Don't trip over meals

Choosing where to eat abroad can be tricky. Don't ask the concierge. Don't rely on guidebooks. Dubai, Bangkok or Rome, here's how to find the best food anywhere

- VIR SANGHVI

I have seen so many Indians travelling abroad this season that I reckon we form a huge source of income for restaurant owners all over the world. Unfortunately, like most tourists, we don’t always spend wisely or get value for money.

There are no foolproof rules for how to choose restaurants abroad. But for what it's worth, these are the rules I follow.

Try not to eat at your hotel.

In most of the world, hotels serve mediocre, overpriced food. In the Far East, hotel cuisine is designed to appeal to Western tastes, so it can be bland and boring.

There are, of course, exceptions (Dubai, for instance). And there are restaurants located in hotels run by chefs from outside. (Heston Blumenthal runs Dinner at the Mandarin Oriental in London.) These don’t count as hotel restaurants in my book.

Eat the local cuisine.

Even if a French restaurant in say, Kuala Lumpur, is good, it probably won't be as good as a French restaurant in Paris. Equally, the best Malaysian restaurant in Paris will not be as good as the ones in KL.

Don't look down on mall restaurants.