Little piece of India

I am in Jinja this week for a Ministry of Health national lab quantification meeting. At around 9PM, I walked down and around the corner searching for this Indian restaurant that Evan had suggested I check out. I actually dismissed the little hole in the wall and had to backtrack to it after I realised that it was the only Indian joint in the block.

I walked in to a no-frills room with a squeaky fan, fluorescent lights and plastic chairs. There were a bunch of Scandinavian backpackers at the back finishing their meal, a typical south Indian guy of slight built and oiled hair enjoying an after meal soda, and a lady in a salwar with her feet up chanting from a Durga prayer book, who I correctly guessed as the owner. As I scanned the menu, the lady suggested I order the Punjabi Thali. She said that first in Punjabi and then repeated in heavily accented English.

I ate one of the best daals I have had in a while viewing an episode of 'Don't worry chachaji' on Sony. 

I complimented the lady on the food and she in turn asked me where I was from. She pulled out an iphone and showed me the phone number of a close friend of hers in Melbourne. I took the phone from her and stared at the number not knowing what to do next. I gave back the phone and told her that Melbourne was a nice place. She asked me to come back everyday for a meal and gave me card which had the address of the other restaurant she owns, "Wel Come" (sic).

I bought a quarter pound of kaju barfi and walked back to my room.