There is such A-grade karma when you eat at Kaboom. Colonel J. A. Ballard’s spirit would be very proud to see an establishment (in Ballard Estate) serving delicious, affordable and consciously sourced food. While this Edwardian, neoclassical-inspired precinct reminds me of London, the parrot-green, container-like space serving the aforementioned delicious, affordable and consciously sourced food reminds me of Borough Market. Just an atom out of the original Borough Market transported into a cow-friendly, black and yellow taxi dotted Ballard Estate.

I cannot begin to tell you how urgently we need to clone such spaces. We all love street-food, or so the statisticians claim. However, are our options healthy, safe to eat, poison free? I do not think it is. So when I find establishments which sources its produce, poultry, cheese, butter and bread from homegrown farms, pens, bakeries and artists I sigh a sigh of relief and thank the gods for the human beams who make this happen.

Kunali and Yohaan are these human beams and Kaboom is their response to the question raised in the paragraph above. Here are three things that fascinated me as I lunched at Kaboom; on Easy Cheesy Tuesday!

Each ingredient has a story. The chickens come from a free-range poultry farm, their ketchup, sauces, spices are all freshly made, the vegetables are sourced from organic farms around Bombay, artisanal cheese makers supply the cheese and The Baker’s Dozen brings bread to the table. I noticed their beverages are sourced from cool, forward-thinking suppliers. Bottled spring water, cold pressed fresh juices and Fresh Pressery products. Everything tasted earthier, cleaner and happier. And it had homemade cheese. The obscenely delicious, cheesy food was served in biodegradable packaging (so many brownie points for that1).

Lunch began with a grilled cheese sandwich and pumpkin soup.

The décor is very optimistic; the pictures of the farms where they source their ingredients flank one wall while the others are covered in pop art. Giant blackboards present the menu and the unassuming furniture casts a utilitarian elegance. I thought hashtags (#EatLocal #Organic) would appear in the beams of sunlight that brightened Kaboom on this particular Tuesday afternoon.

The menu changes DAILY. The cuisine, taxonomy, it all changes from Monday to Friday. From Italian to Arabic, to American and South Asian, Kaboom guarantees that the residents of Ballard Estate are spoilt for choice. I mean lawyers, bankers, corporate crocodile and tourists must have some silver-lining right!

I particularly loved their cup-a-noodles and their mushroom and cheese!

And dessert well took a look!

Twitter: @eatkaboom

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