A melting pot called Melbourne

Coming from India esp. from Hyderabad makes one's tongue like a hide, if you are accustomed to eating hot and spicy Indian food that is. The spicy food not just makes one's taste yearn for that extra bit of Garam Masala but the stomach gets used to as well and gets along with your excesses of Paya (lamb hooves curry) or the ever popular Hyderabadi Biryani.

Sadly, other cultures do not subject their stomachs to such heat and rather have a noiseless visit to the WC. And why not, when it comes to taste, I am sure the Indian tongue among other tastes would like to experience the subtle tastes and exotic smells of international and intercontinental cuisine. But that is just my opinion of the Indian tongue, it never told me so.

What was told to me, by my Indian friends is that they do not want this subtle taste business and rather dive in to something spicy, but I was of a different opinion and would like to try something from other countries/cuisines. With that in mind I headed to the nearest Indian restaurant in Melbourne.

Now, if you miss home and rather have that Murg Mussalam than hop on a flight to remind yourself of India, you should rather hop on the flight. Because Indian restaurants cater to the international palate and don't remind you of India at all. I don't think I found Murgh Mussalam in any of the menus either. What I rather found was one dish called Vindaloo. I cannot say I travelled much of India, but I never heard of something called Vindaloo before and here I was, every Indian restaurant making it. Turns out our Anglo-Indian friends introduced it here, never bothered to let us know.

What is rather odd is that there is no American Chop Suey served in Chinese restaurants. Instead there is Peking duck and Cantonese Fried rice. Both, certainly recommended. South-East asians are not far behind in cooking. Nasi Goreng in an Indonesian restaurant, Thai Green Curry and Roti Chanai with Malay chicken curry are certainly recommended for that spicy yet not too hot tastes.

While, Melbourne is a melting pot of many cultures, I would like to write more about what is available with pictures if I can later. For now, I miss Haleem.