Brie Austin

Vagabond in Bangalore India: Culture Shocks

The last thing I wanted to encounter in a foreign country was Americanized chains.  However, during my couple of days withstanding Gandhi’s revenge, I’m quite glad they were here.

It was Subway that I ate exclusively during that time, as it was non-spiced and generally easy on my system.  But Bangalore also has other brands like McDonalds (which is spicy), KFC, Papa John’s, Pizza Hut, and Domino.

I was surprised to find pizza here, and even more surprised that the cafe I like has really good brick-oven pizza.  Just goes to show you can’t assume anything.

Recently Sri and I went to UB City and stopped in at Biere Bar, which is widely known among the expats here, and really enjoyed a mixed platter of chicken, lamb, goat and fish — very tasty!

And yesterday for lunch he took me to a little hole-in-the-wall that I would have never found on my own, where I ate Chicken Biryani; a dish influenced by Persian, Arab, Mongol conquerors.  It is mostly spiced rice, chicken, vegetables, and a hard-boiled egg, with a side of yogurt-onion sauce. It was very good, and cost $1.50.  I’ll be going back there!

Now that my system seems to have adjusted, I’ll be sampling a much wider array of classic southern Indian cuisine.

I may seem that I am settling in, but I’ll always remain a vagabond at heart.

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About Brie Austin

Co-author of I'd Do It Again, he is a columnist/reporter for a variety of magazines in the areas of music, lifestyle, nightlife, travel and business. He also writes business documents and creates copy for websites.