Promoting Indian food in Hokkaido

NewIndPress.com has a great article about Dilip Mansukhani, an Indian who came to Japan in the 1970′s and has since built a very successful chain of Indian restaurants:

Sporting a Charles Bronson-style moustache, Mansukhani was mistaken for either an American or an Italian. When he said he was an Indian, no one would believe him. It was then that he made a life-altering decision: “If I have to make India and Indian known here, there is nothing better to start an Indian restaurant.”

His first restaurant, a 100-seater, came up in downtown Sapporo in 1982 — called the Taj Mahal, a brand that he has promoted since then, not only for his chain of restaurants and fast-food outlets but also for his Indian provisions, pickles and spices.

An offshoot of his restaurants is the growing demand for his ‘Taj Mahal’ catering services, with clients including the Japanese defence forces on special occasions.

In tribute to his iconic India brand, the forces built a giant Taj Mahal at the snow festival here out of large blocks of ice and powered snow. Sapporo is said to get more snow than any city in the world.

“I have been very lucky,” Mansukhani said. “Almost all Indian ambassadors posted in Tokyo have visited my restaurants here and former ambassador Prakash Shah even made me an honorary consul to promote India and its tourism.

If you’d like to visit one of Mansukhani’s restaurants, check out the information on the Taj Mahal Group’s official website.