Sea Of Choice

Kak's Corner
                _________SIDDHARTH KAK

A restaurant is successful, not just because the food is good. It is also packaged correctly. It has an ambience that attracts a certain clientele. Three successful upmarket Mumbai seafood restaurants have this mix, decor and ambience — Ashok Shetty’s ‘Bay of Bombay’ near Mumbai’s business district, A. D. Singh’s ‘Soul Kadi’ in Parel and ‘Soul Fry’ in Bandra; both coastal speciality restaurants catering to the city’s movers and shakers. One person common to all these three restaurants is architect Clement DeSylva.

In each case he has achieved an interesting ambience. ‘Bay of Bombay’ is designed as the upper and lower decks of a ship with wooden flooring, panelling and balustrades, old ship hooters and lights giving it that colonial look. ‘Soul Kadi’ is designed somewhat like a Ratnagiri middle class home with wooden tables, whitewashed walls and alcoves for lamps and figurines. Unfortunately maintenance here is indifferent and in some places the wall is flaking badly. One wonders why, for such an upmarket restaurant, it was being allowed to go to the seed? That of course is not Clement DeSylva’s fault. He is an architect to watch. His design for ‘Soul Fry’ at Bandra is more intimate — warm lighting, a cozy bar area, interesting pull down menus hanging from the ceiling.

The Soul Fry menu from Chef and partner (with A.D,. Singh) Meldan D’Cunha caters to different tastes. I am told jazz nights are very popular here with the Bandra crowd and the bar is packed with drinkers and dancers. All the food is good but I would specially recommend the Goan dishes on which Chef Meldan has lavished his soul, particularly the Pomfret Rechad and the Goan Fish Curry with rice which can’t get any better. The Okra coconut fry and Tandoori Pindi paneer is excellent. You also get a great value for money Thali (Fish, Chicken, Mutton) for Rs. 80 at lunch time (veg. Thali Rs. 50!)

Chef Meldan’s Soul Kadi menu was much the same as Soul Fry except that you get sol kadi here and the thali costs 10 bucks more. Never mind — there were queues here for lunch with specials up on the blackboard. In the evening, you could try crab with garlic butter (ok), Dakshin fried prawns (good), Kombdi masala vada (good) and stuffed Bangra (excellent). Melden’s Goan specialties were worth trying here as well — the Rawas Rechad, Chicken Cafreal, Xacuti and Vindaloo and the Surmai fish curry. Only I wish, after a satisfying meal at Soul Kadi one didn’t have to get up and wash one’s hands at a less than clean basin. Maybe it was carrying authenticity a tad too far. (Soul Kadi - Telephone: 495 3484 and Soul Fry - Telephone: 6046892)

The ambience game is the same, in Mumbai or in Dilli. Last week I had lunch at Basil & Thyme in the Santushti Shopping Complex not far from Hotel Ashok and the Prime Minister’s house. This restaurant was introduced to me by Sharada Ramanathan of the Ford Foundation, a world traveller and a worker with a cause in media and culture. Given its grand location, it is surprisingly bare. Austere furniture and blank white-washed walls. More like a canteen. Even a cafeteria has a few paintings. The owner Sunil Chandra was sitting all by himself in a corner eating potatoes and channa with rice — the menu for his waiters — with obvious relish. Sharada warmed to Mr Chandra’s empathy for his staff’s cuisine if not for objects d’art. We asked why the restaurant was so bare. Mr Chandra replied that it was deliberate to allow appreciation of nature through the picture windows. I wonder what our folk artistes would make of that explanation, or for that matter the food of Basil & Thyme featuring Avocado and Tomato Salad, Black Olive and Chicken liver pate with Melba toast, mushroom & cheese risotto, spaghetti with lamb mince in red wine and Oyster mushroom sauce, Chicken a la King and a Glam omelette with white, black and oyster mushrooms.

Mr Chandra assures me the food was personally supervised by his family. It was indeed very good. Sharada had a fine tomato soup with basil, a tasty spaghetti all Checca (with fresh tomatoes, herbs and mozzarella) and took an exploratory nip from a very delicate Tiramisu dessert ordered by me. My course was excellent and substantial — a Marjoram Pea soup and a classic Quiche Loraine (egg, cheese and bacon tart with salad) but when I asked to see some of the herbs, which were undoubtedly in the soup — there were none available in the kitchen. Strange, for a restaurant that calls itself Basil & Thyme. If not paintings, at least they could display some herbs and benefit from the fragrance, even the dried variety. Perhaps Mr. Chandra is too cut and dried for that, but his prices are steep — Nearly Rs. 200 for main courses and nearly Rs. 100 for soups and desserts. But the food is fresh, the salad is crisp, the asparagus served with Hollandaise sauce is fresh and green and I recommend their Ginger Fizz as a starter. There is also Iced Capuccino, chocolate pate and Gateau Zara which should go down well with Assamese or Earl Grey tea. So, despite the lack of decorative art, Basil and Thyme has good food and the right market positioning to succeed. Tel. No. (011) 4673322, 4674933 for reservations.

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