Day 9: Table For One - The Solo Dining Experience

Eating alone can quality time with yourself (Photo credit)

The routine is simple. You go to a restaurant. Ask for a table for X number and are shown to one. Menus are passed on and your order taken. The game really changes when you are the "table for one" category. I have dined by myself millions of times - in india and many cities abroad. Initially, I said it apologetically but soon, the lack of choice made me confident. Solo dining is still not something people commonly do in India although a recent study by OpenTable suggests that it is on the rise in the US.

I did a bit of a research for this post. Let me share that with you before I come down to my own experiences. Eating out alone is mostly something people are conscious about. Unless you live in a busy city like New York which makes it easier since most others do the same too. It is interesting to note that there are people who've experimented with eating out alone and thankfully documented them as, what else, blog posts! Layla ate out alone for a week minus hiding behind a book or a phone and shares her adventure story in quite a detail - and I recommend you savour reading all the posts (pun unintended!) Laura Silver, the news reporter at Buzzfeed, UK took her own trip of eating alone. Sushi bars or a seat at the bar is a great option. It is a bit of a challenge at proper sit down restaurants.

It really depends on how you think of solo dining (photo credit)

Coming to my experiences of eating out by myself, I am still the minority. I have had lunch at a sushi bar in Hong Kong and cafes in Amsterdam and it turned out to be fine. Even in India, I haven't faced awkwardness or judgement from the staff like Anasuya Basu did - maybe because I never tried eating alone in Delhi. But there are a lot of things to be improved in our country before dining alone becomes a norm. Here are a few things:

1. We have no seating arrangement for solo diners. Best case, take a table for two. In cafes, it's ok. Fine dine restaurants, not so much
2. There are no one person meals. You can skip the starters and order only main course so you can finish what arrives at your table
3. There are no one person portions. And going to an Indian restaurant is out of question since the portion of curry is definitely for two people. (There's always the option to box it up for dinner)

When I ate at the Kingdom of Dreams, a theme park in Gurgaon (India), I hardly made a dent in the huge portion that their signature dish came in. It broke my heart to send it back. But I'm just me and can't finish all of it. That's the problem with proper sit down restaurants. I prefer cafes. My favourite haunt of late is Aromas. I get great service even at Le Pain Quotidian in Powai. They have portions good for one person - a sandwich, chicken breast with mash or veggies on the side, a portion of pasta - works well for me!

We really need some work done in this area. Maybe some dishes/portions meant for solo diners. A decent sitting area where we feel welcome and not stick out like a sore thumb sitting by ourselves. Maybe, restaurants meant solely for solo diners! Why not!

Eating out by yourself is quite a nice thing to do. Pick a restaurant of your choice, order what you like and eat as much as you like. It is a great way to have quality 'me' time with your favourite food and some nice coffee to round it off. It can feel awkward in the beginning but then who cares! You are as much a paying customer as two people.

If you've never tried eating by yourself, make that the project of the week and go ahead! It starts with your super confidence in saying, "Table for one, please" and that's it! If you need tips, here are a few tips on how to rock it as a solo diner!

This post is a part of #NaBloPoMo which stands for National Blog Posting Month hosted by BlogHer.

Mirchi and Mime: An Afternoon with Food and A Friend

Mirchi and Mime (Photo credit)

What better times can there be than the ones spent in the company of great friends and delicious food. Last monday was one such day. I went out to meet my friend, Mitu Samar, a leading personal branding consultant. She suggested that we catch up for lunch. And the place we went to only added to the great time we had. Since we live close to each other, we decided to meet up at Powai in the same complex where Cafe Mangi is. I did not know there were more cafes in the area nor had I heard of this restaurant where she was waiting for me. The place is called Mirchi and Mime. Here is their Facebook page.

What is unique about this place is that the waiters/servers are all deaf-mute people. It just shows that when people are trained and given the opportunity, they can do a good job of anything. The menu is a simple one with columns for soups, salads, appetisers (tawa and tandoori), Vegetarian and non vegetarian main course, sides/breads and desserts. At the top of every column is a specific sign for that category which you can use and indicate the item number showing the fingers of your hands.

The menu at the restaurant Photo credit

The meal starts with a person who can speak explain the concept to us and introduce the person who will serve our table who welcomes us in sign language. I think the sign language added a unique aspect to the eating experience. It was so easy to communicate with them with the basic signs we learnt in no time. And the food was just delicious. We ordered chicken and fish. The flavours were great and the service impeccable. It was a unique dining experience.

If you happen to be around, I'd recommend that you drop with for a great meal at Mirchi and Mime.

PS: This is not a paid post.