Why I Think A Hyderabadi-Style Restaurant Owner May Want To Open In The Bicol Region

I was thinking about how to do business in the Bicol region. There's that whole thing that kept in my mind that if you can't stand Bicol then you can't stand Thai food. I don't like Bicol express and the use of bagoong. I remembered as a child that I was given green mango with bagoong. I preferred to use salt with bagoong. For me, bagoong was one of the stuff that I usually avoid when I can and will only eat it if I'm left without a choice. There are tamarind and pili nuts from Bicol with chili which I also dislike. However, some Indian food use coconut milk. I've heard the Hyderabadi people in India love to use coconut milk in some of their dishes. Chances are I never realized I was actually eating curry with coconut milk or actually enjoyed it. Opening a Hyderabadi-style restaurant in the Bicol region may definitely work much better than most parts of the Philippines. Sure, Filipinos in other regions enjoy it but would actually request a less spicy version. 

What's so similar about Hyderabadi food and Bicolano food? It would be that Hyderabadi Indians and Bicolano Filipinos tend to be fond of spicy food and the use of coconut milk. I remembered trying tamarind candy prepared by an Indian and it tastes similar to the Bicol and Thai tamarind candy. I've heard of spicy chocolate samosa. There are also other foods that may be similar yet different. Bicol express uses coconut milk. Some Hyderabadi cooking put coconut milk as part of their curry. Maybe, you may have heard of Hyderabadi coconut chicken curry. You may have heard of Indian barbecue marinated with coconut milk. Coconut milk curry of different varieties would be very similar to coconut milk dishes of the Bicol region.

For the Bicolano, they could learn a new dish from the Hyderabadi-style cooking. There's also turmeric grown in Bicol. That may give Indians specializing in Hyderabadi cooking the materials they need without importing from India. Lots of spices are usually grown in Bicol to the advantage of people doing business there. I think it would be fun to see how a Bicolano might want to improvise or Filipinize the Hyderabadi chicken curry to the Filipino taste. Even better, I think Hyderabadi-style restaurants could also participate in the chili festival by Bicolanos by introducing new dishes.