Miss Adventures

A bout with jaundice - or even a little tummy ache now and again - certainly doesn’t encourage adventurous eating. But I am happy to say I am back to enjoying the interesting range of cuisines that Bombay has to offer.

On the low end of things, the most exciting development has been mine and some co-workers subscriptions to a daily tiffin service. What’s a tiffin, you might ask? Well, I think it’s probably one of India’s best inventions. The item itself looks a bit like a thermos with multiple compartments for Indian food staples, such as dal, rice, veg or non-veg entree, chapati, and raita, salad, or mango/lime pickle. The top container, which typically holds the least messy of the food items, may also contain a note. In our case, since we have a tiffin service, the top part contains a hand-drawn bill for the week’s tiffins. Though, I like to imagine that wives who send tiffins to their husbands stuff love notes in the top.

For a couple of weeks now, we’ve been getting the 5-part tiffin and it’s been great. I really look forward to my lunch-time surprise now. And, the best thing is the cost: about $1 per day.
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Bombay (Mumbai) makes the U.S. papers thrice in less than a month.

Tale of 2 Cities: Mumbai? or Bombay?
“Though the membrane between these two cities is permeable, there are plainly two realms, of Bombayites and Mumbaikars, where one name slips out more readily than the other…”[IHT.com]

Mumbai to Midtown, Chaat Hits the Spot
“Asking Indians in America about chaat, India’s national snacks, is like asking Americans in India about burgers: the word unleashes unbearable cravings, nostalgia and homesickness…” [NYTimes.com]

In Mumbai, Those Bollywood Nights Heat Up
“‘Every night is a party in Bombay,’ said Suketu Mehta, the author of Maximum City: Bombay Lost and Found. ‘These bars would not look out of place in SoHo. It’s like being in a First World bubble.’” [NYTimes.com]

The dream is that the rest of India could adhere to the same standards that govern the upkeep of the Taj Mahal. The grounds are well-manicured, with nary a speck of trash, paan (the betel-nut narcotic) is prohibited so as to keep users from spitting its bright red juice all over the monument, and vendors are kept to a minimum, thereby providing a mostly tranquil environment in which to view the ultimate of the Seven Wonders.
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