Choosing a restuarant that wont get you sick.

TulsaisntFar

Hello this is a poll for a first timer like me. I want to make sure i know what everyone thinks about choosing a restuarant that wont get you sick. For a first time traveller like me its a paranoia, but lets not get into that.
Many people say a crowded restuarant is the safest because of the quick turnover. Tell me what you would do...

TulsaisntFar

I'd love to hear some comments too

rangss

A very crowded restuarant. How ingenious!

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...and I took the road less travelled.

rangss

TulsaisntFar, it is not just the germs in the food that would get you sick...
...food might be super clean and healthy....but then how does your tummy react to, say, Hot Avakai pickle? Or how much of chickpea flour can you take? Are you OK with somewhat sour yoghurt?

ericd

I always went to local places where a lot of people came ... i figured everything would always be fresh. Until now I never got sick ! :-)

RedSwordfish

I promise you, that you'll be sick! won't be too bad

Casey

I managed to not be sick during my two months. I avoided meat, kept my hands clean, but otherwise ate what I wanted. Ate from street vendors if the food looked fresh, lots of bananas and water from a bottle or purified myself. I drank a lot of lassis. If I ate eggs I always had omlettes, fried eggs are often not cooked enough and made boysfriend very ill.

john.sw

I've never been sick in India. I have spent 4 months of this year eating whatever I wanted.

I'm sure it makes no difference whether you eat meat or not - you're more likely to get food poisoning from rice than most other foods!

From 5 star hotels to street vendors, my rule of thumb is "if there are no dead or dying customers, it's OK."

If it's busy - go there!

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www.nilgiris.asia your guide to the Nilgiris, Ooty, Coonoor, Kotagiri and Gudalur

edwardseco

What about expensive that a local recommends? I always have a good meat dish and laugh at those suffering abstainers. Never had any problems except in Amrika..

otwisted

there's an important distinction to be made between "sickness" and your body's introduction / initial rejection / subsequent acceptance to the food.

Instead of cooking in lard & soybean/corn/peanut oils, you'll find foods cooked in mustard oil. You'll experience flours, fruits, and vegetables that you've never had before.

Instead of taking Immodium for the 'issues of life', be patient and realize that your body will take a couple days to a week to adjust to these new things. (Frequent Indian restaurants before you go to start the process early)

My personal experience is that crowded restaurants have higher food turnover (faster service), but smaller restaurants will prepare the food for *you* (slower service).

I always take a bottle of colloidal silver, keep the hands clean, and take Emergen-C packets. These three have helped me weather the initial immersion into the wonderful cultural adventure of foods that await

cyberhippie

Good point otwisted, add to the list more oil than your used to, chillis, garam masala curds, different water and hot weather.
Yor body needs time to adjust, I see too many people reaching for the pill a soon as their natural rythms change. This is often due change in diet rather than sickness and you shouldn't worry too much about it unless it persists too long or gets worse it's, then time to see the doc.

Strangely I usually get this when I return home!!

Immodium is only for emergencies by the way it does nothing for the problem other than give you some respite from having to run to the toilet every half an hour!

I agree with the other who have said busy restaurants are generally good, another thing I try to do is eat at the correct times if it's a meals/buffet service this should ensure that the food is fresh and hasn't been lying around in the heat for too long!

Eating meat is a choice it won't stop you getting sick if you choose not to eat it!

Casey

I didn't mean that not eating meat would prevent someone from getting sick, rather, I didn't eat it and thus am only commenting on my eating habits. At that time I also avoided meat at home. After having e coli from hambergers here at home I have avoided them ever since. I also travelled through Southeast Asia, ate meat and did not get sick. My travelling companion, however, was not so lucky. We ate similar meals yet he was often ill throughout the trip and I wasn't. Sometimes, I think that people often have different constitutions than others. I must say, that as I get older my body doesn't deal with spicy foods like it used to. We went for a really nice and spicy Thai meal here and then I spend an embarrasing amount of time in the washroom of the bar we went to later. I had more problems after that dinner that I ever had while travelling. I hope that this doesn't mean that my luck is over and this trip I will succumb to the dreaded Delhi Belli.

thirdreel

I don't know if there's a formula for this. I stumbled on some places that turned out to be wonderful, and some that turned out to be not-so-good. I went to places recommended by locals, and some of them were the best food I had there, and some were quite disagreeable with my stomach.

My advice is to keep your eyes open and trust your intuition. Remember that higher prices don't necessarily buy you safety or quality.

And I too had a tougher time adjusting to being back than being there. It takes your body time, I guess.

Jorge Reverter

Hi Tulsaisntfar,

Have been many times in India and never been sick. Is not only a questionof good or bad luck. Normally traveller have a sixth sense for such kind of things. I have voted for a very crowded restaurant. Of course when a traveller or a local reccommend a restaurant we take it into consideration, but the sense and the crowd are the main reasons.

shanthi

Like many of you, I've been to a fair few restaurants in India and not got sick. I don't really think any of the above are an obvious reason for choosing one or the other. Even in Ireland, I guess you could get sick from a restaurant now and again. In India, I don't think it matters whether a place is busy or not - expensive or not; I believe you take your chances wherever in the world you go for a meal. Soome of the places I've eaten in in India my friends back in Ireland would probably gag at - but I've never been taken ill from one of them. Mind you, saying that, I have never eated meat at any of them - 'fraid I draw a line at that and only eat meat in India that I've cooked myself !