Vineet Bhatia, Mumbai’s current “it” chef and Michelin starred son of the soil, blanches out at Oberoi's newest restaurant.
Not since Rahul Akerkar opened Indigo has the city’s culinary circuit buzzed with so much excitement. Vineet Bhatia is Mumbai’s current “it” chef, an internationally acclaimed, Michelin starred son of the soil who has returned home to blanch out.
It was with fitting eagerness then that we booked a table at his new restaurant Ziya on Oberoi’s opening night. We invited gourmand friends, fattened our wallets, picked out wardrobe choices. Imagine our disappointment when we were told that they had “lost” our reservation. We ended up at Indigo instead, drowning our sorrows in South African Semillon and excellent sea bass.
Monday Woos
Our Ziya meal finally happened on a Monday afternoon, when no reservations were required. One look at the dramatic sea view, perfectly set off by the restful cream-and-gold décor, and most of our resentment melted away.
The deal was further sweetened by complimentary salty chaas (blissfully cool) and yum rice and mushroom fritters, followed by a batch of fun cocktails – Zia Spice, a nice take on the Screwdriver and Shikanji, a rummed-up version of nimboo paani. If Carrie Bradshaw came to India, this is what she’d drink.
Trans-Fusion
The menu at Ziya is brief and imaginative. North Indian staples like black daal and Paneer Makhani are relegated to the Accompaniments section, while appetisers and mains are populated with unexpected options from all over the Subcontinent, like chicken Tandoori Dosa and Uttapam Lasagne.
We started by ordering the Ziya Express meal, which includes soup, fritters, chicken or vegetarian dosa and dessert; at Rs 1,300, it’s a good deal. The fritters arrived hot and crisp, standing sentinel over the soup, crowning glory of our meal: silky with coconut milk and small puddles of oil, crunchy with slivers of onion and sprigs of cilantro, it was sweet, spicy, salty and deeply flavourful all at the same time.
Then came the disappointingly banal dosa, stuffed with standard yellow potato filling and accompanied with chutney, a hunk of tender grilled paneer and another paneer gravy dish. Made up of different elements that didn’t quite gel together, it seemed like a meal of leftovers.
Main Attractions
From the main menu we got a platter of assorted vegetarian kebabs, prettily decorated and with a different condiment for each piece. The cauliflower and mixed green versions were pleasant, the Dahi Kebab disappointingly dry. Kori Gassi, an aromatic coastal chicken curry with plantain chips and a side of noodles was absorbingly delicious. It worked well with conveniently cut squares of cheese and red onion naans.
Dessert was bitter chocolate-filled samosas and rose-flavored ice cream. They were good enough that next time we’ll order the entire Chocolate Palate, a platter of several chocolate concoctions including a white chocolate kulfi and hazelnut brownies.
After Taste
Our experience at Ziya was refreshingly different and with flashes of pure culinary delight, but eventually not spectacular. Despite our propensity towards Indian food and at almost the same price range, we would take a meal at Indigo any day.
Getting there: Ziya, Oberoi Hotel, Nariman Point, call 66324343, Rs 3,500 for a meal for two without alcohol.
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