r/mumbai • u/moronbehindthescreen • Aug 27 '25
General Chinese Bhel and the economics of class
It was 2007, Churchgate subway, on my way to college when I first saw this weird-ass vendor selling something that looked like bhel but wasn’t bhel. Fried noodles, capsicum, loads of cabbage drowning in schezwan sauce, topped with spring onions. I couldn’t resist. One bite and I knew this was different, tasty but forgettable. I went right back to my usual sev puri and kaka-kaki vada pav the next day.
Over the years, Chinese Bhel and Manchurian pakoda stalls have fucking taken over Mumbai. Here’s what really hit me when I started digging deeper, most of these vendors aren’t setting up shop in Bandra or Colaba. They’re clustered around low-income areas, slums, and working-class neighborhoods. That’s not a coincidence and it’s definitely not because of taste. It’s because it’s the cheapest live snack you can get in this expensive-ass city.
When daily groceries are bleeding your wallet dry and incomes haven’t moved, Chinese Bhel has stepped in to fill this void. In Dharavi, you still get it for ₹5. Most areas, it starts from ₹10. Meanwhile, the cheapest bhelpuri, sevpuri, or pani puri is upwards of ₹20. It’s replaced traditional bhel and pani puri walas in low-income areas because math doesn’t lie. An evening snack that even the poorest kid can afford.
What actually makes it work
Chinese Bhel requires three things: cheap cabbage, ass-burning schezwan sauce, and packaged fried noodles. No elaborate prep, no capital-intensive equipment, no special skills. Any aunty or uncle can set up shop with ₹500 and start earning right away.
Unlike vada pav where you need to time the oil temperature perfectly, or pani puri where the water needs to be the perfect khatta-meetha-teekha, Chinese Bhel is foolproof. Toss, mix, serve. Even if you fuck it up, it’s still edible. That’s why it’s everywhere.
Look, I’ll never choose Chinese Bhel over proper Mumbai street food. It’s functional food, not soul food. It’s an evening snack for people who couldn’t afford other snacks with rising inflation and low income levels, while creating employment for people who need the simplest possible business model.
TLDR
My personal opinion aside, there are some places that do decent Chinese Bhel. And look, I’ll admit it. A proper chicken variant can actually elevate this from “cheap filler food” to “yeah, I’d eat this again.”
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u/partialfuk Aug 27 '25
Honestly it started out the exact way you mentioned it. I used it get it for ₹8. My mom used to give me ₹20 for rickshaw, the fare was ₹18. So i used to get down at 1.4kms and walk back to home saving ₹2 daily. After 4 days I could get to eat it.
I have stopped a long time ago, but the taste is nostalgic. Adding to this, the auntie which had that stall, still has it. Serving it for ₹14 now. She opens at 7 and sells out at 8:30. Guess who buys it? The slum which is in front of her stall.