“The west” is litterally the greatest Global Village in the world with a bit of everyone from everywhere. Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Indian restaurants abound, and it doesn’t stop there. Let’s not gatekeep rice like it’s some strange mystery.
Sure but we also should not exaggerate the inclusivity of “the West” The availability of international restaurants has little influence on what people outside of diaspora groups are making in their kitchen. Consumption is one thing but when it comes to household cooking a lot of the perception of rice here is limited to risotto at best and Uncle Ben’s at worst. That’s not even getting into the fact that a lot of the cuisines you listed were looked down upon in the West until as recently as thirty years ago (and some still are).
I can’t relate to this at all. Sure, its annecdotal, but in Toronto, our restaurant diversity is second to none. My neighbourhoods grocers, in addition to the Canadian staple oligopolies, also has an abundance of smaller ethnic grocers within walking distance of my house. Chinese, Indian, African, Middle-Eastern etc.
As a white dude, I literally shop the world and cook the world using imported products and ingredients. Though I admit, we are lucky to be at the forefront of this globally.
We’re spoiled here. Unlike say, the US where immigrant communities Americanize ethnic foods to cater to the local palate, our food scene is by expats, for expats and everyone else is welcome to join them. Dishes are as authentic as they can be right down to regional variations. E.g. Gudjarati Vegetarian, Hyderabad biryani, Chettinad cuisine, Cantonese, vs Taiwanese vs Hakka, Japanese or Korean and pretty much everywhere else.
I’ll admit you have a point but only in that when travelling, “The West” is not a monolith., Most of Europe is quite a bit behind us in this regard; France, Germany and Poland, Portugal etc. They have such excellent local cuisines, authentic ethnic is limited to enclaves and has a slight homoginization with local traditions. A special shoutout to the UK who have reliably great Indian and Carribean cuisine even way outside of London. Then the US is generally a disaster as almost everything is Americanized and authenticity is murdered.
Its a broad generalization with exceptions of course, but as a Canadian, especially from Toronto, your characterizations sound silly from my perspective.
Yes I have lived and dined in Toronto. I remember Ossington street very fondly. But I consider these to be exceptions as you have rightfully acknowledged as anecdotal. You have a decent chance of getting authentic international cuisine in cities like NYC, Toronto and London but this is not where most Westerners live. Most Westerners live where they’re in some way getting a watered down version of international cuisine.
I’ve lived in smaller Canadian and American cities also. You’ll be fine if you’re ok with pizza, burgers (nothing wrong with that) and Americanized Chinese/Mexican of significantly variable quality. Once you go outside of those bounds it’s an adventure and often not a pleasant one.
We will have to disagree. NYC is interesting, but little is authentic. I traveled frequently for business.
As for Canada, it has spread to most cities over the last 20 years. You can get great Indian and Chinese in North Bay, Kingston, London, Windsor, Surrey, Burnaby, Winnipeg, Prince George and Beyond. Nothing like the GTA and Vancouver, but miles ahead of anywhere else. The UK is in second place with diverse authentic options in and more importantly outside of London.
None of this is to pick a fight exactly, just to say “Westerners don’t get rice” doesn’t resonate. Replace westerners with Americans and I won’t argue.
It’s available, but generally speaking people don’t even realize what it could be used for. Many westerners have actually eaten rice in a variety forms because of the reasons you mentioned.
When you eat at an Indian restaurant, you’ll just eat the strange little cakes without realizing that they’re actually made of rice. That’s not what people think when they hear the word rice.
“The west” is litterally the greatest Global Village in the world with a bit of everyone from everywhere. Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Indian restaurants abound, and it doesn’t stop there. Let’s not gatekeep rice like it’s some strange mystery.
Sure but we also should not exaggerate the inclusivity of “the West” The availability of international restaurants has little influence on what people outside of diaspora groups are making in their kitchen. Consumption is one thing but when it comes to household cooking a lot of the perception of rice here is limited to risotto at best and Uncle Ben’s at worst. That’s not even getting into the fact that a lot of the cuisines you listed were looked down upon in the West until as recently as thirty years ago (and some still are).
I can’t relate to this at all. Sure, its annecdotal, but in Toronto, our restaurant diversity is second to none. My neighbourhoods grocers, in addition to the Canadian staple oligopolies, also has an abundance of smaller ethnic grocers within walking distance of my house. Chinese, Indian, African, Middle-Eastern etc.
As a white dude, I literally shop the world and cook the world using imported products and ingredients. Though I admit, we are lucky to be at the forefront of this globally.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/05/world/canada/toronto-restaurants-immigration-multiculturalism.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/18/travel/toronto-ethnic-food.html
https://www.blogto.com/eat_drink/2026/09/torontos-food-shoutout-new-york-times/
We’re spoiled here. Unlike say, the US where immigrant communities Americanize ethnic foods to cater to the local palate, our food scene is by expats, for expats and everyone else is welcome to join them. Dishes are as authentic as they can be right down to regional variations. E.g. Gudjarati Vegetarian, Hyderabad biryani, Chettinad cuisine, Cantonese, vs Taiwanese vs Hakka, Japanese or Korean and pretty much everywhere else.
I’ll admit you have a point but only in that when travelling, “The West” is not a monolith., Most of Europe is quite a bit behind us in this regard; France, Germany and Poland, Portugal etc. They have such excellent local cuisines, authentic ethnic is limited to enclaves and has a slight homoginization with local traditions. A special shoutout to the UK who have reliably great Indian and Carribean cuisine even way outside of London. Then the US is generally a disaster as almost everything is Americanized and authenticity is murdered.
Its a broad generalization with exceptions of course, but as a Canadian, especially from Toronto, your characterizations sound silly from my perspective.
Yes I have lived and dined in Toronto. I remember Ossington street very fondly. But I consider these to be exceptions as you have rightfully acknowledged as anecdotal. You have a decent chance of getting authentic international cuisine in cities like NYC, Toronto and London but this is not where most Westerners live. Most Westerners live where they’re in some way getting a watered down version of international cuisine.
I’ve lived in smaller Canadian and American cities also. You’ll be fine if you’re ok with pizza, burgers (nothing wrong with that) and Americanized Chinese/Mexican of significantly variable quality. Once you go outside of those bounds it’s an adventure and often not a pleasant one.
We will have to disagree. NYC is interesting, but little is authentic. I traveled frequently for business.
As for Canada, it has spread to most cities over the last 20 years. You can get great Indian and Chinese in North Bay, Kingston, London, Windsor, Surrey, Burnaby, Winnipeg, Prince George and Beyond. Nothing like the GTA and Vancouver, but miles ahead of anywhere else. The UK is in second place with diverse authentic options in and more importantly outside of London.
None of this is to pick a fight exactly, just to say “Westerners don’t get rice” doesn’t resonate. Replace westerners with Americans and I won’t argue.
It’s available, but generally speaking people don’t even realize what it could be used for. Many westerners have actually eaten rice in a variety forms because of the reasons you mentioned.
When you eat at an Indian restaurant, you’ll just eat the strange little cakes without realizing that they’re actually made of rice. That’s not what people think when they hear the word rice.