In Mumbai, it can be difficult to find exactly what you are looking for. Often times I find myself looking for something that, at home, could be found in any local store, but due to the lifestyle in India, isn't a necessity for the average Indian. For that reason, I've put together a guide, to help you find what you are looking for.
Pet Supplies
In India there isn't as big a "pet culture" as you would find in the US or UK, but in Mumbai it is becoming more common to find people with at least one pet, which is great! Because of this, it's now a lot easier to find things, like cat and dog food. Now my preferred shop is Shopawholic, in Bandra's Pali Naka. There are plenty of pet shops in Mumbai, and especially in Bandra, what with the huge foreign, expat, and NRI population, but I find Shopawholic to be the best. The owner is incredibly knowledgeable about pet supplies, and he is an importer so he knows what pet supplies are and aren't available. Plus, he knows quite a bit about animals, which is super useful when you've got a pet that you don't know much about, especially in India where conditions and availability are different from the US. I got a guinea pig a couple months ago and the owner here told me what supplies were and weren't available in India. The best part about this shop is that they offer a 10% discount and they are willing to deliver your order home, which is especially useful when I'm ordering 4KG of cat food and don't feel like carrying all that home in an auto. They also offer grooming services at super affordable prices, which I have yet to try (only because my kittens have to get their shots first; please vaccinate your pets before grooming!), and they even offer a discount on Sunday appointments. They also do home grooming! Definitely my favorite place for anything pet related, and if you need any suggestions for things like vets, then ask the owner, he will definitely help you out.
Shopawholic
+(91)-22-38524928
Shop No 5, Ground Floor, Petronella Chs, Dr Ambedkar Road, Bandra West, Near Pali Village Cafe, Mumbai - 400050
Shopawholic
+(91)-22-38524928
Shop No 5, Ground Floor, Petronella Chs, Dr Ambedkar Road, Bandra West, Near Pali Village Cafe, Mumbai - 400050
DIY Supplies
I usually do a lot of DIYing, so for supplies I head to a shop in Pali Naka, next to Regal Plus. They have a whole variety of lace in different colors, perfect if you want to change up a little pair of shorts or a skirt. They also have buttons and other little knick knacks which are perfect for DIYing. The only thing I haven't been able to find here was velcro, but I think they might have it in stock sometimes.
Go to Regal Plus in Pali Naka, two doors down from it there's a small shop next to a doctors office, this is the shop.
Go to Regal Plus in Pali Naka, two doors down from it there's a small shop next to a doctors office, this is the shop.
Fabric
I am the kind of person who knows exactly what I want in terms of clothes, so sometimes I have a tailor adjust clothes that I already own, or I have a tailor custom make something for me, so I have to buy fabric. The best fabric market in Mumbai is Mangaldas Market, across from Crawford Market in South Bombay. They have the widest variety of fabrics in Mumbai, but beware, they don't have imported fabrics, so if you are looking for scuba fabric (neoprene)*, like I was, don't come here, just get some when you go abroad next, even though it might be expensive. Just be sure to take a Hindi-speaker along with you, and know that the guys there can be kinda rude, so just be persistent and ignore their attitude. Also, don't let them convince you into buying unnecessary extra fabric, since it's a wholesale market, they might get annoyed if you only want to buy a couple yards.
*just a note on neoprene, it can be purchased online at wanderandhunt.com for about $40USD per yard
Organic Food
There isn't as much of the "organic food" culture in India as you would find abroad, namely in the US, it's a huge business. But I've started to find that in the more cosmopolitan areas (i.e.: Bandra) you can find some organic foods, so it's starting to become a "thing" in India, which is great. For milk, I've started purchasing "Doctor Moo" milk which is available at Regal Plus for only Rs.30 for a half liter, which if you compare that to the TetraPaks of Amul Taaza milk that I used to buy, comes out to only about Rs.5 more for organic milk! And when you compare the taste, you can really see how inferior the Amul milk is compared to Doctor Moo. From now on, whenever I'm making deserts, I know for sure that I will be using Doctor Moo. For meat, I go to Joseph's as I have said before because I can be sure of where my meat is getting cut and cleaned, but I will have to check if their meat is organic or not.
Please let me know in the comments what other Mumbai posts you would like to see, or even general posts about fashion.
Anagha C.
There isn't as much of the "organic food" culture in India as you would find abroad, namely in the US, it's a huge business. But I've started to find that in the more cosmopolitan areas (i.e.: Bandra) you can find some organic foods, so it's starting to become a "thing" in India, which is great. For milk, I've started purchasing "Doctor Moo" milk which is available at Regal Plus for only Rs.30 for a half liter, which if you compare that to the TetraPaks of Amul Taaza milk that I used to buy, comes out to only about Rs.5 more for organic milk! And when you compare the taste, you can really see how inferior the Amul milk is compared to Doctor Moo. From now on, whenever I'm making deserts, I know for sure that I will be using Doctor Moo. For meat, I go to Joseph's as I have said before because I can be sure of where my meat is getting cut and cleaned, but I will have to check if their meat is organic or not.
Please let me know in the comments what other Mumbai posts you would like to see, or even general posts about fashion.
Anagha C.
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