The ultimate lunch box:

… tiffin

I mentioned in “Tiffin time” that tiffin is also a midday meal and in particular a portable lunch.

These boxes are usually round and have three/four separate compartments with a lid and clips to secure, to prevent spillage of the contents and a handle.

In Mumbai, India (and in other areas there too) a dabbawala (literal translation “one who carries a box”) is a person who is an integral part of a delivery system of food to workers – collecting from the workers' homes in the morning in time to deliver at the place of work by lunchtime and then return the lunch box to the home for use the next day. The boxes are taken by bike and then on to trains, picked up from their destination and taken to the appropriate place of work.

Each box has a code – for collection from home – outward railway station – station destination and then a distinguishing mark for the receiving dabbawala at the place of work enabling delivery, i.e. to the appropriate building and floor.

Lots of office workers prefer to eat food from home. There are obviously restaurants and also street food stalls, but clearly the tiffin box has remained popular - this service first appeared in the 1890ies and has grown and grown – research says that between 175,000 and 200,000 tiffin boxes are moved every day.

Thought you might like to see what they look like :

                                      

Fast food – there's fast and then there's fast!