#ThrowbackThursdays: Remembering Mr. India Before Bollywood Tandoor Came
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| Mr. India Facebook Page |
Since it's Thursday, I feel like doing a random throwback post. Back in college, I had a few Indian Filipino friends who could speak Cebuano. I was usually into Arabic cooking. I remember eating in an Indian friend's house where his mother prepared some Indian dishes. It was around 2012 when Mr. India opened. This was the restaurant that would eventually become Bollywood Tandoor on M. Cuenco Avenue. It was a humble restaurant that served authentic Indian cuisine while learning to adjust to the Filipino palate.
I could remember my hesitance to eat there before. It was because I once had a bad memory at an Indian restaurant on Mango Avenue, which closed down so soon. It had bad service, and I will not mention its name. It was sometime in July of 2012 (more than 10 years ago) when the establishment opened at Gaisano Country Mall. I only entered the establishment a few years after it opened. I ate some of their foldover sandwiches (which were my favorite back in the day), chicken curry (trademark dish), and chicken biryani.
All of a sudden, Mr. India closed when Bollywood Tandoor opened. I remember calling the landline nunber. I received the call saying, "Mr. India is closed, this is Bollywood." It made sense to close Mr. India to focus on Bollywood Tandoor. The idea made sense because maintaining Bollywood Tandoor isn't easy. The disco-like atmosphere, even before the opening of the 24K Bar, means there would be more customers.
Mr. India's success meant it had to rebrand and relocate. The once "humble store" in Gaisano Country Mall had to expand. It made sense when I thought about how difficult it was for me to get that curry here. The smaller space vs. the huge demand was a real hurdle. My memory of the place is that I only ate there a few times. The memories expanded at Bollywood Tandoor. Sure, I seldom look for the foldovers. However, the tandoor-cooked flatbread, along with many other options, may have been the reason why the foldovers were folded away.
I could remember my hesitance to eat there before. It was because I once had a bad memory at an Indian restaurant on Mango Avenue, which closed down so soon. It had bad service, and I will not mention its name. It was sometime in July of 2012 (more than 10 years ago) when the establishment opened at Gaisano Country Mall. I only entered the establishment a few years after it opened. I ate some of their foldover sandwiches (which were my favorite back in the day), chicken curry (trademark dish), and chicken biryani.
All of a sudden, Mr. India closed when Bollywood Tandoor opened. I remember calling the landline nunber. I received the call saying, "Mr. India is closed, this is Bollywood." It made sense to close Mr. India to focus on Bollywood Tandoor. The idea made sense because maintaining Bollywood Tandoor isn't easy. The disco-like atmosphere, even before the opening of the 24K Bar, means there would be more customers.
Mr. India's success meant it had to rebrand and relocate. The once "humble store" in Gaisano Country Mall had to expand. It made sense when I thought about how difficult it was for me to get that curry here. The smaller space vs. the huge demand was a real hurdle. My memory of the place is that I only ate there a few times. The memories expanded at Bollywood Tandoor. Sure, I seldom look for the foldovers. However, the tandoor-cooked flatbread, along with many other options, may have been the reason why the foldovers were folded away.
Mr. India didn't really die. It simply reincarnated as Bollywood Tandoor to serve us better Indian food.
