I will be arriving in Madrid on 20th january, staying near plaza mayor. Any god chinese/indian restaurants in the area?

Cheers
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groovyjohn

I can't help wondering why anyone would ignore the wonderful and reliable Spanish cuisine so commonly available in Madrid. Why seek out foreign food when the local stuff is so satisfying? I ate in several Chinese restaurants when I was living in Madrid-- for the novelty. But I never encountered any where the quality matched the quality of the homegrown cuisine generally available. When in "Rome"...
Cantabene



[This message has been edited by cantabene (edited 01-15-2001).]

i must agree with cantabene...

but to answer your question, yeah there are certainly chinese and indian restaurants. there are even mexican restaurants (like carribean-style, i haven't seen tex-mex), but i don't remember where any of them are... just look in a restarant guide on the web.. Madridman or Antonio would know where to find those... (like guía del ocio, etc...)

keep in mind that many ethnic restaurants tailor their tastes for the spanish audience, which prefers more bland, but flavourful, foods, in general. i don't know many spaniards that like hot, 'spicy' (indian/chinese/tex-mex spicy) foods... so the mexican restaurant that i went to was actually really not my speed... and the carry-out chinese i've had was 'ok.'

good luck! (and do yourself a favour and eat the spanish food instead...)

Hey Cantabene and real_megia. I think that the hotness may be a reason to seek the food out for groovyjohn. Or maybe I'm all wrong. Still, Indian food is absolutely my favorite. I don't think I could go without it for a week. I'm glad you told us all about the "blandness" quality of the food. I'll have to carry my own special red pepper flakes with me and maybe some curry to boot.

Sunday, Jan. 14, 2001 was my last day in Madrid. After the three Kings, most restaurants are closed on Sunday. My daughter warned me that most Spanish restaurant would be closed. I really wanted to eat at La Latina restaurant located of course in La Latina area and was disappointed to see "cerrado" sign. Anyway, I told my daughter definetly the Chinese restaurant in Arguelles would be open; and it was open. I found it so amusing how Chinese restaurants have adopted to the Spanish culture. Imagine a pitcher of Sangria for drinks rather than tea. They also have menu de dia. We ordered typical Chinese food -- fried rice, lemon chicken, sweet & sour pork. I told my daughter that I would like to break the cultural serving by having all the food on the table because I would not be able to eat plain fried rice without the lemon chicken and sweet & sour pork. My daughter told me that it would not be proper to have all the food on the table. As we were having this discussion, our server spoke English and offered to put all our food on the table. I really felt good to eat chines food the regular way. As we were eating our food, several Spaniards who were having their lunch, asked us whether the food taste better having all the food on the table. Of course we said, YES. Some of the customers asked that all their food also be placed on the table. It was so funny when some the Spaniards told my daughter "We never thought that Chinese food should be eaten mixed with other food." We all laughted regarding that experience. The cost of food for two icluding Sangria, dessert, cafe con leche was 2,000 pst. Since my daughter does not like Indian food, she did not go out of her way to look for one.

Ive always been intrigued by the preference of some people for pepper-laden food. Pepper is often used to supress off flavors--which sometimes arise from food that has not been well preserved. I suspect that the spicy character of much Indian food was an outgrowth of this problem. When a dish is extraordinarily hot and spicy, I tend to be suspicious about the quality of the ingredients that went into it.
Cantabene

Cantabene
The taste of the chinese food was very American!

Oh. cantabene. You are really missing out. I do enjoy the simplicity of Spanish cooking, where the taste of the food really comes through. Nonetheless, I looooove the complex spice and flavor combinations in Indian and Thai food. yum! I also love japanese food, brazilian, italian, french, west african(HOT), caribbean (HOT!!!) middle eastern - with the slight bitterness to spices and then a yummy yoghurt sauce, mmm. I simply love food.

I understand that in Indian food the hot spices serve the purpose of killing bacteria that may be in the food. Could be wrong though. Despite that maybe originally being the reason for salted/spiced foods, I think it has gone beyond that to be a taste preference eventually. Depending on what part of the world you are in, ie whether or not refrigerators are widely used - which is a pretty fair chunk of the places most of us are traveling-, the spices are probably not for covering up rancid meat flavor.


[This message has been edited by Nicole (edited 01-19-2001).]

As they say in Spain,--Cada loco a su tema.

I too am crazy about food. But still suspicious of the really hot stuff. It's been my experience that the heat destroys the subtleties of flavor. Perhaps I haven't been exposed to a large enough sample. I do eat it from time to time when there are no other options.
Cantabene

mclarke- What a great story from the restaurante chino! Nice cultural interchange...

I like going to the Chinese restaurants, since they are usually quite authentic, unlike many in the U.S. The people who are running the show are normally first or second generation immigrants looking for 'market share' and treat you like the only client in the house. The "Gran Muralla" in Avilés and the "Gran Muralla" (not a chain...just recognizable in title) in Valladolid were two that stand out. There's one in Segovia that is very good on the other side of the iglesia de San Nicolás, too.

For those who say "when in Rome..." I agree. After backpacking with a friend who thought that the trip was "sample the McDonald's in all countries" I know you should get out and eat the local stuff. Nevertheless, when you're in a country for an extended period of time, you do want to reach out for something different. I know I did.

Nicole mentioned quite a list of delicious national cusines, but she was remiss in not mentioning her favo(u)rite {keep the Brits happy}- German. The privileged members of the Los Angeles Dinning Club are still talking about her gusto for brautwurst. I can imagine brautwurst with jerk sauce (Caribbean fair), brautwurst on a small rice mound (Japanese), sweet and sour brautwurst (Mandarin speciality), and the all time classic brautwurst kabob (Middle Eastern). The sounds of am "ompa" band resonate wherever she chooses to dine. On that note I must leave as my brautwurst parmigiana(sp?) is nearing completion.

I once saw Nicole cook up a bratwurst paella and she's been known to knosh on bratwurst a la plancha (only when in Argentina). It's rumored that she has brats and crumpets for tea. She also has enjoyed moose bratwurst while traveling in Sweden. Read all about this and more of Nicole's culinary quirks in my new book "Things That Make Me Want to Punch CaliBasco".

Oh.. you guys are so going to pay for that
I am going to have to think about this one for a while to come up with appriate revenge.. hmm.

sour brautwurst. gross.

I was just about to scan the pictures from our illustrious dinner. Think I might just have to do a little photo editing before I send those puppies in to MM...

Did I mention how radiant you looked that evening??????????????

hahaha

actually -nothing like a photo to make me realize the hairdresser took "a little too much off the top, sides, back...all over," except those freaky sides burns they left on, which I chopped off a few days ago.

On the other hand, I really think the Victorian mustache and spock-like ears I drew on your picture are very becoming. That and Shawn's ponytails and gold teeth should distract from my bad hair cut..

I am surprised to read CaliBasco's comment on the autheticity of Chinese restaurants in Spain vis-a-vis the US. I found the best Chinese restaurants outside Asia in the US. A frequent stereotype for Chinese cuisine in Europe is that it is cheap and plenty. You can get a three course meal for 5 $ but you note the lack of quality, it is often some undefinable mixture of things adapted to the European taste. And the decoration looks the same everywhere. I am not crazy about going to Chinese restaurants in Spain.
It is different for Indian or Japanese restaurants which usually offer better food at higher prices. I went to some good Indian places in Madrid.
But ultimately, I agree that nothing compares to Spanish cuisine in Spain!

[This message has been edited by connie (edited 01-24-2001).]

I also found that "chinese" food restaurants in France and spain were not as pleasing to my palatte as in the States. I almost laughed in France when I saw all the cream sauces on the menu in one restaurant. Obviously they tailor it to the community's tastes (or they would probably go out of business).

Not having been to china though, I assume that chinese restaurants also have been tailored to american tastes here and no doubt are not any more "authentic" (unless you go to a restaurant that isn't as mainstream and obviously caters to its own community, i.e.). I used to go with my vietnameses co-worker to these tiny, whole-the-wall restaurants in the heart of the vientamese community. best food EVER!! Had I not gone with her though, I would never have been able to order, because there was no English on the menu.

I wasn't surprised at all by CaliBasco's comments. I found them quite enlightening!
The restaurants I mentioned were the few I found that were seemingly authentic. It is true, however, that the majority have the knock of being "mucha comida, poco sabor".

There are a pair of good Chinese resturants in Madrid but they are expensive, I don't remember the name now, just look in a guide ( Lanetro , metropoli , guía del ocio , etc) for a chinese restaurant with menu around 5000 ptas. I think one of them is near Colon.

[This message has been edited by MadridMan (edited 01-25-2001).]

IF YOU LIKE THAI...go to THAI GARDEN on Jorge Juan (i believe numero 5). I think that is the best Asian restarant in the city.

A note on the HOT Indian foods. I lived there for several years and remember actually feeling a little "chilly" on a 100+ degree day after consuming a particularly hot meal. They told me spices trick the body into thinking the "outside" is cooler! The same w/all the hot tea they drink. Ifyou think about it, the countries whose cuisines are HOT HOT are usually in the tropics. But then again so are alot of those little "critters" that somehow make there way into our bodies in some of those countries. so I'm sure the theory that the spices help purify the food has some merit.

cantabene--Oh, pepper can certainly suppress flavors, especially if it's been sitting in a bottle forever. But red pepper actually isn't like other peppers in the way that it isn't necessarily as hot in temp., but sweeter in a way. I use it in everything because I grew up mostly eating spicy foods, which is not to say hot, but full of spices.

Here in Minnesota, the pallet is bland, bland, bland--mostly Swedish, Norwegian dishes and really poorly prepared classic American. Ketchup is spicy here and more than half the population is allergic to spices, tomatos and onions.

But you know, they say you are what you eat, so maybe that is another reason why some of us choose to digest so much cheese and so many spices.

Sheba- I always try to defend Minnesota against attack...but you are DEAD ON, with the food appraisal. There are many culinary gems in MN, but lutefisk, lefse and kraut don't qualify as anything but stomach filler. Ish! (Although I LOVE brats!)

I've been to Minnesota, but only on a couple of brief business trips. All I know about it--except that you can freeze your butt off there--is what I learn from Garrison Keillor. I think this guy is terrific. I love his humor, his stories and gentle satire. Minnesota is fortunate to have him.

Soprry to get off the topic of Spain, but I couldn't miss this opprtunity to express my admiration for GK.
Cantabene




[This message has been edited by cantabene (edited 02-12-2001).]

OK I wouldn't go to McDonalds everyday, but feel free to try non-spanish cuisines in SPain because one they are often spanish influenced and two some spanish food is nasty depending on your preferences what you order. We had some spanish food where every bite was orgasmic, however we also had wonderful pizza and moroccan food. We didn't try the chinese restaurants but there were loads off of gran via on hortaleza and calle fuencarral. happy munching

The best way is to buy the stuff and find a place to cook whtevr you want at your level of taste (which I do ..ofcourse!) and thats how I survive with my cravings sometimes. It wont be a universal advice but it works in spain. Indian restuarants are not really with 'the original Indian' flavour to say to speak 'cause I tried in several and found not even close to what I cook at home! My friend, you are welcome to join the dinner ;-)

Chinese food: I have sampled Chinese food in several European countries, and I can't really say I found the Spanish variety of it very impressive. Perhaps I chose the wrong places, but I found the ingredients of bad quality (particulary in terms of the oil used).

German food: it's Bratwurst, not Brautwurst. A Brautwurst would be "bride's sausage" .... and I leave it to the reader whatever imagination this triggers with him or her .... ;-)

I totally agree with you - I have never cared for the Chinese food in Spain - that is the one food I really miss from the US is the good chinese food!

I totally agree with you - I have never cared for the Chinese food in Spain - that is the one food I really miss from the US is the good chinese food!