@RATM
What about the famous Sharwood's mango chutney, that must be one of India's most famous exports right? Then there's your famous Cobra Beer, the centre-piece of a good night out having an Indian [er... founded London and brewed in London and China!?]. And because you don't kill cows, you milk them to death instead, so every curry comes in a creamy sauce - I thought this was common knowledge
[More seriously] 'Ethnic cuisine' really only began arriving in the UK in say the 1960s, and it had to adapt/cater to a taste-palate that was completely unfamiliar with many of the ingredients. That is why you saw the evolution of Anglo-Indian cuisine; something that more than a tiny niche market might enjoy. Going out for such a meal remained a niche thing to do even when I was a student in the 80s. There are many people, the unadventurous, the parochial, the oldsters, who have never gone to an Indian restaurant, or indeed perhaps any 'ethnic' restaurant. I first got inducted re: Anglo-Indian food when I attended university in a city with a markedly high proportion of Sub-continental immigrants. Prior to that I don't think I had ever been to an Indian restaurant in the UK before.
Furthermore, the Sub-Con migration to the UK was not evenly derived across the Sub-Con states. So Anglo-Indian food is a reflection of the states where the most immigrants came from. And, a huge majority of Brits are not vegetarian, so the idea of going out for a veggie Indian is not appealing to most, yes, even before they've given it a try.
The same applies to other cuisines. With Italian it
has to come with a thick sauce, 95% of the time tomato based. And you
have to ladle on lots of parmesan cheese because that's authentic right? hehe...
In the UK Chinese food is perhaps more HK-based than mainland China. Chow mein and chop suey are the mainstays... I can't think why you can't get them in China
In the US they have their own Chinese dishes, things I'd never heard of until I lived there... example: the very popular 'General Tso's chicken'. In the US (IME) 'Indian food' is even further removed from the genuine article than the UK version... but with the same reasoning it's not hard to understand why. Ditto in mainland Europe for almost every kind of 'ethnic' food. Going for a 'curry' in Germany, France etc*20 is a truly alarming experience. Ironically Indian restaurants in Japan are *very* like Anglo-British ones (IME), there is huge cross-over between the two on the typical menu.
A further twist now is that many 'Indian' restaurants in the UK are run by Banglas. And many 'Chinese' restaurants are run by Vietnamese (cheaper labour). Aaaand many Vietnamese restaurants are run by Chinese and serve what if you have been to China and Vietnam, actually comes across as slightly 'exoticised' Cantonese cuisine. That is because VNese food is perceived as newer and more exotic, so people will pay a premium for it versus Chinese food.
Go to an American restaurant and it will be nachos, fried cheese, fajitas, burgers, fried chicken and ribs. And so on and so on. Ask a Brit what grits is, and 98% of the time he'll reply it's something spread on the roads, used for de-icing in winter, that damages his cars paintwork - hehehe.
The popular dish in the UK 'Singapore noodles' does not exist here. The closest likeness is perhaps seafood bee-hoon. Do you recall the Youtube vid of Bernie Ecclestone (F1 owner) being interviewed by SGn TV during the first F1 race here?
SGn: 'And have you had a chance to try any of our famous cuisine yet?
BE: Yes yes, of course, it's wonderful!
SGn: And which dishes have you tried?
BE[!]: Er.... er... well one of them was Singapore noodles.
[Busted!!
]
I'd love to see the menu of a well know British restaurant in India. Is it all fish and chips, sausages and pies, and puddings with custard?
what does that taste like? on a related note Kings beer from Goa is quite nice too
