mumbai the food and beverage spread at the mumbai airport lounge was causing a peculiar problem revealed a middle eastern carrier business class passengers booked on flights that departed late night or in the small hours of morning had their fill at the lounge they would board turn down the airlines inflight meal offerings which left the airline dealing with sizeable amount of food going waste said gaurav dewan coo travel food services tfs the company that runs three out of the four lounges meant for international passengers at the mumbai airport terminal 2dewan was referring to the two exclusive adani lounge one located on level 3 and the other on level 4 these cater to first and business class passengers booked on carriers such as air india british airways virgin atlantic turkish airlines swiss klm air france lufthansa emirates etihad among others no creditcard enabled access here a first or a business class ticket or in some cases frequent flyer membership of certain airlines is what it takes to gain an entry into these two lounges that together can seat a total of 428 passengersas airlines prepare to roll out their summer schedule of flights from march 26 the mood in these lounges is unmistakably upbeat international travel recovery has touched about 80 of precovid traffic and the summer of 2023 is expected to see the sun shining bright on the international medium and long haul sectors last summer visa procurement woes and delays had turned international travel out of india into a damp squib this time though those hurdles have been largely cleared and the stage is setan unlikely indicator of return to the prepandemic good times is the food and beverages served at the said exclusive adani business lounge last week tfs unveiled its latest firstclass menu with about 60 new additions to the dishes served in the loungethe last time they held a breaking bread session was prepandemic in 2019 curated by chef rajesh shetty corporate chef tfs and chef aniruddha limaye executive chefculinary mumbai airport lounge services the latest entrants to the lounge menu are set to take off with the summer scheduleamong them is the truffled white tomato souptomato concasse muslinsieved overnight to produce a pigmentless extraction that packs in a punch of flavor amusebouche offerings such as chili lime prawns tarts wild mushroom cappuccino shrimp ceviche tempura baby squid etc then there are dimsums with new fillings such as hoisin duck ginger lobster edamamewater chestnutcheese and for the vegans tofu bok choy among the main course newbies is the lobster newburg that sits on a blue spread of butterfly pea flower rice pilaf asparagus cherry tomatoes and hollandaise foam baked brie lobster tagliatelle etc for those who veer towards fusion food there are dishes such as thai curry risotto which sets asian flavors against arborio rice cooked al dente then for the grassfed meat lovers theres new zealand lamb chops served with creamed polenta vegetable scoops with rosemary jus or