As a little picky food lover, food is a big challenge to me when travelling to India. Although it depends on which city you are in, you’ll hardly find any non-Indian restaurant where the food is up to standard. Well, unless you go to a 5-star hotel, maybe.
What to Expect (Food) in India
If your first India trip is going to happen and you absolutely have no idea how the food is there, let me give you a heads-up here.
Basically, every meal (including breakfast) is curry.
In India, there’s no such thing called curry, and yes, I’m aware of that. However, to an outsider, everything is ‘currified’ – spice used everywhere, EVERYTHING! Even a piece of fruit, my family would put salt and black pepper on it……
Badly Craving Non-Indian Food
Don’t get me wrong, I like Indian food.
The problem was the frequency of Indian food suddenly spiked from 1-2 times a week, to 3 times a day! How do people manage to travel to India for a few months?
These 2 weeks in India, I unprecedentedly craved non-Indian food so badly. First, I was over-confident of my liking for Indian food. Second, the domestic flight’s luggage limit was so tight that I couldn’t take so much with me.
In between, I avoided paratha for breakfast, but headed to buttered toast, banana and protein bars which I brought along. When I was done with spice, I cooked my very simple food – stir-fried mixed vegetables with garlic, salt and lemon juice.
So, here is my advice to you. Learn from my experience, so that you can fully enjoy your India trip!
1. Don’t expect authentic non-Indian food
It almost doesn’t exist. Indians do really well with their own food, but when it comes to foreign food, they haven’t got the idea yet. For example, veg on a round piece of bread is pizza; any soup noodles they will call it ramen; something on a rice ball is called sushi; a pile of cream sauce over a bed of penne is pasta. This foreign food is usually much more expensive than the Indian food too!
BUT! There is an exception. This was the croissant I found in Bangalore. Much better than many bakeries in Europe.
2. Search on Google maps
If you search ‘recommend restaurants in New Delhi’ online, for example, probably you’ll get some commercially write-up articles which show what’s trendy among the locals. That’s fine though, if you want to eat what the locals are enjoying. But for practice, I like to search on Google maps to see any potential one that fits my bill.
3. Check the menu, not only ratings
When you’re checking through a restaurant, look at the menu, don’t get fooled by the ratings. You’d better see if they have anything you like on the menu. Ratings are mostly given by the locals. They have different tastes.
4. Don’t ask about spiciness, ask how chilli-hot it is
If you’re not a chillihead, it’s better to ask about how hot the food is, not ‘how spicy’. ‘Spicy’ refers to how many spices to put in a food, which you were maybe able to handle. I learned my lesson hard, believe me.
5. Pay a little more
Compared to the Western countries, food in India is generally cheap. Although some local food or street stalls are tempting (when travelling, you want to try everything! I got it!), I usually avoid them and go to a proper restaurant. The risk of unhygienic or any unsuitable food can cost a REAL TROUBLE.
6. Bring your own food
Based on my experience, bringing your own food is highly recommended. If you end up didn’t use any of that, congratulations! But if you’re like me, want to have a break from Indian food, better to make some preparations before flying. Dried noodles, pasta, bouillon powder, a small bottle of soy sauce, miso…..all help.
7. Be open minded (and let go)
Sometimes, resistance makes things worse, especially when we have no choice. Be open minded to try every novel food. Had something you don’t like? Let go.
Last but not least, remember that having food, and you get to decide when to eat, is a blessing. Not everybody has this privilege.
Have fun in India!
