On the subject of canteens

The PNG school canteen is a small shanty-style hut, about halfway down the hill. It only seats about 16 people if you don't mind being friendly. However, it only serves the school staff - total 50-ish, I think, but it's rare to find more than a dozen or so eating at once.

For this select group, there are no less than 3 catering staff, who speak only Nepali (I can manage a few words of Hindi, but Nepali is beyond me, so I have to get a translator): roughly they divide the work into 2 cooks and 1 waiter, although it seems to vary a bit. The 3 crowd into a small space at one end of the shanty, probably about 6 by 10 feet or so. Outside at the far end is a single cold tap, for reasons I haven't yet fathomed it's swarthed in a cloth and so drips rather than runs.

30 Oct 2007

















Not promising, you might think?

The food which emerges is absolutely, unbelievably fantastic! Every dish is cooked on the spot, to order, with fresh ingredients, and arrives within minutes still scalding hot. They are a bit fond of adding lots of chillies to the curries, but it's possible to request rice, chappatis, chow mein (veg noodles), dahl, and omelettes, in any combination - all of which are chillie free or with chilli sauce on the side, and I'm working on the Nepali for "less chillies please" for the veg. A typical dish includes a very large plateful of rice - but if you can fit in more (and some of the men do), refills are brought to you at the table for as long as you keep asking. Plus a bit of newspaper for wiping your fingers on, if you've had chappatis (eaten by hand). Rice is usually eaten with a spoon, chow mein with spoon and fork. Knives are very rare on Indian tables (no meat, no need?)

Also on the table are cold water, hot water (boiled - but there's no facility for cooling it, so you tend to drink it at bath temperature), and a plate of at least two of : onion, red chillies, green chillies, lemon together with salt for dipping. I have to admit I have not indulged in this particular local err... specialty :-)

Sweet and cinnamon-seasoned milky tea is also provided on request at the end of the meal.

I haven't paid a bill yet ("end of the month"), but I gather it will be in the region of 25 rupees a day. That would be err... well a month's worth of lunches will work out at about a fiver. It's cheap even in local terms - I assume pretty close to non-profit.

If I could bring one thing back from Gangtok with me, it would be the whole canteen, shanty and all!! I'll try and add a snap of this amazing facility if I get a chance to take it without insulting anyone. (Well ok, maybe it would be the view - but I haven't seen a lot of that yet, it's been too cloudy). Anyone fancy sending Casil/Eurest on a fact-finding mission over here...?