How East Asian Cuisine Became Part Of India’s Everyday Food Culture

As India’s dining culture evolves, younger consumers are increasingly seeking spaces that feel familiar, emotionally comforting and consistently reliable. Yash Bhatia, Founder of Mai Mai—East Asian Restaurant in Bengaluru, reflects on how hospitality today is as much about human connection and trust as it is about food itself.Excerpts from an exclusive interviewWhat does building a restaurant teach you about consumers that corporate boardrooms often cannot?Restaurants teach you that consumers don’t always remember what you said in a presentation, but they always remember how you made them feel. You witness real behaviour patterns every single day, what people come back for, what comforts them after a long day, what they choose to celebrate with. Hospitality gives you incredibly honest consumer feedback in real time, something no boardroom or report can fully replicate. You also learn that loyalty is built through consistency in small moments rather than grand promises. A guest may forget a marketing campaign, but they remember whether the experience felt genuine enough to become part of their everyday life.Has India’s growing appetite for East Asian cuisine moved beyond trend-driven dining into everyday culture?Absolutely. Asian cuisine in India today is no longer reserved for special occasions. It has become part of regular eating habits, especially among younger consumers. The palate has evolved far beyond generic “Chinese takeout”, people now appreciate nuance, balance, broths, grills, sushi and regional flavours from across Asia. Consumers are becoming far more aware and curious about authenticity, ingredients and different styles of preparation. Exposure through travel, digital content and evolving urban lifestyles has also contributed significantly to this shift. What was once considered niche dining has now become integrated into everyday food culture, with people comfortably exploring different flavours as part of their weekly dining habits rather than viewing it as an occasional indulgence.Why do you think younger diners today value comfort and consistency more than spectacle?Consumers today are overwhelmed with choices and constant content consumption. What they increasingly seek is familiarity they can trust, spaces where the food feels comforting, the experience feels dependable and they know exactly why they’re returning. Spectacle may attract people once, but comfort and consistency are what bring them back repeatedly. Younger diners today are also more emotionally driven in their choices than ever before. They value spaces that feel genuine, calming and easy to connect with. In many ways, dining has become an extension of lifestyle and routine, where emotional comfort often matters more than novelty alone. People return to places that consistently deliver ease, comfort and a sense of certainty.In an industry obsessed with expansion, how do you scale without diluting identity and experience?Scaling successfully requires protecting the brand’s core identity before focusing purely on growth. Systems and processes are important, but what matters even more is maintaining consistency in the experience and values the brand represents. Real expansion only happens when consumers genuinely trust what you are offering.For us at Mai Mai, that trust has been built through consistent quality, service and delivery from day one. One of the brand’s biggest differentiators has been ensuring that every customer interaction reflects the same standards people initially connected with. Because that consistency has remained strong, at Mai Mai, expansion has been organic as well as sustainable.Every new outlet is designed to deliver the same experience and standards, regardless of location. Growth should ultimately strengthen the brand, not compromise the identity consumers trust and return for.How important are ambience, design and emotional familiarity in shaping customer loyalty today?They’re extremely important. Dining today is not just about food quality; it’s about how a space makes people feel. Good design creates comfort, familiarity and memory. Consumers build emotional associations with spaces and over time, those associations often become stronger than traditional marketing itself. Ambience influences how long people stay, how frequently they return and even how they emotionally perceive the overall dining experience. Design today is deeply connected to storytelling and identity. Customers are drawn towards spaces that feel welcoming, intuitive and emotionally engaging rather than simply visually impressive.What separates restaurants that become lasting consumer brands from those that remain just popular dining spots?Restaurants become lasting consumer brands when they build genuine consumer connection beyond just serving food. In the long run, consistency, trust and understanding consumer behaviour matter far more than temporary hype. The brands that sustain are the ones that naturally become part of people’s routines and experiences.At Mai Mai, every decision has been driven by understanding what consumers truly enjoy and connect with. Within a span of just six months, the positive consumer response and feedback led to the extension of Mai Mai Chapter Two – MG Road. It was never about simply becoming bigger, but about extending an experience that consumers had already connected with and wanted more of. What makes a restaurant evolve into a lasting brand is the ability to consistently deliver an experience people want to return to. For us, the focus has always been on maintaining that consistency across every touchpoint, and that is what continues to make Mai Mai stand out beyond just being a popular dining spot.



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