Jumbo King finally in Pune!

The newly opened franchise!

Yay! Jumbo King - the iconic vada-pav franchise from Mumbai has finally set foot in Pune. The first branch opened last week in Deccan right next to the Deccan bus station. Its been raining in Pune for the past few days, so we decided to head out and try out the iconic mumbaiya vada-pav :)

The fancy vada-pav menu

Our MacD style packaged vada-pavs

For a vada-pav shop, Jumbo King is certainly rather fancy with a very neatly designed banner and extremely well presented vada-pavs. The inspiration certainly seems to have come from McDonald, which is a good thing as the place has a very hygienic feel to it.

The vada-pav is a completely different though. I felt that the inspiration from McDonald was taken top far and the end result tastes more like a burger than a vada-pav. It's not bad, no doubt, but to me it was not vada-pav at all. I have never eaten a Jumbo King vada-pav in Mumbai, but I have been told it's pretty good. 

The crowd wasn't a lot, but there was a constant stream of visitors out there to try out the new style of vad-pav. And if  you do not like the food there, you can always have samosa-chai in the small (but covered) shop right next to it and follow it up with paan. And if you prefer dabeli, just cross the road and you will find the small dabeli cart that I reviewed earlier here - Kutchi Dabeli on JM Road.

And finally 'us' enjoying :)

History of vada-pav:

Credit for creating this Mumbaiyya staple is often given to Ashok Vaidya, a snack vendor who set up his stall just outside Dadar station, a major commuter hub in the metropolis. Vaidya reportedly came up with this recipe in 1971 to appease the hunger of the rush of commuters who wanted a snack they could carry and munch on without needing implements or cleansing wipes. He served it up with a fiery red chutney that could include coconut, peanuts, chillies, garlic and tamarind pulp. And it flew off his stall and straight into the eager mouths of the always-rushed daily commuter. 
Ref: In search of Mumbai Vada Pav 

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Here is a map if you plan to go there here is for Deccan Bus Stop which is right next to the shop :) As for parking, take the road down towards the river bed. You will easily find a parking spot under Gadgil Bridge. Of course, with rains like today the parking spots might submerge soon :)


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