Indian food mafia
Indian restaurants abroad have developed this fine art of flooring their visitors with sweet talk-nothings, showing exceptional hospitality skills, using colorful candles, the works, while barely serving a spoonful of edible food.
It is a trend we have begun to see here in Europe. Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, and Holland—to cite a few places with mild to worse experiences (in that order). Indian restaurants are notorious for being expensive to very expensive. Bombay Palace near Scheveningen takes the cake when it comes to servings. We were horrified when our order1 worth €70.- was barely sufficient for one adult!
It might be okay if you don’t know the difference between finger-food and lunch. But if I were you, then I’d never go to those smooth-talking scoundrels again.
- This was our first, and you bet, would be our last visit there. [←]
Chetan, if they were that bad, I think they do not deserve a link, don’t you think? Down with the sweet talkers, servers of delicious, yet insufficient (as in ridiculously small portions) food, Indian restaurant!
May 14, 08 at 02:54well guys hard luck to you ,i do not know how good or bad the food was and what quality it was but would like to say one thing ,all european resturants do charge that much for meals that would look like finger food to an indian villager,so it is subjective if european resturants high end can charge so much ,we are not taking of burger kings and macdonalds here but high end sofiscated resturants,serving meal experiences to people what is wrong with indain resturant sdoing the same in europe ,do you know a packet of papad which is served as free accompaniment at these tresturants costs 12 euros for a pack of 25nos
May 14, 08 at 06:42You’re right, David. The link is gone now.
A lot of european villagers agree with me too, so don’t count them out.
May be you’re right. It’s a fine idea to serve free accompaniment that in the end actually cost €50.- for a €20.- worth of non-free food. Thanks for sharing your secret of doing business.
I’m high as a kite.
May 14, 08 at 09:57Unfortunately a majority of desi restaurants in the U.S. don’t even try to do the above. IMO, they think (probably rightly) desis will still flock to their establishments. Their typical consumers simply want desi food that reminds them of stuff in India, quality hardly matters. In cities like NY and SF, greater number of establishments may provide a semblance of competition but doesn’t help if all restaurant exhibit the same kind of low-quality fare both in terms of food and ambiance.
May 14, 08 at 23:35That bad huh? Doesn’t surprise me.
May 16, 08 at 20:41Add to that list Indian restaurants in the “resort/destination-spiritual” locations who cater only to “outside” visitors. They are prevalent
right from Varanasi to Goa on other extreme.
Let me just rub it in - recently in Belgaum(of all places in Basaveshwarnagar) I went to the local Punjabi food house(no not a dhaba). Guy served 2 curries, 1 dish of fresh paneer, unlimited “rotis” (or should it be roties), rice and off course daal Tadka for 18 Rs. BTW prices in metros are climbing higher on account of correspondingly increasing input costs.
May 20, 08 at 06:21You pay for location, I guess. I went to a place called Lasanie at the Rijswijkseweg in The Hague and liked what I got (it calls itself a tandoori restaurant, I had other things). I think you work in the same place as I do; at the restaurant we were served by a lady who works at the Shell shop inside the EPiCentre.
May 21, 08 at 11:27Leen, thanks for suggesting Lasanie—I hadn’t come across earlier.
May 21, 08 at 20:37