southern tastes = bland? why would you say that? in most regions, the more south you go, typically, the spicier the food: i believe the southern indian state of andhra pradesh holds the record for some of the spiciest foods consumed. similarly, texas is famous for its spicy chili sauces and such. the mexicans (and central americans?) seem to like what i believe is hottest pepper: habanero? as for china, from my little knowledge of it, south/soutcentral-west china, the sichuan region, is famous for its spicy food, yes?
> However, none of this resembles what
> I remember eating while living in Shanghai - albeit some of the US-Chinese
> food reminds me of what was "poor people's food" in China. But that is true
> of most other ethnic cuisine that I know - Mexican, Italian, Eastern
> European. I wonder if the same is true of India.
since in india, eating out is considered a luxury, restaurant food in india has tended to be rich people's food (or at least richer food in the sense of spices, creams, sauces, butter, etc). the same is true for indian restaurant food in the USA. it is my suspicion that this is the case because, unlike in the UK, where indian food is part of the national cuisine, indian restaurants in the US cater mostly to indians.
--ravi
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