One of the things I enjoy most about travelling abroad is the opportunity to try new cuisines, enjoy exotic flavours, and immerse myself in an unfamiliar food culture. There is something magical about eating sushi sitting at a small counter in a Kyoto restaurant, slurping up a gelato in a tiny Italian town, gorging on bangers and mash in a British pub, or even having my sinuses opened up by a fiery Thai curry in a Bangkok food court.

I say all this to establish that I am not one of those unadventurous eaters who arrives in a foreign city only to search for the nearest Indian restaurant so that I have some dal makhani and butter chicken for dinner. I am happy to eat the local cuisine, wherever I may find myself, for both lunch and dinner. It’s only first thing in the morning, when I head down to the hotel breakfast buffet, that I miss the food of India.

Don’t get me wrong. There is much to enjoy about a great breakfast spread in a good hotel. And for a couple of days I do just that, filling my plate with local pastries and cakes, and then getting my protein fix with a couple of fried eggs accompanied by bacon and hash browns. But by the third day, ennui sets in. And that’s when I begin to long for the infinite variety of Indian breakfasts.

Even as I eat my almond croissant, my taste buds are craving for a pillowy soft idli which I could dunk into a spicy green chutney or gunpowder. The scrambled eggs on the buffet are no substitute for the fiery railway-style masala omelette that we get back home. And while I like a good sourdough as much as the next person, it really can’t stand up to an aloo paratha, eaten with a dab of achar and lashings of dahi. It’s only at the breakfast buffet do I begin to understand why some Indians travel with home-made theplas and achar to give their tastebuds a respite from the bland fare that most Western hotels serve up for the first meal of the day.

And it is only the West that is guilty as charged, given that it seems unable to think beyond pastries, eggs, sausages and cold cuts for breakfast, with some cut fruit thrown in for the healthy eaters. If you are travelling East, though, breakfast will generally include a variety of dimsum and congees, all of them served with spicy sauces and condiments to kickstart your palate for the day.

But there is no denying that it is Indian hotels that do us proud when it comes to breakfast. You can order anything from a puri-bhaji to poha, upma or luchi served with channa dal or aloo dum. Most good hotels will have a live station, where you can order a dosa to your specifications. And I have fond memories of a stay at the Grand Chola in Chennai, where they actually have a sambhar buffet, featuring varieties from every part of the south.

Which may explain why I find myself increasingly choosing to stay in Indian hotel chains (if possible) when I am abroad. That way, even if I am in London or Marrakesh, I can start the day with a taste of India.

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