On Tue, Jun 2, 2009 at 1:21 AM, Venkat Mangudi <[email protected]> wrote:
> And that, my friend, is the biggest problem the Indian (techie) faces. > We are not prone to experiment and want the food that we ate all our > lives. This was one of the biggest shocks to me of living in Bangalore, and travelling around India. The lack of diversity in the cuisine. Now before you all start shouting and pillory me, India as a whole has an amazingly diverse cuisine and I learned a lot and learned to appreciate a lot while I was there. (I still miss Meen Pollichathu, Andhra chilli chicken, hyderabadi biryani, and brain fry.) But! The lack of diversity I'm referring to is in what I observed of what most of the Indians I knew ate! They mostly eat the dishes they were raised with, and they complain if they aren't prepared exactly the way their mother did. It was crazy! I was fortunate to fall in with a few adventurous foodies from this list who were willing to go out of their way to show us some of the great food that was out there. I still am searching for good dosa out here, and I had to buy my own filter coffee making set (and Debbie is addicted to Kesari Bath) and there's no good chaat out here - but I digress. One stunning effect of this was the almost complete lack of diversity in restaurant food. Bangalore's population is what? 6 million? It's one of the top five cities in India? San Francisco's population is 750,000. The Bay Area's population is 7 million. In all of Bangalore there are what, three Japanese restaurants? A dozen Chinese restaurants - and all but one or two of them serving "Indian Chinese?" No regional chinese food. NO French restaurants. Zero. Zip. Nada. (And don't talk to me about the "French Restaurant" in the Leela Palace. Brie out of a tin. Goose liver fried until it was as thin and tough as shoe leather.) Maybe half a dozen Italian restaurants. One fabulous Trinidad and Tobagoan restaurant, but if the chef ever dies that'll be the end of that. Maybe two or three Korean restaurants. I could go on and on. Artisan bread? What's that? Cheese? Maybe a dozen of the most popular varieties available if you know where to look. Pork sausage? Hear that hollow laugh. I was shocked - but it's because there's no demand for it. People just don't seem to be interested in trying new cuisines, in experimenting. When some poor fool (often a foreigner) tries to open up something new and different, maybe a european style "fine dining" place, it will last a few months at most then close for lack of custom. So yes, I have to say "We are not prone to experiment and want the food that we ate all our lives" hits the nail on the head. Not for everyone, and certainly not for the people on this list (thank you Gautam, Madhu, and Udhay) but for the majority - clearly true. > I made this mistake while I was in Seoul. Not that I was craving > the amount of garlic they use, but I think I missed out on enjoying > some, at least a few, good dishes. Oh my god. Korean food. There was one decent Korean place in Bangalore, down by the airport Soo Ra Sang http://www.flickr.com/photos/haynes/sets/72157603788229845/ saved my life I think, along with Harima (and Shiok and Herbs and Spice of course.) But they were a pale shadow of what a really good Korean restaurant can be (like Brother's Restaurant in San Francisco http://www.flickr.com/photos/haynes/353597556/) I love Korean food - you need to get a Korean foodie to take you out and order for you. The banchan (side dishes) alone are worth the entire dinner. If you're brave, try yuk hoe http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yukhoe I love it. > And this unfortunate trait extends to the non-vegetarians as well. I > had this wonderful salmon dish in 'The fisherman's wharf' that was > devoid of any spices. Never tasted better yet. Pacific Northwestern fresh salmon grilled on a cedar plank is really yummy if you ever get a chance. As a dyed in the wool foodie, who loves to try new foods, Bangalore was something of a disappointment. Yes there were lots of interesting South Indian foods to try, but because of the provincialism of Indian food, the only really "good" versions of food I could get were specifically Karnatakan. It was a stretch to even find "authentic" Mangalorean food (thanks again Gautam) which seemed odd to me. Anyway, enough raving. I was astonished to discover just *how* unadventurous your average Indian was with respect to trying new and different food. -- Charles
