ROHIT SHARMA
Cricketer
Favourite restaurants: Chaat at Swati Snacks, and avocado tartare and lotus root on fire at Yuuka in Mumbai. Also Buddha Bar in Monaco: There’s no dish I don’t love there
The surprise twist: Indian food at a Mauritius hotel some years ago. My friend had a craving, but there wasn’t any at the hotel. The chef was nice enough to try his hand at it and it ended up being one of the best Indian meals I’ve eaten
Street food: Vada pav
Comfort food: Poha or sabudana khichdi. Don’t get to eat it that often but have it whenever I’m at my mom’s house
Guilty pleasure: Waffles, but I never eat them. Unless I’m in London and we pass Wafflemeister
SHUBHRA CHADDA
Co-founder, Chumbak
Favourite restaurants: The Bombay Canteen, Mumbai; Indian Accent, Delhi; Toast & Tonic, Bengaluru; Gaggan, Bangkok; and Le Bernardin, New York; Masakichi, Tokyo. My favourite dishes are the Kejriwal toast and gulab nut for dessert at The Bombay Canteen
The surprise twist: Salmon roe at Tsukiji fish market in Japan
Street food: Bhel puri or vada pav in Mumbai
Comfort food: Curd rice, which my husband makes for me, and I get to have 2-3 times a week
Guilty pleasure: A glass of wine everyday
AMISH TRIPATHI
Author
Favourite restaurants: Be it India or abroad, I’m more concerned about the ambience than a particular restaurant or the cuisine
The surprise twist: Mango Tree in the historic town of Hampi in Karnataka. They served this lovely South Indian thali on banana plantains. The ground-level seating faced the Tungabhadra river and beyond the river were the architectural ruins of the Vijayanagara empire. The food was simple, tasty and pocket-friendly
Street food: Pani puri
Comfort food: Dal khichdi with buknu (spice mixture, popular in northern India), ghee, papad and dahi at least once a fortnight, and my go-to restaurant for this is Khichdi Samrat in Mumbai
Guilty pleasure: Cream biscuits and chocolates
SHILPA SHETTY
Actor
Favourite restaurants: Wasabi by Morimoto in India and Nobu abroad
Street food: Vada pav and pani puri
Comfort food: Dal khichdi with ghee
Guilty pleasure: Chocolate
SIDDHANT KAMATH
Director, Natural Ice creamFavourite restaurants: Highway Gomantak in Mumbai for authentic seafood; Al Jawahar in Delhi for the best khameeri roti and chicken changezi; the unique kebabs and the biriyani at Kolkata’s Arsalan; Giri Manja’s in Mangaluru for its home-style seafood thali; and Kokni Kanteen in Goa for barleli bangda and baby shark curry
The surprise twist: At Gunpowder, Goa, I was surprised how South Indian food can be redefined
Street food: Misal pav, any day, any time
Comfort food: Dal makhani with plain laccha paratha. When I am having a bad day, there’s extra white butter on the dal. I usually let myself indulge on Friday nights
Guilty pleasure: Moong dal halwa. I forget about diet and etiquette when I’m having it
PAYAL SINGHAL
Designer
Favourite restaurants: Peshawari in Mumbai: There’s no black dal like Peshawari’s in the world; Pio Pio 8 in New York—their green sauce is to die for
The surprise twist: The raspberry dessert at Yauatcha
Street food: Egyptian chicken & rice on 49th Street & 6th Avenue in New York City
Comfort food: Homemade chicken biryani. I have it at least twice a week
Guilty pleasure: Chocolate cake, any time
(This story appears in the 13 September, 2019 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)