the Portuguese. Essentially its a sweet bread and it’s name in Portuguese means small roll.
If you’re from or have been to Bombay then you know how ubiquitous these little bread rolls are. They’re everywhere and come in all sorts of forms as a quick snack. The most famous is the Pav Bhaji which is akin to a vegetarian sloppy joe and everyone has they’re own spin on this spicy, sour and buttery combination of bread stuffed with vegetables.
And veggies aren’t the only thing you can stuff into a Pao.
Each day as Amol would head off to school, his mother would make sure he had a Pao in hand for the walk, sometimes it had bhaji, other times it could have been left over chicken curry from the night before and sometimes masala mutton and he loved it. As he grew older and went to college and then moved to Dubai, he never forgot those pao fueled walks to school and so set about the task of recreating a version all his own. Now in Dubai, this got Amol to thinking - if burgers are such a big thing, why can’t Pao be too?
So after ten years of working, saving and experimenting his Pao dream has finally come true and thus O’Pao was born. It’s nestled between a cricket supply store and a Chowpati Express in Karama - could there seriously be anything more quintessentially Indian than that?
The first thing you’ll see as you get close is a bright bunch of colors inside the store. As a proud Bombayite, Amol has brought a little of home with him by commissioning a couple of his illustrator friends to whip a huge mural of the Mumbai skyline which is emblazoned across one whole wall of the eatery, replete with a host of classic Mumbaikar characters from the traffic cop through to the foodwallah. It’s colorful and fun and sets the tone for the store nicely.
There’s about six tables in this humble little spot and while the space may be small the menu and its flavors are big and bold. Of course its all about the pao and there’s 14 varieties to choose from including classics like the Butter chicken, and the Goan inspired Prawn (Yum!) as well the Cheesy Jalapeño, along with the Mutton Masala and the Chicken Cheese, which is a chef’s special.
There’s many more Desi inspired hits at this eccentric little slice of Mumbai like the Maggi Noodle Stuffed Pao as well as the Chicken Vada, a Scrambled Egg number along with the infamous Tripple Schezwan which somehow manages to fit fiery egg noodles and layers of chicken into the bun. On top of that Vegetarian’s will rejoice as there’s a whole page of Veggie Pao’s to try - far too many to list here.
While I’ve been to India a bunch of times, from New Dehli to Mumbai and elsewhere, I have to admit I’ve never poa’d before, so I was intrigued to see how this admittedly weird and wonderful concept would play out.
Well I’m happy to tell you it’s pretty darn good! Each Pao on the menu has its own unique flavor and of these that we chowed down, the Butter Chicken was an instant hit - it was like a good strong curry in a burger - yep that sounds slightly strange but I’m telling you it works. Then there was the Chicken Cheese which in my mind fell a little short as it came across a kind of one noted texturally. To the upside, the Cheesy Jalapeño was a banging crowd pleaser with its poppin’ American style flavors and this went down nicely with an ice cold Desi Coffee.
Aside from the buns, there’s a few sides worth trying like their fun take on Onion Rings called Kanda Bhaji, Masala Fries and some deep-fried tempura style Okra called Kurkuri Bhindi which doesn’t exactly endear itself as being a first choice to try but turned out to be great! It was salty, crispy and awesome and definitely something you’re not going to find at McDonald’s.
For those that have a sweet tooth, you’re in good company and there’s no better way to round things out than to try their French Toast which combines a pao, with custard sauce, lotus crumbs and butterscotch ice cream. Fultoo Dhamaal indeed!
It’s good to have dreams and even better when you make them happen. That passion clearly shows through in everything they do at this homegrown spot from the food to the service which is super friendly and engaging.
The Pao’s range from just 15 to 17 Dirhams, with sides at 5 dibbs a shot. This sensible pricing makes this a brilliant and unique offer that’s totally affordable and a must try if your looking for an original spin on Indian street food that’s ahead of the game.
This is one culinary cacophony that’s just waiting for the masses to catch on.
