R is a colleague of mine from the Delhi office. He is a hard working hard driving manager and chain smoker. He can be up for several days in a row with very little sleep. Sometimes I wonder if he is in the right business as a software programmer. He is more suitable as a union leader or in a rock band. When I visited India, R used to show me around and take me to restaurants. We stayed up very late and I always drank and smoked with him.
R loves spicy food. When he visited the Bay Area last year, I took him to a Szechuan restaurant in San Mateo for lunch. This restaurant had a reputation of serving very spicy food. I thought he would be satisfied. We ordered cold noodles, fish in tofu and another seafood dish. All three were marked with red peppers on the menu. When the dishes came, R didn't think they were spicy enough, he kept on pouring hot sauce. I and the waiter were both surprised. R was sweating but pressed on.
As much as he liked the spicy dishes, R disapproved the cold noodles. "Why do they serve the food cold?" I guess it's not normal to serve cold dishes in India.
