Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
10am-8.30pm)
and
Suryodaya
Wodehouse Rd;
22040979; Veer Nariman Rd;
MAP
8am-8.30pm)
are well-stocked supermarkets.
DABBA-WALLAHS
A small miracle of logistics, Mumbai's 5000
dabba-wallahs
(literally 'food container person'; also called tiffin-
wallahs) work tirelessly to deliver hot lunches to office workers throughout the city.
Lunch boxes are picked up each day from restaurants and homes and carried on heads, bicycles and trains to a
centralised sorting station. A sophisticated system of numbers and colours (many wallahs don't read) identifies
the destination of each lunch. More than 200,000 meals are delivered - always on time, come (monsoon) rain or
(searing) shine.
This system has been used for over a century and there's only about one mistake per six million deliveries. (In
a 2002 analysis,
Forbes Magazine
found that the
dabba-wallahs
had a six-sigma, or 99.99966%, reliability rat-
ing.)
Look for these master messengers mid-morning at Churchgate and CST stations.
TOP OF CHAPTER
5
Colaba
Hotel OCH
MAP
INDIAN
$
GOOGLE MAP
(Shahid Bhagat Singh Rd; mains ?65-110, thalis ?65-105; 7am-10.30pm)
The best of the Colaba
cheapies, with decent lunch thalis and evening
pav bhaji
in a cafeteria-like setting. Popu-
lar with families and cops working next door.
Bademiya
MAP
MUGHLAI, FAST FOOD
$$
GOOGLE MAP
(Tulloch Rd; light meals ?60-150; 8pm-1.30am)
Formerly a tiny, outrageously popular late-night
street stall, Bademiya recently added a dingy seating area across the street, a tiny eatery
around the corner and a restaurant in Fort, which some say have been its downfall. It's
true that prices have gone up while portions have shrunk, but the spicy, fresh-grilled ke-
babs and tikka rolls still hit the spot on a late night.
Theobroma
MAP
CAFE
$$
GOOGLE MAP
