From call centres to construction, nuclear presence to new industries, India and China are the closest contenders for future world powers. While that may take some time, a more local war being fought is between Indian and Chinese restaurants to woo the local diner.

And China seems to have the hold as there just aren’t as many Indian restaurants in the Pan-Asian belt as we can find right here in our homeland. Chinese cuisine finds wide acceptance and always manages to please the local palates, with minor tweaking of course!

But just to set the record straight South-east Asian cuisine is not one basic fare and changes drastically with the provinces, the ingredients and most importantly, the local cultural influences.

From the French influences to Vietnamese food, to the paratha-hawkers of Singapore, from the Thai curries to the Chowmein and Chopsueys of the world, the only thing that remains crucial to South Asian food is its varied adaptability.

Meat plays an extremely important part of the cuisine universally. Insects, birds, animals and even what we consider pets can find their wake services being conducted in a wok. A friend of mine joked (or was he serious?) that any living creature which has its back facing the sun can be eaten! And I, for one, am never going sunbathing on the beaches of Bali again!

A great restaurant from the late 60s in Hong Kong is the Luk Yu Tea House restaurant on Stanley Street and the dishes there are some very traditional dishes which aren’t just tasty, their preparation also leaves one wondering: Deep-fried milk, Dim-sums (steamed or fried as wantons) which have liquid soup inside and sunny side-up eggs which don’t flow or ooze yolk when sliced!

The idea is very simple – to offer taste but with absolutely mind-boggling form to make for an enthralling unforgettable experience. This is much different from say the Jade restaurant at the Fullerton in Singapore which boasts a rather classic neo-Sino décor and where the food was very ‘safe’: tasty while running the risk of being unimaginative perhaps.

India is still gradually waking up to the essence and importance of serving authentic platters and steering away from fusion (even Hong Kong is suffering from this type of remix cooking and very few successes have emerged). Apart from Thai and Japanese, Provincial Chinese cooking is the new trend in fine dining and although it has found immediate takers, the well-informed wing-heeled travelled Indian, it will be some time before we can find the critical mass to appreciate such repasts. The Summer Garden at the Island Shangri-La is one such fantastic destination.

Closer to local shores the Pan-Asian restaurants at the ITC evolved to fill in this crucial gastronomic gap. But with rising consumer awareness (not to mention the ease with which they get bored of the routine), it was essential to envisage a food place which could balance all these elements and yet maintain a definite identity: to be able to serve the Sushi with the Schezuan, the Teriyaki with the Thai and yet remain sincere to all.

The one thing which I particularly like about them is this: the money hasn’t been spent on the decors only to make them look like something out of a martial art thriller; instead trained chefs have been flown in and more regularly, the ingredients catch express flights just so that the only difference that remains between having a Pan-Asian meal here or anywhere in the South-East Asian belt is the currency we pay in!

A small caveat: inasmuch as the West would like us to believe, sweet syrupy Gewurztraminer wine from the Alsatian reaches of Franco-German borders aren’t the only beverages to be able to match this cuisine.

Shitake pairs well with Pinot Noir, Soya with oaky Cabernet, ginger with sparkling wines, lemongrass and Riesling work while Sauvignon is great for noodle salads.

The days of over-cooked, Ajinomoto-dusted noodles are over and wine options – from Riesling to Rioja – are as elegantly applicable as with the traditionally acknowledged delicacies such as Foie Gras and Lamb Chops – unless ofcourse your definition of Pan-Asian is still limited to take-away Chowmein and Manchurian from the neighbouring Nepalese-chefs-operated food van!