Monday, December 04, 2006

Disappearing Russian Restaurants

I am in Dubai walking down the street. Suddenly, I see a sign in Cyrillic- Russkaya Kuhnya”- Russian Cuisine. I love Russian cuisine and I walk in, in anticipation of borscht, pelmeni, stuffed goose and other delicacies. I am met by an Indian gentleman who gives me the menu- curry, masala, shawarma, Indian bread, falafel and kapsa.WTF? I am here to get Russian food and you have just enticed me with false advertising to another typical Gulf restaurant. I storm out in disgust.
I see another Russian Cuisine sign down the road. I walk in again and again find the same thing- this time it is an Iranian man who brings me the menu- again, it is basmati rice, shawarma, shish-kebab, hummus, etc. Is this some kind of joke? This ain’t Russian food! I get angry at him for the fake sign. He lashes out at me with double anger. Hey, watch it! I am the customer here. I pay your salary. Again, I storm out.
I am in Bahrain. There is a huge sign in neon -Russian Restaurant. I walk in to find a big place with nothing Russian in it. The place is full of Indian cooks and waitresses and again they give me a full Indian menu- masala, curry, naan, etc. WTF!!!Why did you call your restaurant Russian? Oh, well, it is because we have Russian salad here. Huh?
This is insane. OK, let me try the Russian salad. What? It has pineapple? Where would the Russians get pineapples from? It should have potatoes.
I guess in these countries they do not have laws against false advertising and they are not taught that customers should not be deceived. If you become indignant with such devious attitudes towards putting signs on business that purport to provide certain type of food and then, they do not, the people there get angry with YOU!
Next time you see a Cyrillic sign in the Gulf, walk on by. Unless of course, you want a traditional Middle eastern/Indian meal.

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