Fancy a Curry? Millions Do!

Travel around London and you’ll find food from around the world. You might come across restaurants and cafes serving ethnic food from China, France, Italy, Japan, Russia and Turkey. Take a look on the Internet and you’ll find even more, from Africa, South and Central America and the Pacific. It’s almost the same in other big UK cities. Britain’s “foodies” — people who enjoy good food — are always looking for new adventures. In the past, 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, and now there are over 8,500 and thousands more Chinese restaurants, Thai restaurants and other kinds of restaurants you can imagine. So why did the British grow bored with their food? In the 1970s, the British began to take holidays abroad and discovered new tastes. 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. Many people think of Britain’s national dish as being fish and chips, but it’s more ethnic than that. Some even see chicken tikka masala as representing British taste. It’s a dish with no particular recipe but involves chicken in creamy sauce. It’s Indian style. It’s come to symbolize multicultural, multiethnic Britain. Whether you fancy a curry or are a vegetarian, you’ll always find good places to go. You might not be able to pronounce the names of everything, but you are certain to find something you like.