Chinatown

One really nice thing about being in a big Indian city are the Chinese restaurants. Chinese food here is generally a much more high end affair then in the US. A lot of restaurants say they they serve Chinese as well as Indian, but usually that just means 10 or so dishes of noodles cooked with Chinese spices.

A real Chinese restaurant here is actually incredibly similar to Chinatown restaurants in the US, in terms of food and atmosphere. The thing is that while a restaurant of that quality in the US is middle range, here it is very high end. The places themselves look very much the same, kind of gaudy with a lot of brass and aquariums or coy ponds.

The food is also similar, but really hits the spot after being away so long. Last night at a place called Ling's Pavilion we had for an appetizer a dim sum platter, complete with pork (yes pork) steamed buns, that were as good as any in Boston. For dinner we had a beef and wonton over noodle dish (yes beef) as well as a pork dish. They were both excellent and the beef and pork were so great to have after so long. All this for 625 rupees, which is around 15 dollars.

The kicker is that Ling's also had the best bathroom in all of India, one that even a good US restaurant would be proud of.

Unfortunately it will probably be until Kolkata before we have real Chinese again, but I am already excited.