We are sure that you must have spotted many Mumbai cafes or restaurants going viral on Instagram for flashy designs, creative vibes, or quirky dishes. But most of them ride the viral wave for a short time before fading fast. Bang Bang! Noodle in Goregaon, Mumbai defy that trend! The place is loved and is still in the buzz for its standout hand-pulled Sichuan noodles and bold Ma La flavors ever since its launch in July 2025.
But it is not an easy task to ride the viral wave and then sustain it. How did the restaurant do that, or rather, still is doing it? Well, we at unstumbled got the opportunity to know this secret straight from the horse’s mouth. Yes, we interviewed Chef Rahul Punjabi, the founder of Bang Bang! Noodle, and here’s how it went!
In Conversation With Chef Rahul Punjabi, Founder and Head Chef At Bang Bang! Noodle
unstumbled: Take us through your journey of becoming a chef. What inspired you, or what was the biggest influence that led to this decision?
Chef Rahul Punjabi: I pursued my culinary degree from Le Cordon Bleu Sydney. I woke up at 4:00 AM, started my internship breakfast shift at 5:00 AM, and then attended school from 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM. After this, I would rush for my dinner shift at a different restaurant. I worked relentlessly without an off for one and a half years while studying. So slowly moving forward, I got opportunities to work with Quay, The Boathouse, Masala Library, and Bombay Canteen, to name a few.
unstumbled: Why did you choose Goregaon as the launch spot? Is there a strategy behind not choosing Bandra?
Chef Rahul Punjabi: To be honest, I found Goregaon a much more exciting place than Bandra. It’s like a diamond in the rough, and we knew that if we put the same effort as in Bandra, we would be rewarded, and that is exactly what happened.
We focused more on the food quality and hygiene than on the interiors or anything, because we want the food experience to bring our customers back to us.
unstumbled: What’s the story behind your mascot, Pai Mei, and how does it reflect the restaurant’s vibe?
Chef Rahul Punjabi: We chose a random cool-looking cat, which is also very Asian in culture. The mascot is cool and fun, just like we wish every customer’s experience to be at Bang Bang! Noodle.
unstumbled: Which dish on the menu best captures your personal connection to Sichuan street food?
Chef Rahul Punjabi: The signature Bang Bang! Noodle, which also gave the restaurant its name. It completely captures the true essence of China’s street food, especially the one that I grew up eating in Sydney’s Chinatown. It is a well-balanced dish that fills you up and leaves you wanting more!
unstumbled: Explain the technique of hand-pulling noodles like you would to a 5-year-old.
Chef Rahul Punjabi: So basically, we make a strong dough out of organic flour by kneading and pressing it in a particular way. Then we take a small 2-2 ½ inch piece of the dough and stretch it to more than two feet long by pulling and tapping it on the counter. The noodles are then boiled, which makes them fluff up a bit. It’s a high-protein dough, and hence the noodles are good for your health.
unstumbled: With hand-pulled noodles, how do you maintain the consistency? What is the biggest challenge?
Chef Rahul Punjabi: I do not wish to maintain any consistency when it comes to hand-pulled noodles, and hence I did not opt for machine-made ones. To be honest, consistency is boring. If you pick up any noodle you will not find any two of them being thick or thin in the same place.
This is exactly what brings different textures, making some pieces soft, some slippery, and some completely soaked in the sauce, offering variety in every bowl. In fact, I tend to push my team to keep it imperfect.
unstumbled: What modern twists have you added to traditional Sichuan flavors without losing their authenticity?
Chef Rahul Punjabi: None! This is the traditional Sichuan cuisine. It’s the same street food that you would get on the streets of China. For the Ma la spice, I fly to China and bring the authentic Sichuan peppercorn back with me to use here, found in Chengdu in the Sichuan province.
unstumbled: How do you blend theatrical elements like live noodle-pulling demos into the dining experience without compromising the casual, street-style vibe?
Chef Rahul Punjabi: We already have an open kitchen here, but the walls are a bit too high. So we are planning to keep the walls much lower in our next outlets so that people can witness the noodles being hand-pulled and everything else that goes on in the kitchen.
unstumbled: What are your plans for Bang Bang! Noodles?
Chef Rahul Punjabi: We are looking at opening Bang Bang in Thane, Navi Mumbai, and even Bandra. The wish is also to be the number one spot for all Chinese noodle variations, just like I have experienced in China. For this, I will be flying to the Shanxi province in China in the upcoming months and learn different noodle variations. The place is known as the “ Noodle Capital of China.”
unstumbled: A piece of advice to a budding chef reading this interview
Chef Rahul Punjabi: Be impatient to grow. Come in early, leave late, and work hard. If you finish your work, make a staff meal, and after making a staff meal try to help your seniors. Keep working, keep learning. Also, try to do the odd jobs that others don’t want to do. This will help you get noticed, and you get to move ahead fast. But at the same time, be realistic about where you are and that you have a long way to go, so do not try to cut corners.
Team unstumbled’s Take On The Menu
Team unstumbled also had the pleasure of enjoying the best of Bang Bang! Noodle from the menu with Chef Rahul Punjabi. Here’s what we tried!
Ma La Thread Chicken
This signature chicken starter is marinated chicken tenders wrapped in crispy thread noodles. It is juicy on the inside and crispy on the outside, offering a fun starter experience. The dish is served with Ma La cream sauce, which features chili oil and Sichuan peppercorn powder. It complements the flavorful chicken well.
Classic Ma La Bang Bang! Noodle
The dish that gave this wonderful place its name, the Classic Ma La Bang Bang! Noodle are surely the showstopper! This dish features delicious flat, moderately thick hand-pulled noodles tossed in chili oil, sesame paste, seasoned soy, and black vinegar. Its Ma La profile offers numbing Sichuan peppercorn tingle along with bok choy, chicken keema, and crushed peanuts, bringing in a lovely variety of texture and taste in one dish.
Bang Bang! Flying Noodles
We are sure you must have seen this dish “flying” across social media. This flavorful dish is presented in a dramatic form where the chopsticks defy gravity and hold the noodles high in the air from the bowl. The dish features glossy hand-pulled noodles tossed with superior soy and asian vegetables. These noodles taste so good that you surely would wish you had a bigger appetite to relish one more bowl.
Tibetan Jhol Wontons
Wontons are thin, steamed, delicate wrappers stuffed with juicy minced chicken or veggies and are served in fiery chili, tangy tomato, and peanut sauce. This dish gets a bit spicy as they use the authentic Tibetan spices, but it offers a taste like no other. The steamed wontons floating in the spicy jhol are surely a match made in heaven, offering an authentic Tibetan food experience.
Crossroad Smoke Chili Lemon and Kachi Kairi Soda
Any food experience can never be complete without some nice beverages to complement it. At Bang Bang! Noodle, our food experience was perfectly complemented by Crossroad Smoke Chili, Lemon, and Kachi Kairi Soda. These bold and layered mocktails simply enhanced the Sichuan street food experience.
Details About Bang Bang! Noodle In Goregaon
Address: Shop No. 4, Siddharth Nagar Rd, Motilal Nagar I, Goregaon West, Mumbai
Timings: 12:00 PM to 12:00 AM
Cost For Two (Approx.): INR 1,000
