When I was in Bangalore, my friend showed me around the town.  Now, he is visiting Vancouver, it’s my turn to show him around.  I don’t want to taking him to the typical tourist traps.  I have been to those places too many times.  There is one tourist attraction in Vancouver I won’t mind going back again and again, that is the ice-cream shop with 218 difference flavors of ice-cream.  This afternoon in the office, I asked around and see who else wants to have some ice-cream after work.  Two other friends who have heard about this place many times but having get the chance to taste it also interested to come along.  My Indian friend tried the curry and chai tea ice-cream, and complains that doesn’t taste right.  At the end he settle for a more traditional flavor, butter scotch.

After having the ice-cream, we are still hungry, so we decided to have dinner together.  I want to bring Vikram to a restaurant that he don’t have one in India.  One of my friend suggested all you can eat Chinese hot-pot, what a good idea.  So I took them to the hot-pot restaurant I usually go.  As you know, in a hot-pot place, other than ordering the soup base and dishes, you have to order your dipping sauce.  In the menu, they have the normal sauces and the house special spicy sauce.  My Indian friend instinctly want to have the spicy sauce and my two other friends, one is a white guy and the other is also Indian but grew up in Canada, follows. When we made the ordered, the waitress warned the white guy the spicy sauce is really hot.  My friend complained that the waitress discriminate against white guys because she didn’t warn my other two Indian friends.  He ignored the warning and told her to bring it on.  My Indian friends almost made fun of the stereotype that white guys can’t take spicy food.

After a while, the hotpot, the dishes and the spicy sauce came.  The white guy first tried the sauce.  The moment he put the sauce into his month, he drank the whole glass of ice water to chill the heat.  The sauce is too spicy for him.  My two Indian friends were laughing at him.  Then the Indian guy grew up in Canada try the sauce.  He got the same reaction and complains his tongue is burning.  The real Indian guy laughed at him saying that he has no taste for the spice.  Finally, it’s my Indian friend’s turn to try the spicy sauce.  Guess what, the sauce is too hot for him!  You know when it is really hot, if an Indian thinks the spice too hot.