Tank up in SoBo

Edamame and truffle oil dimsum

One of the things we are missing the most about our suspended backpacking jaunts, especially around South East Asia, is the ubiquity of the grab-and-go convenience store. Be it 7-Eleven, Lawson or Family Mart, picking up everything from a bowl of hot tom yum soup to iced Vietnamese coffee at their live food counters is literally an in-and-out five-minute affair.

And, while we in Mumbai have been warming up to the concept of shopping for knick-knacks at our local petrol pump-cum-auto service station convenience stores over the last decade or so, fuelling up on freshly made food at such places has eluded us. Thus far, that is.

Neatly tucked away, hidden by a faux green vertical garden, Gourmet To Go replaces a Subway outlet that used to be housed behind the popular New Kampala Service Station and petrol pump, along the city's bustling Peddar Road. This hybrid convenience store-meets-takeaway joint features a live food station at the back that focuses primarily on North Indian and Asian vegetarian meal-in-one bowls and snacks along with freshly brewed tea and coffee available on tap.

Co-founded by former sports nutritionist-turned-entrepreneur Priyal Shah (whose husband runs the service station), this all-day, grab-and-go joint ticked most of our boxes. With no seating options or delivery available at present (we learnt that an in-house delivery app is in the offing), we drive in and pick up a few meal-in-one savoury bowls and other goodies off the concise menu to bring back home with us.

Berry berry smoothie bowl with coconut milk

Available in various permutations and combinations, be it Jain, vegan or gluten-free, the food here is made-to-order and fully customisable. And while this does mean that our order takes a good half an hour or so to get prepared and packed, we don't mind spending this time browsing through the gourmet food and drink products that line the store's shelves.

Recovering from a Ganesh Chaturthi-fuelled dairy products bender, we ask that a berry berry smoothie bowl (R400) be made with coconut milk. Packed in a bright yellow and white biodegradable paper bowl, the delicious banana-based smoothie makes its journey home in good condition, replete with the sprinkling of nuts, seeds and fresh berries still sitting atop the thick smoothie.

Jeera rice and black dal bowl

Six generously sized pieces of flavourful, truffle-saturated dumplings make up our order of edamame and truffle oil dimsum (Rs 380). The accompanying fiery hot schezwan sauce is a perfect foil to the dimsums' delicacy. We wash these down with a cold brew lemonade (Rs 200) that is the refreshing sum of its cold brew coffee, jaggery and gondhoraj lebu parts. In fact, the kaffir lime-like fragrance of the Bengali lemon only intensifies our South East Asia yearning.

Bringing us back to North India is the generously portioned bowl of unctuous black dal with jeera rice (Rs 350). This one may not look the best, but tastes perfect. We are disappointed though with the veggie khow suey bowl (Rs 450). It misses its crucial rice noodle base and so we're left to contend with the crispy fried noodle garnish as our bowl's solitary carb component.

The in-house breads

Speaking of carbs, you can also choose from a range of breads, jams and honey that are all produced in-house at a central kitchen, we're informed. We pick out a freshly-baked loaf of multigrain sandwich bread (Rs 76) that is nutty, dense and all things comforting; it's perfect for those midnight grilled cheese cravings that have become an addiction for us, these days.

Time: 9 am to 11 pm
At: Gourmet To Go, New Kampala Service Station, near Jaslok Hospital, Pedder Road.
Call: 7208179996