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Betel leaf filled with sugar and spices, known as 'pan' (pronounced "paarn"), is a popular after-dinner treat across South Asia. A dedicated 'panwalla' rolls up a small green betel leaf with a variety of sweet or savoury fillings in the middle, which can include rose syrup, saffron, cardamom, tobacco and coconut.

Pan is usually eaten after a meal to aid digestion and freshen the mouth. These days it is available in a myriad of flavours and varieties. Some are mild stimulants, filled with betel nut or tobacco, which take hours to chew.

Rolling in the celebrities

Anand Pan Centre in Upton Park has become one of the most famous pan shops in world since it opened twenty-seven years ago. Owner, Kishore Pandya, has hosted some of Mumbai’s biggest celebrities and rolled their favourite pan flavours.

Kishore at Anand Pan Centre

Pictures of stars including Shah Rukh Khan and Amitabh Bachan line the walls in golden frames. Plastic cases contain pan named after some of the actors, depending on the flavours they chose – giving customers the opportunity to eat the same pan as Bollywood icons.

Marble floors, leaf-shaped lights and polished wooden cabinets have turned Anand Pan Centre into a mini wonderland. For those who haven’t acquired a taste for pan, the store also sells soft drinks direct from India and kulfi ice-cream.

To hear Newham and Tower Hamlets reporter Angela Saini’s interview with Kishore at Anand Pan Centre, click on the audio link in the top right-hand corner.

angela.saini@bbc.co.uk