This Malaysian Restaurant Named Papad As “Asian Nachos” & Desi Foodies Are Furious!

by Sanjana Shenoy
This Malaysian Restaurant Named Papad As “Asian Nachos” & Desi Foodies Are Furious!

Papad is not food. It’s an emotion. No Indian meal is ever complete without crispy papad which undoubtedly elevates any humble meal. So, it’s no surprise that Indians are very possessive about their crispy paper-thin accompaniment. Recently, a picture of a menu from a Malaysian restaurant went viral on social media — for having the audacity to call papad, “Asian Nachos”. Here’s what happened.

Malaysian Restaurant Names Papad “Asian Nachos”

Twitterati, @NaanSamantha took to the microblogging site to share a picture of a menu from a restaurant in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The picture shows a bowl of papad paired with what looks like a salad. The dish is named “Asian Nachos” and the ingredients named are papad, avocado, tamarind salsa and crispy shallots. It’s priced at 27 MYR (₹515 approx). Which is super costly. Come on, go to a South Indian restaurant and you’d get complimentary papad, or perhaps a bowl for not more than ₹100. 

The minute @NaanSamantha tweeted this picture, it instantly went viral. Netizens did some sleuthing and unravelled that the restaurant involved in this “food crime” is Kuala Lampur’s Snitch by the Thieves. Calling papad, “Asian Nachos”, what were they thinking, wondered Netizens. The tweet garnered 9188 likes, 102 comments, 597.2k views and 2255 retweets. That’s how much desi foodies are amused and even enraged by the anglicised version of papad. 

Netizens Joke If Mexicans Or Indians Would Be More Offended?

 Twitterati @nikster007 wondered if Indians or Mexicans would be more offended. @MAHESH79989822 says “And to insult to injury, 27 Ringgit for pappads given for free in India!! They are profiting from this crime!”Netizen @Mstr_f_none recalled “I was at the farmer’s market once they were selling Lentil Biryani. It was Khichdi.” Another joked about how crepes should be Western dosas.

Also Read: Kartik Aaryan Relishes Papad Rice At Roadside Stall At 2am

While, another Netizen wondered if they’ll call “moong ka papad”, “black dotted nachos”. Many others found tamarind salsa and avocado to be unusual accompaniments with papad which in itself is an accompaniment.

Meanwhile, what do you think about these “Asian nachos’, is it a yay or nay? Let us know!

Cover Image Courtesy: Canva