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Takeaway - Mumbai Style

This evening The Thali Cafe opened the doors of its latest restaurant, in the Tobacco Factory on North Street.  Which means that, not only will I be able to treat myself to one of their delicious thalis (Indian meal served on the plate from which it gets its name) without the prospect of a long walk home afterwards, but I shall also at long last be able to join their award winning Tiffin club.  Hooray!

The tiffin is a Mumbai lunchbox, lovingly prepared by a dutiful wife, packed in a multi-tiered stainless steel container, and transported across the city, via a network of bicycles and suburban trains, to arrive on her husband's desk at 12:45 sharp.  The system is so efficient that for every 6 million tiffins dispatched only one fails to arrive.  Beats a soggy ham sarnie or a greasy pastie any day.

The Thali Cafe tiffin is much less complicated but equally attractive.  £24.95 buys the container, filled with your choice of thali.  When you've eaten, instead of being left with a stack of containers for the black box, you have a receptacle ready for your next visit.  Bingo!

If it wasn't for the fact that today's a Fast Day I'd have been queuing outside the front door at 6pm.  But it won't be long before I'm trying out the new kid on the block,(especially as my husband brought home a voucher for a free thali)!

PS  For more on the tiffin carriers of Mumbai see this Guardian article