Let\’s Visit Asia

Finding Authentic Local Cuisine

by Ruth on December 28th, 2007

When traveling in a foreign country, how do you know which restaurant serves the best local cuisine? Your travel guidebook might have some recommendations, but often I find that those digs are less authentic, probably because most of these establishments cater to tourists, and the flavors are already adjusted according to the targeted clientele’s tastes.

One trick I’ve found is to scan the patrons. If the resto is popular with the locals, then it’s a good indication that what you’ll get is what the dishes are supposed to taste like. Of course, it’s not a fool-proof plan. The best strategy is still to get a local or someone knowledgeable enough with the local cuisine to choose a resto and select the dishes you ought to sample.

If you’re traveling to India, for example, check out Suvir Saran’s recommendations. New Delhi-born Saran owns the top-rated New York City restaurant Dévi, renowned for its authentic, regional Indian cuisine and is the author of cookbooks Indian Home Cooking and American Masala: 125 New Classics from My Home Kitchen. His favorite restaurant in New Delhi?

There’s this place called Karim, which would be my number one recommendation. It’s in Old Delhi in the walled city. It’s the best rendering of the Muslim dishes of Northern India. The lamb chops and curries are phenomenal, and the biryani is amazing. Even the simple lentils of Northern India are prepared beautifully. And they have a rice cream called firni that is superb as a dessert. It’s on a street adjacent to the largest mosque in India called Jama Masjid.

Read this interview and find out more about his top picks for dining, lodging, and late-night haunts in Delhi.

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POSTED IN: Gastronomy and Asian Cuisine, India