How far would you go to get your fried noodles or pakoras? Travel to the far reaches of the earth and you're guaranteed to find an Asian restaurant.
What got me this topic was that I just started editing my documentary, Twin Trek. It follows twin brothers from Canada, who are Bengali/Norwegian, as they head to a family reunion in Norway and uncover a surprising family history. I've tracked through transcriptions of some 70 tapes recently and recall eating in what is billed as the Most Northern Indian Restaurant.
It's fitting that we're talking about Twin Trek this week as the Toronto International Film Festival launches, this time with an expanded documentary program.
Now back to Norway. We were in Vadso, at 71 degrees north and many, many hours north of the Arctic Circle. I've never been so far north in my life. Vadso is near the Finnish and Russian borders and was once a thriving fishing (or rather, whaling) town. There are approximately 6,000 inhabitants now in Vadso, which has one flower shop, a bakery, no movie theatre and of course, one Indian place to eat: Indigo Restaurant.
SURPRISINGLY HOT
We ordered a balance of dishes from tandoori to curry to naan bread and butter chicken. The twins asked the waiter to "boost the spice level up" and indicated they were half-Indian. The chef understood because the food was very spicy and hot and I have to say the overall quality was good. One twin was not impressed:
Twin A: "It's OK but it doesn't match the Indian food in Canada."
Twin B: "If they tried to serve the full spiciness to the locals, this restaurant wouldn't survive very long." [General nods of agreement around the table]
Mother of the Twins: "Try to be positive."
Twin A: "I'm just being honest!"
The individual reviews went from "adequate" to "very good." If, for some reason, you're up there, I do recommend dropping by and asking for a bump up on the spice level.
The experience at Indigo lead to another exchange between the twins the next day. We asked them, if they were stranded on a desert island, which food would they bring with them: Norwegian or Indian? It went something like this:
Twin B:"I don't know, it's like comparing apples and oranges."
Twin A: "Indian food, of course. I'm surprised my brother is refusing to make a choice."
Twin B: "Like I said, it's like comparing apples and oranges. There's hundreds of different types of Indian cuisine. I can't choose"
It ended in a draw. The experience reminds me of the many times I've travelled and encountered Asian cuisine in the most bizarre spots on earth.
Back in the mid-1990s, when Prague had just opened its doors, I was taken to a lovely Indonesian restaurant by my friend who was living there. I used to avoid eating Asian food when I was abroad, only wanting the authentic, local stuff. I gave that up essentially because I missed the taste of rice, fried noodles and spices.
Since then, I've eaten Chinese food in Oslo, Malaysian food in London, Pakistani food in Bergen, Norway, more Chinese in Southern France and Jerusalem and delicious Japanese food in La Paz, Bolivia.
Once, I was passing through the medieval university town of Lund, Sweden where I stayed at the international hostel -- a refurbished train still sitting on tracks! I gave into my noodle craving and found a Chinese restaurant downtown.
The next day, as I was walking through the core, three Swedish businessmen came up to me and asked me IN ENGLISH: "Do you know where the Chinese restaurant is?"
I hesitated, wanting to scream at them: "Why do you think I would know? Is it because of my skin colour?" But, I relented: "It's over there, around the corner ... " Great, I've just confirmed every stereotype they might have had.
This column is my roundabout way of promoting filmmaker Cheuk Kwan's Chinese Restaurants documentary series. You can order the entire set off his website. By the way, Mary Luz Meija
interviewed Kwan.
I absorbed reams of information through Kwan's docu-series. If you're curious as to why Chinese restos are called "chifas" in South America, you'd do well to check out the Latin Passions part of the series. I guarantee, you'll be entertained and illuminated.
And, if you're curious about the far north of Norway, check out the
Lastly, you might want to check out Devorah Stone's healthy tips for eating out
