An Independent Analysis of Eating at an Indian Restaurant

On a Sunday evening around 7:00 pm, I decided to try a local modern Indian cuisine restaurant not too far from my apartment. The name of the restaurant was called Shan-A-Punjab and is also known to be a family owned restaurant. I have never been to an Indian restaurant and was eager to see what it would be like. As I entered the restaurant, you could tell what culture they belong to by the timing, music, decorations, designs, food and also the servants. Just the atmosphere itself, gave me the real experience of what their culture is like.

Around the time I went, there were a few families already enjoying their meals as I was being sat down along with a friend of mine. The first thing I noticed as soon as walked in the restaurant was the timing. By timing I mean that they are very quick with every task that they have to do. I was sat down right away, I had water poured into my glass every five minutes, and the food that I ordered came out in less than 10 minutes. Compared to many other modern restaurants today, this is unlikely to happen. Another thing that I noticed is that every time I had a servant talk to me, they would have a thick accent that was hard to understand. But every time I would talk to the servant, he could not really understand me either. Their work attire seemed different than what I expected. They were dressed in black pants and white button up shirts, kind of like what you would see at a pricy restaurant.

For my meal, I ordered the Chicken Tikka Marsala, which consists of pieces of chicken that is marinated in a spicy sauce. Along with the chicken, rice was served and I was told by the servant that it helps absorb the spices for those who are not used to the different spices they use for other Indian dishes. Without the rice, my mouth would have been on fire. As I was eating my meal, I noticed Bollywood music was playing throughout the restaurant, giving their customers a taste of their culture. I was quit fascinated by the different dances and costumes that were worn in the videos, along with music itself. As I was eating my meal, I noticed that the servants tend to stare at the customers while they eat. But what I got out of it is that they want to make sure the customer has enough water as well as how good the food tastes and looks. It was something I was not used to seeing during every meal and gave me an uncomfortable feeling.

As I was trying not to feel or look like I was uncomfortable, I began to look around, noticing the statues and sculptures that were placed all over the restaurant of elephants as well as other animals. I was curious as to why they had those selected animals throughout the restaurant and then remembered my roommate telling me that they praise cows and their god is an elephant. Another thing I noticed was heavy paisley cloths and curtains that were displayed throughout the place. This reminded me of the types of dresses that women would wear to weddings as well as other family events. I would know this because my roommate has one and as I felt the fabric, you would not be able to tell that it would feel heavy.

Throughout my experience, I was very pleased as well as fascinated by the things I got to observe throughout my dinner. The atmosphere and the family that works there wanted to give a piece of the culture for others to experience. I definitely noticed many differences between their culture and American culture