Eating in an Indian restaurant in foreign places has always been on my travel-culture wishlist, albeit being the most ignored request by my travel mates. Their reasons vary from “It won’t be good” to “We can get better Indian food back home” wherever home is.
Indian Restaurant in Tokyo
So during our last Japan trip, when Fafa pointed out an Indian restaurant in Tokyo called Nair’s, I was delighted. He said it must be a Mallu (Kerala) restaurant, and seeing the queue outside of it, I convinced him we should try it.
A quick Google search while waiting in the cold outside of the restaurant revealed that Nair’s is a famous Indian restaurant in Tokyo. It was established in 1949 ━ and, in 2015, was visited by Mohan Lal, a famous Indian actor. Surprisingly, we were the only Indians in the packed two-stories restaurant. The rest were Japanese, ranging from youngsters to business people.
Indian Curry, Japanese Rice, and Wasabi Pickle at Nair’s
The restaurant was painted in bright pink and decorated with all things Indian, from paintings of Indian dancers to pictures of the owners. There were glass shelves filled with pickles and masala. Old Hindi songs were playing in the background. The waiter, a Mallu guy, got excited when he saw us Indians in the restaurant. He gave us the menu and recommended the must-try. Fafa followed his recommendation and ordered the chicken dish called Murgi Lunch and an Indian beer called Maharaja 🤷♀️. Meanwhile, I opted for what I thought was a safer choice, North Indian Prawn Curry.
When our food came, a Japanese uncle appeared, offering to cut Fafa’s chicken for him. It was unusual, for sure, but we let him do it. It seemed like it was the service in the restaurant, as after us, he went to the other table and started cutting the chicken on a Japanese woman’s plate.
The owner, who speaks Tamil, came to our table to greet us. He has been living in Japan since the 70s and has been operating this Indian restaurant in Tokyo for decades. We chit-chatted for a while, thanked him for the lovely hospitality, paid and left.
Fafa asked me whether I wanted to come back. I am not too sure, tbh, as I had a hard time finishing my Indian curry served with Japanese sticky rice and wasabi pickle. But I am glad we had a meal in an Indian restaurant in Tokyo. At least I got to cross one of my travel-culture wish-list.
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