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March 30, 2005

Feasting High and Low

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.

On the other side of things, there's Wasabi, the sushi restaurant in the Taj Hotel owned by none other than Iron Chef Morimoto. More than six months have passed since we arrived, so we haven't had a huge craving for sushi yet. But, with the knowledge that the Chef was in town this week, it was definitely time.

Not surprisingly, Wasabi had the most incredible sushi I've ever tasted. Most incredible were the spicy tuna hand roll, the squid sashimi, the sea urchin (uni) roll, and the soft shell crab tempura roll. I gave the salmon roe-ikura a try - it was all right, but my palate isn't quite that sophisticated. Also on hand was some fresh wasabi (fittingly), which was a lot less pungent and a lot more acidic than the regular wasabi paste. Both kept me happily in tears.

Several boards of assorted rolls came round the table, and by the end of the night we had spent close to $400. Ooops....I guess we didn't think it was possible to spend that much in India. But, you better believe that there is some serious money in this country, and not just from expats. Long story short, I'll definitely be eating $1 tiffins for the next few months.

Before the end of the night, Chef Morimoto came over to our table to greet us. I took a few pics with him, while he shot peace signs and said "Sashimi!" instead of "Cheese!" Super cool.

Posted by Melanie on March 30, 2005 09:04 AM
Category: India
Comments

wow that's an expensive meal by any standards. and even more so in india.

i'm glad i dont have that kind of money ;)

enjoy ur tiffins in the mean time

Posted by: Vikas on April 2, 2005 11:02 AM

Well, that's what happens when you have a friend with expensive taste order for the whole table. I'll know better next time! :)

Posted by: Melanie on April 3, 2005 11:39 AM
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