Launched in 1945, Ling’s Pavilion in Colaba is perhaps the oldest Chinese eatery in Mumbai. Now, the restaurant has been asked to include Maharashtrian food in its menu as well. The AHAR (Indian Hotel and Restaurant Association) has requested all the restaurants to do so in a bid to promote local cuisine.
This 'request' comes after Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Ramdas Athawale’s 'suggestion' to ban Chinese food and hotels in the country amid tensions between India and China. Taking to Twitter on Wednesday, he had written, "China is a deceitful country. India should boycott all Chinese goods. Chinese food and Chinese food hotels should be banned in India!"
The AHAR chairman, Niranjan Shetty, told Mirror Now that is was a request and not a diktat. “We have asked member restaurants to try it out. If any restaurant is doing that, it is a welcome move. It is a request, not a diktat,” Shetty said.
Baba Ling, one of the owners of the popular restaurant, said that there was a meeting of restaurant owners and they asked all restaurants to promote Maharashtrian food. "We are doing it because the association asked us to do so,” said Baba Ling.
Athawale’s 'suggestion' came after 20 Indian jawans, including officers of the Army, were killed in a violent face-off with the Chinese troops on Monday night in the Galwan Valley of Ladakh.