@Triparadox
Here in Asia, anything and everything, when cooked enough (or sometimes not at all) are already considerable as a potential component for a dish (or even the cuisine itself), along with tons of exotic variants and tons of explosive mixes, so for the Asian tongue, it's like being unable to savor a much more expansive variety of food and ingredients, was probably what OC was talking about.
Though I dare not say that the west have a generally mild cooking, as South American and many European food are amazing. The perception of bland cuisine seems to be entirely exclusive to the Brits (and for whatever reason, the Aussies?)
Until we get a reply, I do not have any other guesses as to what basis or experience Ritsuaka had.