[Cultures] Are there italian / mexican / french / indian restaurants in Japan? (etc)

So, we've had a number of asian students stay with us for week or so long stints over the past year (Chinese, Japanese, Taiwanese).

It always surprises me that they have never before encountered Western food (except for maybe McDonalds). Never had lasagne. Often never had pizza. And I find myself wondering if there is any market at all for 'ethnic' restaurants / ingredients in non-western countries?

Are there mexican restaurants in Japan?

Are there Indian curry houses in Shanghai?

Are there sushi bars in Bombay?

(etc)

If so, are they frequented mostly by tourists or foreigners?

Or is getting into all the food from around the world - either cooking it at home or going to restaurants (Italian, Indian, French, Turkish, Greek, Japanese, Thai, Chinese, blah-blah-blah) something that's predominantly a western phenominon?

 

You know what would be great is if they had them all in one... it'd be a Dream Cafe.











~Babbu Bhat

 

Not been to a shopping mall food-hall, then?

 

When I was in Germany earlier this summer they had a very excellent Italian restraunt near our hostel, and I also saw sushi places and a mexican place, although I did not eat at either of them.

 

Some of us would consider Germany part of the western world.

 

I've been to an Italian restaurant on Taiwan once.

 

Cool. Was it full of Taiwanese?

 

Well, I didn't read the opening post! I thought he was talking all foreign countries. What am I supposed to do, read posts or something? jeez!

 

Mainly Taiwanese business-people who took their guests out.

 

When i was in Ensenada, Mexico i saw a chinese reasturant and an itilan resturant. i was so excited that they had those

 

^gannet

 

Interesting. So not the sort of places the general public tends to go (Mum, Dad & the kids).

 

Well, I went there later in the evening. I think if families were to go there, they'd go there earlier on the day.

 

I've gotten great Turkish food and outstanding Italian in Mexico.

I've never been to Europe, but the best Indian food I ever had was in Toronto, Ontario.

 

That's nice. But not really what I'm enquiring about. Canadians would be considered 'westerners' by most...

 

I expect this has something to do with Asia's lifelong struggle to fend off Western cultural imperialism

I haven't been to Asia in a long, long time, and I don't remember eating anything American other than McDonald's. I presume that Asian countries do have some "real" Western cuisine- although what they do have is either fusion (which is why you hear about weird pizza toppings in Japan- the Western dish may just be altered until it is unrecognizable), or for tourists and businessmen, who are more willing to spend big money in the big cities for more "universal" food.

Also, "getting into all the food from around the world" is not really even what Westerners do- much of it also seems to be fusion and/or catering to a specific region's tastes. For instance, the Chinese food I ate in Paris was much different from the kind I usually eat here in California. Perhaps Asian countries do the same thing, except more extremely, in order to fully preserve their culinary sense of self.

This is mostly just my own theory, though.
Good question, jp-30.

 

I like that theory!

 

Yes there are Indian restaurants in Shanghai.

 

When I was in Japan I had pizza.

Oh and there's more than just McDonalds over there, I saw a KFC in Kyoto.

 

I know of at least one Italian restaurant in Kuwait City.

 

From a pizza-parlour or a Pizza Hutt type fast food franchise? And what was your topping?

 

At a buffet/party thing I went too. I also tried snails, learned how to make animals out of balloons, and taught all the Japanese people how mixing all the soda pop together results in tasting like bubblegum. The pizza was strange, all the toppings were Japanese - fish and ****ake, etc... wasn't really Italian at all.

 

Cool, so that adds some weight to sithysithy's theory.

 

Since I went to Japan and ate at an Indian restaurant and the Hard Rock Cafe, I can safely say they have curry and hamburgers.

Jae

 

Was the Indian food in Japan different from what you are used to?