Last year, a dietitian and nutrition expert named Dr Reina Shukla who lives between Australia and India wrote a report for the Queensland government on the eating habits of Indians abroad. She concluded they get fat once they settle in, thanks to ‘acculturation’— the process of adopting the cultural traits or social patterns of others. When they land in Australia and see lots and lots of food on the store shelves, they buy and eat more than what they did at home. Indians embarking on food tours can sympathise with their NRI cousins because the options have opened up with the world.
Vancouver, Canada
In the 150 years it has been around, Vancouver has absorbed a multitude of cultures and cuisines. Animal products dominate West Coast tables, with salmon from off the Pacific coast taking the Uno position. Chef Karan Suri at the ARC Dining, Fairmont Waterfront, uses fresh salmon on bagels, topped with cream cheese and capers. Vancouver is also the hub of British Columbia’s wine industry.
The wine cellar at Salt Tasting Room is proof of its vinographic excellence. The award-winning restaurant serves flights of local wines paired with flights of local produce. Try the Canada Plate honeycomb experience from the Similkameen Valley along with some melt-in-your-mouth speck and cured meats.
Tokaj, Hungary
Hungarian cuisine is quite democratic considering some of it draws inspiration from farmers and Austro-Hungarian royalty. Tokaj is called the wine of kings. Gusteau in the eponymous town is not the fanciest of places but the duck breast served with millet balls and beetroot sauce and the black pudding afterwards is a product of the mix. Millet balls and beetroot sauce are farmers’ staples, the black pudding is a pig’s blood sausage and a favourite with Hungarian royalty.
New Delhi, India
In the country’s capital city, two Bengali chefs are cooking up kasundi magic. Kasundi is a typical Eastern mustard sauce, spicy, tangy and versatile and used with pretty much everything. The jugalbandi is between Chef Vikramjit Roy who experiments with pointed gourd (parwal) and Chef Sujan Sarkar whose pop-up Baar Baar features the classic fish cutlet. Roy’s kasundi base is made with raw mangoes. Kasundi on Sarkar’s Goan masala encrusted fish cutlet tastes sweet and spicy.
Copenhagen, Denmark
Rene Rendzepi’s four-time winner of the ‘Best Restaurant in the World’ award has reopened to recreate Scandinavian cuisine. Like its predecessor’s, Noma 2.0’s menu is divided by seasons. Till summer’s end it is a seafood menu. The stuffed Queen Clams from Norway served along with its own roe and a blackcurrant wood fudge or a salad with sea snails from the Faroe Islands are recommended.
Melbourne, Australia
How much of Australian wildlife can you eat? Apparently not enough at Ben Shewry’s Attica in Melbourne. Featured already in the world’s 50 best restaurants, the Kiwi chef is radically reinventing Australian food. Instead of the traditional meats, the menu has novelties: whipped emu’s egg with sugar bag and salted red kangaroo meat served with bunya nuts and purple carrots.
Masai Mara, Kenya
Tribal dishes and colonial cooking make up Kenya’s rich culinary heritage. As the soil is sandy, root vegetables are found aplenty. However, it’s non-vegetarian that rules the roost like the bush meat from the jungle. At the Sarova Mara Game Camp, guests are treated to delicacies such as smoked wild guinea fowl served with broad beans and pumpkin puree flavoured with cinnamon. The Morendet Rib Eye done medium rare and served with butternut pumpkin and green split pea has a taste of it own here.
California, USA
The cool summery vibe of Californian food signifies health and freedom in modern American cuisine. Chefs find it the right climate to seduce palates. One of its biggest proponents is Wolfgang Puck who recently opened his first steakhouse, CUT is already on top of the food charts. His first love remains the flagship Spago that defines the farm-to-table concept with detailed perfection. Puck’s ever-changing Californian Tasting menu incorporates local ingredients and bits of his own creation, the Modern Japanese. Read Meiji Tofu Soy Milk and Hijiki Sea Weed paired with wines from one of the largest cellars in the US.