February 26, 2009: Tiffins

Update 27/1/2019: Tiffins no longer operate a delivery service in Melbourne

I've whinged more than once or twice (both here and on other blogs) about the great city breakfasts and lunches that Michael and I miss out on, since our jobs are based outside the CBD. However, my in-the-know colleague Mich recently revealed some incredible news - city Indian lunch service Tiffins delivers to the University of Melbourne! Within half an hour I'd devoured every word of information from their website. Vegetarian tiffins - which contain rice, a small wholemeal naan, and two curries - go for just $7 each, with free delivery, dirty container pickup, and no minimum order. The featured curries change daily and they're posted on the website two weeks in advance. For $1 or two extra you can order a meat curry or larger portion (sadly there are no vegan or gluten-free variations) but having now sampled the standard-sized vego model, I reckon it'll have you completely satisfied (if not over-full).

Tiffins' lunches are naturally delivered in a tiffin carrier - these plastic models are well insulated and screw together easily. There's a spoon sitting in the bottom layer, too, so you've no need for office kitchenware - just a napkin, pehaps, as you gleefully slurp your meal! On this Thursday the featured curries were a yellow chickpea dal and veg manchurian (vegetable dumplings in a spicy sauce). While not incredibly delicate, everything was delicious and jaw-droppingly good value for money. The seven of us who joined in on this first tiffin lunch agreed that it must become a regular event, and Mich is now responsible for taking weekly orders for Tiffin Tuesday. As a contented packed-lunch eater most of the week, there's now less reason than ever to begrudge city workers their weekday cafes.

Ph: 1300 TIFFINS (yes, really - i.e. 1300 843 436)
Price: standard veg tiffins $7
Website: www.tiffins.com.au