If you travel from Borivali, a Mumbai Suburb where I live toward Churchgate, the heart of the city, you will pass Vile Parle, another suburb. If you travel early in the morning and when the train passes between Andheri and Vile parle you smell is the flavor of Parle-G biscuits. Parle-G biscuits have always been my favorite biscuits since many years. You just have to have a steaming cup of tea in your hand and smell the biscuits. It’s like eating the biscuits there.
My Father used to run a grocery store. We still have the grocery store but after my dad passed away, nobody runs it. The good thing about having a grocery store of your own is having a lot of everything. We use to have eggs, biscuits, flour, potatoes and everything that the store would sell. We use to get the big aluminum boxes of Parle-G biscuits. Nowadays they come in cartons. Sometimes when I sat in the store, I would feast on the biscuits and sweets and the most I would like were the biscuits. There were the Parle-G glucose biscuits, Britannia Marie and the cream biscuits.
The familar face of Parle-G biscuits. The child's face and the yellow and white strips haven't changed much
This was in the times when the Parle was a bigger brand than Britannia and Bakeman was virtually non-existent. There is something unique about Parle-G. The biggest selling factor was obviously the cost. It would cost only Rs. 4/- I don’t know how much it costs now. The boy on the cover of Parle-G biscuits packet showing that there is nothing left with his hand has not changed over the years and remain the most recognizable face of Parle-g biscuits.
Earlier the biscuits were known as Parle Glucose Biscuits. So when I heard that one our relative was sick and in hospital on glucose, I thought he only eat glucose biscuits and I was “wow”. When we went to see him in the hospital, I was disappointed that there is another version of ‘Glucose’ which looks like water.
The best to have the biscuits was with a steaming cup of Indian Chai (tea). You dip the biscuits in the tea and then put it in your mouth. It just melts in your mouth. Now there is a way to do it. If you dip it in tea, you have to know when to remove them because if you keep them for a short time, then they are still a little crispy and if you keep them more than the required time, then it breaks and most of the time falls into the tea cup or outside but never in your mouth. A good biscuit is never wasted. You just can’t stop eating after that. My brother and I would finish a whole packet. My mom would get angry when we finished the whole packet in one go. Biscuits after all were a luxury item in those days.
I think no biscuit came closer to Parle-g. Britannia tried to beat Parle-G with “Tiger” but something was missing in there. But then Britannia had “Marie” biscuits. They taste nice with tea but not as good as it is. Bakeman’s Marie had a different and nicer taste.
Another winner from Parle-G was the Krackjack brand, a salty sweet taste. They tasted nice with tea. Another one was the “Monaco” brand, a salty biscuit.
Another one of my favorite biscuit was Britannia Delite, an orange flavored biscuit. Now this was royal stuff according to me and my brother. It would cost a lot and was not available at all stores because the reason was simple, it cost a lot. The orange taste was simply great, much better than the Orange cream biscuits again from the Britannia stable.
I never liked the cream biscuits much. There were not much tasty once you scrapped and licked the cream inside. It then tasted quite bland. Years later I would understand that the biscuits had to be had as it is with the cream in between. But I still think the best way to eat a cream biscuit is to separate the two biscuits, scrap the cream off the inside of the biscuits and then maybe eat the biscuit itself.
To be continued…..
what made you think of these biscuits? š
Memories Wbix memories and I have a lot of them.
Actually we were eating biscuits from Amsterdam and comparing them with Indian biscuits and I realized I could actually write a lot about them.
Punds
wow, no kidding…I too eat Parle G a lot, it’s my old time favorite :):) and the packet still says Rs4/ (altho here in US, it is for 0.4$…which is reaally cheap I think)….but ya, there is absolutely nothing like a hot cup of tea, and ParleG dipping in it…..
(not to mention the hundreds of calories in it š
enig
Mmm mmm, good!
Now I’ll have to go hunt down some Parle-G, darn you for making me crave them again š
i just can’t stop eating Marie with tea, should try P-G sometime.
Still take those with my morning tea. Naya Export Pack Mein Wohi Swaad.
this was an awesome read
and I go for britannia marie. Loved those. Pecan shortbread came close but marie wins .
Waaah seems like we have a sizeable Parle-G lovers club here š Plz where do i get the membership form ?? Never knew that these humble & wholesome biscuits had a connection with Vile-Parle station !! Thanx pundoba.. U taught me something new today.
About that Brittania Delite.. wonder, how u left out the mention of the wonderful TV ad for these biscuits about the guy waking up @ nite under the hypnotic powers of the chant “Brittania Delite…Brittania Delite…Brittania Delite…Brittania Delite…Brittania Delite…Brittania Delite…” & heading towards kitchen for his fav pack of BD biscuits. Even after all these years, that ad has always stayed with me somehow.. (And so is the ad of “Topaz Stainless Blade..” but then again i am digressing here from biscuits to TV ads) .. Waiting for the next series..
Mashallah! You are talented at documenting the simple things that make our lives!
You should syndicate your bombay blogs to some print media – should work quite well. Every morning, I’d love to read your column in the newspaper, while having a nice breakfast.
For me it was the Rs 5 Ragda Samosa that my school canteen used to sell. It was essentially a breakfast, lunch or subsituted my milk in the evenings but it was a must.
Passing by school these days still reminds me of the canteen and sometime back i was pleasently surprised to see kids hovering around even though the price has doubled since.
Nice Post!
Hey Punds..the child on the Parle G cover is not a boy it is a girl !!!
And yes I love parle g too..infact i used to love smelling its aroma in parle. I used to study in the parle college in 11th and 12th. And I remember every day at 5 in the evening a lovely aroma strongly passes by you..hmmm..yummy..bhuk lag gayi..ha h..chal njoy..
i haven’t eaten a parle-g for years. parle g and tea during college days, was a cheap between meals snack: one pack PG and two or three teas. and if we had money it was two or three special chai. imagine the sugar overload the body had to take.
i am a marie/arrowroot fan with tea these days but one of these days should get PG. Did u try those small circular sweet biscuits? (we called them bbc biscuits). we dropped them in tea, when they were soaked, fished them out with spoon and ate them. bliss!!
Oh my god… it’s almost as if I wrote this post š
Unfortunately, I started finding stale Parle G packets everywhere, so I went in for Tiger. Not too bad either, can eat tons of them, dipped in tea! š
Enigma
calories? what calories? what is lots of calories in front of pure pleasure?
Ashoe
I have been carving for them since many days. We don’t get them in Netherlands.
Ano
You should really try Parle-G. Marie are good but i would prefer Parle-G over them.
Oz
Man! You are lucky! Yahan kuch nahi milta
Parikrama
Hummmm! Thats a good idea! Ads we forgot! I will start working on it!
Atrakshya
Thanks a lot. But I guess I am still not a writer yet for the print media to recognise me. Anyways, the post was inspired by the discussion I had with my friends.
Ravi
Samosas! Now thats another weak spot. I still think my school canteen made the best samosas. Ummmmm
Pradnya
Sabke saamne popat nahi karneka. Mujhe ek mail bhejne ka, main change karta tha. Apun ke reputation ka kuch khayal karo yaar! Waise bhi ladka ya ladki sab same hai. Indian govermint ne bola hai!
Imp
I don’t know if you are aware of ‘butter’ a dome shape bakery product. You smash them, drop them in tea and then use the spoon to eat. Bliss! I gues its the same as bbc biscuit. Nice name though.
Shruti
I did not like Tiger. Did try them a couple of times. I switched back to Parle-G. Brand loyalty I say
Punds
[…] Full2Faltu explains why Parle-G biscuits stand out from the crowd. […]
š True. Parle G is my favourite too. Ever tried a slighty soggy Parle G biscuit. My roommate used to actually open the packet and keep it open for a while for the biscuits to get a little soggy-ish. I found that very strange initially, but slowly started liking it!! Try it if you haven’t already. š
Made me relive the pleasure of dipping Parle G in tea and eating. In fact I like it when it is dipped for a short time. Crisp inside, soft outside! Oh, the dimay when in the midst of talking you allow it to sink into the tea! I thing you should send this blog to parle! You may get a years supply of Parle G for sheer loyalty!
Good one. Shows one can become nostalgic even about biscuits š
Besides a Rs.4/- pack, Parle G now also comes in Rs.1/- & Rs.2/- Pack…
One more Parle-G fan here! We don’t get it in Brussels either, but I love it so much that every time I go back to the States, I buy tons of it. That and Maggi!
Vanilla
I have tried the soggy Parle-G too but not voluntarily like your roommate. It was by chance. They are good to eat without tea. But when you put them in tea, they break and fall into tea.
Anu
Thanks a lot. Thats a nice suggestion to send the blog to Parle. Do you think I would get Parle-G for life time? That is good. Is Parle listening?
Priya
I guess a lot people are still nostalgic about the snacks they had in the childhood.
Nitin
Thanks for the info. I use to have the Rs 1 and Rs 2 pack too but also the more economical 11:50 3 packet pack.
Anjali
I think we don’t get Parle-G in Europe anywhere but available in UK. Anyways, enjoy the taste in US.
Punds
One more parle g fan here,
i eat it in morning,afternoon n in evening with tea.
its a part of my life now.
eat it whenever u r hungry.
there is a fan group of parle g on orkut too.
ENJOY PARLE G
SWAD BHARE SACCHI SHAKTI BHARE
hehe buddy
a fan here too
and im sorry but the cost of 100gm pack has now been raised to rs 5 after a gap of 12yrs!!!!!
Punds… again I searched for Britannia Delite and landed up to ur blog!!! Man u r getting all the more famous day by day ha š
Hi there!
Just stumbled upon your blog when I was googling for ‘Britannia Delite’.I just looove Parle G biscuits and Britannia Delite were my second favorite.But we don’t get them anymore in Mumbai. I was heartbroken when they stopped manufacturing them ( as far as I know ).
But I know what you mean about a hot steaming cup of cha and Parle G…yum..i could finish the whole packet in one go too.I like the ‘ butter’ too with cha.
And I also loved the Britannia Delite ad, they really had some good ads back then!
Would love to read a post about old ads.
parle-g is sael for dhuplecat fool avelibal in amhedabad
Truly Britannia Delite was my favorite biscuit too. I am very nostalgic about it. If on Britannia revived it…..
if you get some thing about britannia delite please know me on my mail
Myself Bhavesh Patel, it is really an delicious taste of parle-G, I eat parle-G since last 20 years, Thank you PARLE-G..Thanks a lot….
Do you remember the Parle-G peppermints? those small pink coloured sweets in a purple wrapper?
My grand dad always used to get me those….
dont see any mention of them at all on the web.. š¦
i too love the biscuits as all of you, but i guess, it is not only the taste of the biscuit, but the beautiful childhood memories we had along with it makes it more tasty. moreover they used to be the royal ones those days with very less competition with others. also the scarcity of it in the house, fighting with siblings about the quantity, making faces when the timing of the biscuit in tea increases which makes tea dense. thinking about the fact that the biscuits should never finish, making attempts to collect that 4 rupees to buy one packet. the effect of achievement when you get it in your hand. ALL this contributes for its taste which makes it more special and we propagate it to our next generation which makes it more wonderful………….
does any one know who is/was that most printed ad girl on Parle G wrapper? I have always wondered she must be a granny by now!!!