Soho Road might be spoilt for sweet centres, but that only makes it harder to choose when you’re unsure which ones are worthy of your time, cash and appetite. Perennially popular Milan’s is the place to pick if you’re in the market for fried-before-your-eyes, top-drawer pickles and pakoras that will cost pence, not pounds.
At the vegetarian sweet centre, ‘farsans’ refer to furiously tasty savoury Gujarati titbits, such as Milan’s moreish kachoris: ball-shaped, stuffed, deep-fried croquettes, seasoned slightly sweetly in the typical manner of the region. Bombay Mix addicts will be overjoyed to explore the sheer spectrum of different ‘chevdos’ – assorted gram flour-based snack mixtures.
Munching your way through Milan’s menu will take a while – or many return visits, upon most of which you’ll fight for a seat. A selection of street food ‘chaat’ dishes, all around £3, makes a good shared meal, supplemented, perhaps, by a few of the pretty gram flour paste rolls called ‘khandvi’, and washed down with a mango lassi to add some fruit to your diet.
Sweets are most definitely for the sweet-toothed, but are well made and very easy to overdose on. Layered chocolate burfi might be completely non-traditional, but is an excellent way to eat two treats while only expending the calories on a single sweet.