Indian tiffin culture lands in Australia – here’s where to get yours

Emily MurphyBy Emily Murphy
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These Aussie tiffin services are serving up authentic, home-cooked Indian meals – and they’re perfect for curious travellers hungry for culture.

If you’ve been on TikTok lately, chances are you’ve stumbled across the “tiffin lady", aka Lily Baria – a creator who unboxes her daily delivery of Indian food with reverence and joy. Each day brings a new surprise, stacked inside traditional stainless steel containers known as tiffins. Millions are watching, drooling and wondering: how do I get one?

And you don’t need to go to India to experience this. A growing number of tiffin services are popping up around Australia, and for travellers, they offer a deliciously unexpected way to connect with culture through food.

@lilybaria What I eat for lunch in India! #tiffin #indianfood #goanfood #goa #fyp ♬ original sound – Lily Baria

What exactly is a tiffin?

The tiffin system originated in India more than 130 years ago and is still going strong. In Mumbai alone, more than 200,000 home-cooked meals are delivered daily via an ultra-efficient network of dabbawalas (lunchbox couriers who carry hot meals to people across the city).

A typical tiffin is made up of round, stainless steel compartments stacked vertically and fastened with a latch. Each level holds a different dish, say, saag paneer in one, roti in another and gulab jamun tucked neatly into the top tier. It’s comforting, seasonal and full of soul – like a hug from someone’s mum in food form.

Why tiffins are trending

woman wearing a dark outfit holds a traditional embossed silver metal tiffin food carrier with four compartments. The container features intricate floral patterns and a black handle, evoking cultural heritage and craftsmanship
For food-loving travellers, tiffin service is a way to experience the rich variety of regional Indian cuisine. (Image: Getty Images / Pikusisi-Studio)

Beyond the viral TikTok fascination, these services are taking off in Australian cities. For many Indian Australians, the tiffin is a taste of home in a foreign place. For food-loving travellers, it’s a way to connect with that story and experience the rich variety of regional Indian cuisine beyond what’s on a standard restaurant menu.

Best of all? These services are small, local and often run by passionate home cooks. Here’s where to find them.

Launceston

Perhaps the most surprising entry on the list, OM Foods delivers weekly South Indian tiffins around Launceston. Dishes are all made from scratch using local ingredients. Orders open weekly via their website and are available for casual customers, not just subscribers.

Brisbane

Run by a passionate home cook, Beejay’s Home Kitchen is a Brisbane-based tiffin service offering rotating Punjabi and Gujarati meals, with generous portions and that just-like-home taste. The menu changes regularly, and pickup or delivery is available in select suburbs – a fun off-the-beaten-path foodie experience for visitors staying nearby.

Adelaide

Butter & Bite specialises in wholesome, balanced tiffin meals featuring a curry, four rotis, dal and rice. Available for delivery, the meals are prepared with love and focus on authentic flavour with a modern edge. Portions are generous and perfect for anyone craving a taste of home-style Indian cooking while exploring Adelaide.

Sydney

Tiffin Service Co. menus are diverse and delicious, with tiffins often including sabzis, lentils, raita, roti and something sweet to finish. Meals feel straight out of Mumbai, making it a must-try for travellers in Sydney with a passion for authentic Indian home cooking and cultural eats.

They also run a dedicated monthly tiffin subscription service exclusively for UNSW students, offering home-style Indian meals delivered Monday to Friday over a 20-day plan.

Melbourne

Melbourne’s multicultural food scene embraces the tiffin trend with Taste of Home , which delivers traditional Indian meals across metro Melbourne. Menus rotate weekly and are crafted to feel like home.

What to expect

A retro Indian tiffin lunch box filled with vegetarian food. And chapati.
Tiffins aren’t just meals, they’re a cultural experience. (Image: Getty Images / bonchan)

Most tiffin services require you to order in advance – often the week before – and may offer pickup, delivery or both. Some operate on a subscription basis, while others allow one-off orders. The menus usually change daily or weekly, based on what’s in season or what the cook is craving.

It’s worth noting that these services aren’t restaurants – individuals or small teams often run them out of home kitchens, community kitchens or shared cooking spaces. That’s part of the charm. It’s food made with love, not mass production.

Why it’s worth seeking out

@lilybaria SUNDAY TIFFIN 😩😩😩 #TIFFINTOK #tiffin #india #indianfood #goa #goanfood ♬ original sound – Lily Baria

Tiffins aren’t just meals, they’re a cultural experience. For Indian-Australians, they’re a powerful link to home. For travellers, they’re a rare chance to engage with a tradition that’s been quietly feeding millions for generations.

And let’s be honest, there’s something undeniably joyful about opening a mystery lunchbox and discovering what’s inside.

Emily Murphy
Emily Murphy is Australian Traveller's Email & Social Editor, and in her time at the company she has been instrumental in shaping its social media and email presence, and crafting compelling narratives that inspire others to explore Australia's vast landscapes. Her previous role was a journalist at Prime Creative Media and before that she was freelancing in publishing, content creation and digital marketing. When she's not creating scroll-stopping travel content, Em is a devoted 'bun mum' and enjoys spending her spare time by the sea, reading, binge-watching a good TV show and exploring Sydney's vibrant dining scene. Next on her Aussie travel wish list? Tasmania and The Kimberley.
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Heathcote has evolved into the ultimate eco-escape for foodies

    Margaret BarcaBy Margaret Barca
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    From cabins to canvas, craft distillers to destination dining, Heathcote locals reveal their eco-savvy passions in ways that resonate with those seeking to travel lightly. 

    Heathcote , on traditional Taungurung Country in Central Victoria, is synonymous with its garnet-hued shiraz, but wine isn’t the only string to its bow. The town itself is sprinkled with heritage buildings from the gold rush era, and beyond that a growing collection of sustainable gastronomy and eco-friendly escapes. Nearby Bendigo, one of only 65 cities in the world recognised as a UNESCO Creative City and Region of Gastronomy, plates up an astonishing calibre of produce, wine and food for its size. Increasingly the entire region is taking up the challenge, though Heathcote in particular shines with its focus on sustainability. 

    Pink Cliffs GeologicalReserve
    The dramatic landscape of Heathcote’s Pink Cliffs Geological Reserve. (Image: Visit Victoria/Emily Goodfrey)

    The eco-stays bringing sustainability to Heathcote 

    Yellow BoxWood’s safari-style tents
    Yellow Box Wood’s safari-style tents are nestled on 40 hectares of bushland. (Image: Emily Goodfrey)

    Andee and Lisa Davidson spent years working in southern Africa before settling in Heathcote. “We had a vision of how this could be,” explains Andee. “We wanted a retreat, but one that was off-grid and environmentally sustainable.” Now, at Yellow Box Wood , two luxury safari-style tents are at the heart of 40 hectares of rolling hills and native bush, with kangaroos, wallabies, echidnas, goanna and birdlife aplenty. It’s all solar-powered, wood for the fire is mainly fallen timber, and water is collected on the carport roof.  No lack of creature comforts though – en suite with rain shower, espresso coffee maker, comfy seating, wood-burning fire all set to go. There’s also a solar-heated, mineral salt pool in a bush setting, walking tracks, and even a mini bush golf course.  On my visit, I put the vision to the test. Cocooned in the plush four-poster bed I can glimpse the stars, while the heater casts a golden glow on the canvas. In the morning, I wake to a blush-pink sunrise, kangaroos feeding and a soundtrack of magpies.

    Mt Ida Eco Cabin
    Mt Ida Eco Cabin is rustic and simple but oozes comfort. (Image: Graham Hosking)

    If a tent is not your style, Stephen and Cally Trompp’s carbon-neutral Mt Ida Eco Cabin might entice with its generous deck and farmland views.   Inside the cabin, corrugated iron walls as rusty as a shearing shed, gleaming (recycled) floorboards, timber truss ceiling (crafted by Stephen), wood-fired heater and an old-school turntable with a pile of vinyls to spin. It’s fun, and a little boho. “Everything is recycled. The cabin takes maximum advantage of the sun in winter. It’s all solar-powered. Don’t panic, though,” says Stephen, “you can still charge your phone and get 4G reception!” Settle into an Adirondack chair on the deck or pedal off on a mountain bike to suss out the wineries.  

    A taste of Spain in Central Victoria 

    Three Dams Estate
    Three Dams Estate make Spanish-style wine.

    Another person with a vision is Evan Pritchard at his Three Dams Estate where the wines reflect his deep love of Spain and of Spanish-style grapes, such as tempranillo. Afternoons in the ‘wine shed’ or cantina are matched with music (flamenco is a favourite), Spanish bites from tapas to paella (with Evan on the pans!) and views to Mount Alexander. Sustainability is also a passion. “You don’t need to buy anything. We decided to be off-grid from the start, but it is a lifestyle change,” he says. “You need to think about it and be careful.” Everything here is recycled, reassembled, refurbished. Evan has an electric car (with solar-powered charger), solar-power for the winery, and even a jaunty little electric tractor/forklift. “I love the idea of all the things you can do using the sun.” Sipping a crisp rosado (a Spanish rosé) with Evan in the sunshine, I couldn’t agree more. 

    The vineyard redefining sustainable winemaking 

    Silver Spoon winery
    The Silverspoon Estate winery is completely off-grid. (Image: Graham Hosking)

    On the other side of Heathcote, Silver Spoon Estate demonstrates sustainability on a more extensive scale. Tracie and Peter Young’s winery, cellar door, award-winning restaurant and their own house are all solar-powered and off the grid. Sustainability is intrinsic to everything they do.  The property sprawls across 100 hectares, with 20 hectares under vine – shiraz, viognier, grenache, tempranillo. As the climate has changed, so too has the approach. These are dry-grown vineyards. “We prune for drought. That means lower yields but more intense flavours,” says Peter.  The fine-dining restaurant offers sweeping views, a wood-burning fire and a deck for languid lunches. Head chef Ben Hong sources regional, sustainable ingredients and weaves estate wines into the menu – think crispy wild mushroom arancini, viognier-infused chicken breast.   

    Silver Spoon’s award-winning restaurant
    Silver Spoon’s award-winning restaurant.

    Heathcote’s other hidden gems 

    Heathcote Wine Hub
    Heathcote Wine Hub is housed in a 1855-built timber church.

    Not all local wineries have a cellar door, but I find local treasures at the Heathcote Wine Hub , a petite 1855 timber church in the main street, lovingly returned to life by Karen Robertson and Carey Moncrieff.  “Carey is a scrounger,” says Karen. “He doesn’t throw a single thing away.” He does, however, craft things into something quite special. Heritage floors, light-filtering lancet windows and shelves of regional wines create the perfect ambience for wine tasting. Or order a glass and linger over a cheese platter.  

    Heathcote is not all wine, of course. Nathan Wheat and partner Vanessa Curtis run Envy Distilling with a committed sustainable ethic – and a serious love of gin. Their small-batch distillery produces grape-based gin, and soon brandy. Distilled water is reused in an ingenious cooling system. All waste is treated on site. They buy excess wine from winemakers to distil and buy recycled barrels. “Distilling with the sun,” as Nathan says. Each Envy gin has its own story. Spicy, award-winning The Dry, is designed to capture the region’s dry, rugged nature. Pull up a stool at the bar (reclaimed timbers and tiles, of course), order a Gin Flight, or kick back with a cocktail and let Nathan share his eco journey.   

    Envy gins
    Sample gins at small-batch distillery Envy.

    A traveller’s checklist 

    Getting there

    It’s less than two hours’ drive from Melbourne. The scenic route we take goes past Sunbury, then along a splendid country road through Romsey and the magic, boulder-strewn landscape of Lancefield. Watch for kangaroos on the road! 

    Staying there

    Go off-grid in style at Yellow Box Wood for glamping or try Mt Ida Eco Cabin for a couple’s weekend hideaway. 

    Eating there

    French dishes at Chauncy
    Award-winning French restaurant Chauncy.

    At award-winning Chauncy , French chef Louis Naepels and sommelier wife Tess Murray have created a tiny, elegant pocket of rural France. Meticulously restored 1850s sandstone building, sun-drenched dining room, impeccable service, a menu suffused with local flavours and thoughtful wine pairings.  

    Fodder is both cafe and social hub. Chef Mo Pun and sister Lalita serve classic Aussie breakfast-to-lunch fare, though their Nepalese heritage sneaks through. 

    Playing there

    Sanguine Estate
    Sip on wines among the vines at Sanguine Estate. (Image: Visit Victoria/Emily Godfrey)

    Sanguine Estate ’s cellar door and terrace overlook bucolic vineyards. Its award-winning, dry-grown wines include the distinctive D’Orsa Blanc dessert wine, reflecting the family’s Swiss-Italian heritage. Order a charcuterie board and stay a while. Keep it carbon neutral by cycling some (or all) of the 50-kilometre O’Keefe Rail Trail to Bendigo.  

    At Bridgeward Grove , learn about the property’s Old Mission Grove heritage olive trees, do a sommelier olive oil tasting, and stock up on sustainably grown olives and oil. Explore the unique landscape, wildflowers and wildlife of pink cliffs geological reserve.