Having once been unable to taste the difference between the omelette served on the early morning New Delhi shuttle and the styrofoam breakfast tray it rested in, and having thus inadvertently suffered a polystyrene overdose, I was determined this time on RA205 to stick to a liquid diet. So, when the flight attendant came down the aisle to ask "Black coffee, white coffee, or black-and-white coffee, sir?" I thought: same difference, yar, why not give it a try.

The fluid that was served had a taste that was hard to pin down accurately. So, when she came around again, I said: "Miss, if that was coffee, give me tea. If it was tea, give me coffee." That is the great thing about our national flag carrier, it is full of surprises and leaves a lot to the imagination.

The world over, airline food is generally regarded as being violently boring. Luckily, our own airline is now working on an in-flight menu that will inspire awe and wonder with its clever and creative use of Nepal's multifarious ethnic cuisine. Recently we were given a sneak preview of the line-up at the gastrodrome :

Kathmandu-Delhi
Breakfast
Yak Noodle Soup (Strips of chewy yak sukuti in a choice of My-My, Ha-Ha, or Buy-Buy Instant Noodles)
or
Muesli in Thimi Yoghurt
Sherpa Butter Tea with Salt, or warm Tongba
Juicy chhurpi chunks

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Bangalore-Kathmandu
Brunch
Jumping Salad (Free-ranging grasshoppers and cricket subdued with ginger dressing tossed with watercress and basil)
Deep-fried goat guts with Chiura
or
Stir-fried coagulated Rakti in ketchup with Bagmati Sludge dal
Dessert: Red ant abdomens in Wild Himalayan Honey


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Kathmandu-Hong Kong
Lunch
Three eggs in one basket with guava and cucumber slices
Red herring in gundruk stewed with tamarind, tomato and garlic
or
Raw water buffalo Chwela-Kachila marinated in lemon sauce and red chilly paste
Sprite or Fanta


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Kathmandu-Dubai
Dinner
Sinki Salad (sun-dried radish strips wrapped in elephant-ear karkalo leaf)
Fermented juvenile Tama bamboo shoots with baby potatoes in rice
or
Kodo ko dhindo with charas chutney and a fresh green chilly on the side.
Rasputin rice pudding
Jand and/or Raxi, and/or Moi