Indian Food In China Too; Is Quite Indian

When you say, you are going to China, normally there are two kinds of reactions you get from the people. One, those who can eat non veg (only chicken and mutton) but are hesitant about the oil used there and the types of the meat eaten there. How will one survive there? Then there are other ones who are vegetarians and eat only Indian food. How will one survive in China? Will I get vegetarian food there? I can eat anything so, I don’t have much of a problem. Yes, when I went there first in 2013, with my team, there were many in our team who had issues as listed above. We had some difficult times.  However, this week when I was there, I enjoyed a lot of Indian Food in China. Times have changed. A quick review in perhaps my shortest blogpost. This time, I had gone to Guangzhou with two colleagues who fall in both of the above categories. One eats Non Veg but limited to Chicken and Mutton only. The other one was strictly Vegetarian. In one of my earlier Blogpost on China visit, I had written about Bombay Grill an Indian Restaurant there. So, to address the needs of both of my colleagues, we decided to go there, at least twice.

Yes, in China we had a lunch comprising Chicken Tikka and Crispy Veg Manchurian Tikka for starters. Paneer Butter Masala, Butter Chicken and Dal Makhani with Pudina Parantha. And mind it, it was no less than any Indian restaurant perpetration back here in India. A glimpse of our lunch is here:

Then, on another day, our dinner was of Kebabs Platter comprising Chicken Tikka, Chicken Malai Tikka, Ajwaini Fish, Mutton Seekh, Veg Crispy Manchurian, Punjabi Chhole and Alu Gobhi with Tandoori Roti. A glimpse of the dinner is here:

I am told there are many Indian Restaurants now there. I could notice quite a few while driving through the city many times during the day. While way back in 2013, for my strict Indian food surviving colleagues, they were given a Business Card of one Pandit Jee who would supply Indian Food in your hotel rooms, at exorbitant prices. No more needed now.

Finally, one evening back in our hotel room, while we were sipping Red Wine and were in no mood to go out, we were served fresh Indian Curries. This was prepared by our Vegetarian colleague from the ready-to-eat pouches he brought along. Served with slices of local bread, it was no less than a homely meal.

Now, you would be wondering that how come I am not talking of the local food. Well, how is it possible? I did enjoy sone great local food this time too. Some great Prawns, Salmon Fish, Eggs done with Blanched Bitter Gourd (yes, Karela with eggs), Chicken, Momos, Sushi and Pork etc. Despite best efforts, couldn’t get English names of the dishes and the Chinese names I couldn’t register. So, here is a glimpse of my Chinese Meals:

I had done Blogposts on my meals in China during my earlier visits. These can be read here :

In A Chinese City : Different Cuisines And Many Flavours

They Celebrate Meals In China

So, the crux of the story is that since Indians has started traveling more across the world, now there are Indian Restaurants too. There is no serious concern for not being able to survive. I have eaten at Indian restaurants in every country I have visited so far. What’s your experience? Do let me know. Till then…

Bon Appetitie !!

Rajesh Tara