Second Helpings

"NORTH INDIAN FOOD is butt ugly," says Padma Lakshmi, model, TV host and former wife of Salman Rushdie. "It's always some vegetable or protein floating in some kind of brown or orange or red sauce, and it looks nondescript." But, she says, "it is mucho delicious", a statement that would no doubt have many Singaporeans nodding in agreement. "It has tits!" she exclaims. "It has a mean rack!"

Netflix has just released the second season of its popular food travelogue series Ugly Delicious hosted by celebrity American chef David Chang. And its second episode has Chang travelling to India to explore the rich and varied cuisine of the world's second biggest country by population.

He meets famous Indian-American chef Floyd Cardoz in Mumbai and learns about the diversity of Indian food, from Kashmir to Lucknow. He learns that curry is so different across the country that it's impossible to pin down its exact flavour. He banters comfortably with celebs Lakshmi and Aziz Ansari (the latter obviously eager to put the past behind him).