Chen Xiaochun

654789759@qq.com

GURPREET SINGH BAHRI, from India, has always had a passion for food, which is why he studied cooking in school for one year and earned a chef certificate. But in order to help his family with their electronic-products business, he couldn’t follow his dream to try to work as a chef after graduation.

Bahri, 29, visited Shenzhen for the first time in 2006. In 2012, he came again and started to work with his uncle. In 2013, Bahri took over the business, when his uncle moved back to India due to a health problem, and has stayed in Shenzhen ever since.

“In 2013, I took over my father and uncle’s joint business trading electronics. Later on, I expanded the business. I have a lot of friends from the Chaoshan area [in eastern Guangdong Province].

“I have collaborated with them, opening a factory in Bao’an District in 2014, which produces electronic products, such as MP3 solutions, LED lighting and LED modules for advertisement,” Bahri told the Shenzhen Daily in Mandarin with an interesting Chaoshan accent.

When he felt that his business was stable in 2016, Bahri started to look for a new investment and decided to open a restaurant to fulfill his dream. “It’s my passion. We are still running my family’s trading and logistics businesses in Huaqiangbei. But we decided to open a restaurant.”

Not satisfied with the Indian food in Shenzhen, Bahri and his cousin, Guraman Singh Bahri, opened the restaurant Saffron Indian Restro & Bar on Hubei Road in Luohu District last year, bringing three professional chefs from India. Now the restaurant menu features more than 100 dishes.

“We are from North India. There are a few Indian restaurants here that sell good food. My cousin and I love food very much and we’d like to bring the best north Indian food to Shenzhen, so that people can enjoy the best north Indian food. So in 2016 we tried to start it,” said Gurpreet Singh Bahri.

The Indian cousins explained that north Indian food has rich ingredients, and thus also rich aromas, flavors and tastes. North Indian food is a mixture of mughlai and Afghanistan cuisine and comes from a very old tradition.

In India, there are different types of food according to different regions, which is similar to China. But when people in other countries talk about Indian food, they are usually talking about North Indian food, according to the cousins.