Burn after eating

Did I say I like that burning sensation at the posterior the morning after having Indian curries? Sorry, I lied. I don't. It sucks. It is a horrible feeling.

After the last post, I felt that it was timely for me to get some real curry. So I went for the easy option - Ganges Indian Restaurant, which is a stone's throw from home. But it was by no means a poor choice just because I was a lazy twirp. Ganges won the best Indian restaurant award in a local expat magazine last year.


It was not hard to see why. It has three branches in Beijing alone. And as McDonald's have shown, if you have a lot of outlets, your food must be good. But unlike the Golden Arches, Ganges comes with a wide selection of more than 150 dishes. As it proudly claims, it offers "all your favourite Northern Indian recipes, highlights from the Southern Indian style of cooking, and the latest from the exciting fusion style of modern Mumbai." Yes, rest assured that even though it tries to look Chinese with red lanterns next to chandeliers, it is authentically Indian.


Need further evidence? Well, it has Indian waiters. That's usually a good sign. And their food is spicy too. Being kind to Chinese who might not be too hot on spiciness, there is even a legend to warn off non chilli fans. But since I am a true blue Singaporean who takes to chilli like frog legs to porridge, the legend merely encouraged me to go for the maximum pain.

Three chillis for me! Yes sir, bring it on. Nothing less will do. The Chicken Vindaloo (48 yuan) was one of the few marked for maximum spiciness and it was my sadistic choice. It did not disappoint. Together with my fragrant Vegetable Biryani (38 yuan), it was a lovely combination. The biryani used Basmati rice, mixed with pieces of boneless chicken and it was not oily. KF ordered the Lamb Rojan Josh and picked Onion Naan (15 yuan) to go with it and he said it was delightful too.


The only downside to Ganges was the snooty service. The waiters were overbearing, urging us repeatedly to order more dishes, especially the expensive ones. When I preferred the local Tsingtao beer (15 yuan a mug) instead of the imported Tiger draft (35 yuan), the waiter actually snorted and quickly walked off, seemingly in disgust. Seriously, why would I want Tiger in Beijing? Asshole.

Speaking of assholes....the Vindaloo made sure I remembered it the next morning. I shall not elaborate. The rest, as they said, is lavatory.