Fancy a Curry? Millions Do!

amended by Jon Porter

People used to say that British food was boring and bland. Nowadays people in Britain have a world of food to choose from.

Travel around London and youll find food from around the globe. You might come across restaurants and cafés serving foreign food from—take a deep breath—Armenia， Bangladesh， China， Ethiopia， France， Greece， Hungary， Italy， Japan， Korea， Lebanon， Malaysia， Poland， Russia， Somalia， Turkey， Vietnam and Yemen. Take a look on the Internet and youll find even more， from Africa， South and Central America and the Pacific. Some restaurants mix different cuisines to create fusion food—anyone for Brazilian/Japanese or Indian/ French？ Its similar across the rest of the UK， and growing. Britains ‘foodies—people who have a keen interest in food—are always looking for new adventures.

It hasnt always been the case. Once upon a time， other Western Europeans described British food as boring and bland， too heavy and full of fat， with tasteless soups and puddings only the British could love. Sixty years ago， there were only four Indian restaurants in the UK. Now there are over 9，500. There were Italian restaurants in Britain in the nineteenth century but no real Chinese restaurant until the 1930s. The first Indian restaurant in the UK opened three hundred years ago. Today， the oldest Indian restaurant is Veeraswamys， which opened in 1936. The first Thai restaurant dates from the 1960s， but many other foreign outlets have opened since then.

So why did the British grow bored with their ‘boring food？ Firstly soldiers， administrators and planters who had worked overseas encouraged others to try out new food. In the 1970s， the British began to take holidays abroad and discovered new tastes. And at the same time， people from around the world settled in the UK to live and work， bringing food from home which attracted the British.

Traditionally， Britains national dish has always been fish and chips， but its more exotic than that. Many people， including former Foreign Secretary Robin Cook，

now consider chicken tikka masala the national dish. It has no particular recipe， but involves chicken in creamy sauce， Indian style. You wont find it in India though—one story is that it was invented by an Indian chef in Glasgow in the 1930s. It has come to symbolise multicultural， multi-ethnic Britain， and could be considered an example of ‘fusion food （See the ‘Word of the month activity）.

Foreign food in Britain can be expensive， but there are cheaper options. ‘Fancy a curry？ as the British say. Then head for Birmingham or Bradford， where youll find delicious， spicy Balti cooking. Vegetarian？ Try Londons Drummond Street， just behind Euston Station. Check out local bakers and delicatessens in areas where people from abroad have settled. You might not be able to pronounce the names of everything but you are certain to find something you like. Whatever you do， be like the British and experiment with the exotic！