South Africa comedian Trevor Noah.
Image: File.
South African comedian Trevor Noah recently entertained a Toronto audience with a side-splitting story of his love for Indian cuisine that took an unexpected turn during a trip to Edinburgh, Scotland.
Known for his sharp wit and relatable anecdotes, Noah's latest tale had his fans roaring with laughter.
Noah recounted the dining tradition he shares with friends, where each person takes a turn to select the meal. On his turn, he instantly decided that they would be indulging in Indian food, a choice he proudly described as the best cuisine in the world.
"Whenever my day comes around, I pick Indian food. I think it's the best cuisine in the world, nothing comes close, and if you don't agree with me, let's meet in the parking lot, we can fight ... I love Indian food, loved it my whole life," said Noah.
Noah dedicated himself to finding the most authentic Indian restaurant, meticulously asking around for recommendations based on the advice of fellow food enthusiasts.
"I searched for where we were going to go, because I always try and find the most authentic restaurant I can find, so what I'll do is I will go to a place and then I'll ask around ... And where the white people tell me, I don't go there," he joked.
The reason it has to be authentic he said was because he grew up in South Africa, where there is one of the largest population of Indians outside of India.
"I was lucky enough to grow up by Indian culture; in fact, one of my best friends growing up was a little Indian boy by the name of Thesan Pillay. He would get a packed lunch from his mom every single day, and every single day, the meal was curry ...
"He would open the bread and then scream at the top of his lung, 'Curry, dammit mommy', I asked if it was bad and he said, 'I don't even know anymore, I've lost perspective, here, you can have it'. And he gave me his curry sandwich."
Noah explained that when he bit into the sandwich, his "tongue discovered its purpose".
"There are moments in your life that will forever shape who you are. Moments that will define who you grow on to be. This was one of those moments for me ... My mouth came alive, my tongue discovered its purpose.
"I didn't know potatoes could pop like that, the flavours where bouncing around. My eyes opened wide, I was like 'Wow! Curry, thank you, mommy'. It was perfect, and since then, I have loved curry."
Fast forward to being in the most authentic Indian restaurant in Scotland, he said that he would order for the table because he didn't want to be "embarrassed" should his friends order bland meals.
Everyone who worked at the restaurant was Indian, and there was even Indian music playing in the background, so when he waiter came over to take their order, he put on an authentic Indian accent and ordered a variety of different meals.
"I said, this is it, I am home ... As the waiter got there, I didn't even let him speak, I just jumped up and said 'Good evening, I'm going to be ordering for the entire table please ..."
He place the entire order and then the Indian waiter looked back at him confused and with a truly authentic Scottish accent said: "Sorry sir, could you repeat what you said. I couldn't hear what you said, sound like you got a little bit of an accent."
Noah found himself hilariously thinking, "Oh sh**, he's Scottish."
"I mean, I know we're in Scotland, but he's Indian; I didn't expect that. The whole place was Indian. The guy was Indian, but his mouth was Shrek.
"I didn't expect that, and now he didn't understand me because I thought I knew too much. I didn't need to try so hard. Then I realised that I also couldn't stop (with the accent) because that would be racist," said Noah.
Finally, Noah scrapped his initial plan, insisting that his friends order their meals.
Watch the full comedy sketch below.