Who doesn’t love a Kapsalon? The infamous Rotterdam kebab shop special has found its way to Mumbai in India. 

What is a Kapsalon?

A Kapsalon consists of fries topped off with döner or shawarma meat, then smothered in Gouda cheese and put under the grill until it melts. Once that’s done, it gets covered with a layer of salad greens, garlic sauce and sambal; a hot sauce from Indonesia, a former Dutch colony.

If you need to know, a Kapsalon is definitely a "calorie bomb" despite being served with salad. Some argue it reaches a hefty 1800 kcal, which is, quite frankly, almost your entire calorie intake for the day. But it’s so good, it’s hard to resist.

Where did it come from?

The term Kapsalon translates to "hairdressing salon", and of course, there’s a story behind it!

The dish was invented in 2003 by Nathaniël Gomes, a Cape Verdian hairdresser living in Rotterdam who became a regular at the neighbourhood kebab shop "El Aviva".

He asked to combine all of his favourite ingredients into one dish and pretty much made it the only thing he ordered when he went in there.

So rather than having to give his order time and time again, the kebab shop owner would see him walk in and utter, "Kapsalon?". Since then, the recipe became popular in Rotterdam and soon spread to other parts of the Netherlands and even made its way down to Belgium… But only recently has it reached other continents!

The Indian version

Located in Lokhandwala, a large residential and commercial neighbourhood in Mumbai, India, Zu's Doner Kebaps has added the Rotterdam classic to his menu.

On April 20, Zubair began selling the Kapsalon for a mere 150 rupees after discovering it during a trip to Amsterdam a few years back.

"I fell in love with it. The original recipe includes Indonesian sambal sauce but we avoid that. Instead, we make a signature mix using three sauces," he stated.

To cater for the large number of vegetarians that reside in the area, Zubair also offers a veg option. Putting a spin on the original recipe, the Veg Kapsalon replaces the meat with potato nuggets and more veggies.