Mahdin Tariq wonders around the globe amassing inspiration and wider perspective on life while pleasing his tastebuds with exotic cuisines. K Tanzeel Zaman listens to his stories of wanderlust.
Any entrepreneur with a global mindset needs an everrunning stream of ideas and motivation in order to keep his innovation mill running. In the case of Mahdin Tariq, a renowned restaurateur, traveling fuels that mill. Almost all the pages of Mahdin’s passport is filled and the book itself is now worthy of being framed.
“I started traveling ever since I was a child,” he goes on to share, “and by now I have explored most of Europe, UAE, UK, China, Singapore, and several other countries.” When asked about his preference for traveling attire, he modestly replied, “T-shirts and shorts. I prefer comfort over style and these attires deliver the utmost of comfort to me.”
Some travelers get inspired to explore countries for their respective cultures and their historical places. Others do it for diversity and adventure. But for a globetrotter like Mahdin, it is the mountainous landscape, exquisite food and opportunity to shop foreign merchandise that chimes his bells.
“I have my own process of shopping. I usually get it done while exploring the destination on foot. The exploration is an imperative part of my process; through it, I gather my inspiration.” Mahdin explains how organically exploring a country widens one’s perspective towards all the aspects life has to offer.
His most favorite place for shopping is none than Uncle Sam itself. “The best place for shopping is the United States. You can get anything there.” However, Singapore and the UK are also in his preferences when it comes to getting foreign goods.
During his travels, Mahdin fell in love with the hillscapes and the mountainous view Europe had in store for him. “These landscapes are where my mind runs free,” he added this while reminiscing his experience in a lodge near a Swiss mountain range.
Airbnb has been a trusty sidekick for him when it came to managing living arrangements in Europe. Beaming with excitement he adds, “No hotels can give you the homely feel of a cottage with a mountain range as a front view like Airbnb.”
His impressive passion for traveling has enhanced his sense of taste for food. Furthermore, he has not been shy to use this acquired skill as a restaurateur. Mahdin’s establishments like Dosa Express and Secret Recipe (Baily Road Branch) have been able to excel due to his understanding of different palate he experienced over the years from different countries.
In one of his recent trips to the windy city Chicago, Mahdin enjoyed himself with various cuisines at most of the local restaurants there. Waffles at IHOP for breakfast, grilled Teriyaki Chicken at Panda Express for lunch and mouthwatering steaks at the Gibson for dinner; cast a spell on him strong enough to make him go back to Chicago. “I loved the windy city and its lovely weather.”
Mahdin, a loving father and a husband, loves to take his entire squad wherever he drops the pin on the world map. “ I love traveling with my family and I do not want to experience new places without them.”
The restaurateur is a bit stringent when the itinerary for a trip is on the table. He takes it on himself to pick out places to visit, manage to lodge for their stay, locations to shop at and cuisines to satisfy his palate.
In comparison to various countries he has visited, London has stood out to him due to its posh and stylish way of life. He added that he loved the way people carry themselves and go about their daily lives.
Mahdin states that he loves the locals of Adelaide, Australia due to their nature of warm hospitality. “They are such nice people. When you walk down a street, everyone will greet you with a smile. Makes you feel very welcomed.”
When asked whether he would like to move to country he replied, “It has to be Singapore. I love that country. The people are nice, the food is excellent, it’s very clean, the weather is nice and it is one of the safest countries in the world. Due to technological advances, traveling is much easier now. You can book hotel rooms and manage flight tickets from a budget airline with your smartphone. Even an entire trip abroad can be financed through EMI facilities provided by several local banks and travel agencies.” Furthermore, he went on to say that he plans to make things even easier for locals with his upcoming traveling related ventures. Trotting around the globe has enabled him to be equipped with the understanding of various lifestyles around the world and through his ventures he would like to create similar opportunities for local travelers to experience.
Mahdin Tariq advises the younger travelers by saying, “Explore your country first. There are plenty of beautiful places waiting to get discovered by you before you set out to see the world.” He urged the youth to be open-minded and show respect to the cultural diversities around the world.