Food for thought

The food space in India has gone global over the past few years. And urban Indians have acquired a new vocabulary. So, Michelin’s not just a tyre anymore, and Yauatcha and Koh aren’t gibberish either. We can, hypothetically, eat around the world — ham from southern Spain, sea bass from Chile, truffles from the French countryside — in one sitting. But such fare comes with a hefty price tag. A meal for two at Hakkasan, which serves authentic Cantonese food, can divest two moderately-hungry diners of Rs6,000. Yauatcha, known for its dim sums, can set a couple back by Rs5,000 by the end of the night. And Koh, with its ‘modern’ Thai food, will add a tab of Rs4,000 to a corporate entertainment account. The homely spin on Spanish food at Arola will set Europhiles back by Rs4,400. Has your appetite disappeared yet?

We picked some of Mumbai’s most expensive dishes from some of its fanciest restaurants and attempted some math – does all this fancy food give you a bang for your buck?
 

Jamon Iberico

Iberian ham served with naan-tomato

Iberian ham has idyllic beginnings. Black Iberian pigs are fattened up on maize and barley in the south of Spain after which they are reared on free-range farms. The happy story ends when the pigs are slaughtered and the meat cured with salt for two months to rid it of all moisture. At Arola, Iberian ham is served with a naan and some tomato. You get about a 90-100gm serving of ham that costs the restaurant about Rs7,000 a kilo to import.

Verdict: Arola is the only restaurant in India serving this ham, and they see many diners asking specifically for this dish. Have it if you’re crazy about ham, at least it’s cheaper than a ticket to Spain.

Arola: Rs1,895

Tagliatelle with truffles

Tagliatelle, a ribbon-shaped pasta, is married to the exotica of black truffles in this hearty dish. Made with a butter sauce, the home-made pasta dough has 50gm of truffle shavings sprinkled over it along with truffle sauce. Truffles cost this establishment anywhere between Rs26,000 to Rs28,000 per kilo. This dish requires expertise to make since butter burns very easily, and the emulsion of stock and butter has to be done well, otherwise the mix will ‘split’.

Verdict: The dish will whet your appetite for exotica since they are generous with the truffles. And how can anything with butter go wrong? Pricewise, it’s worth it given the cost of truffles.

Two One Two Bar & Grill Rs2,800

Australian Angus rib-eye steak

This steak is made of premium meat — either Australian Angus rib-eye, Australian Angus striploin or American prime tenderloin. Its price can vary wildly, but such cuts of Angus beef costs about $450 a kilo abroad. The steak is served with minimal spices, and with French artichokes, Spanish piquillo peppers and Japanese hamachi (amberjack fish). The steak is tender and perfect. Have this one medium-rare.

Verdict: well worth it if you’re a carnivore with a discerning palate.

Ellipsis Rs2,500

Baked Chilean Sea Bass

Fancy a bite of Patagonian Toothfish? Lee Lantz, a fish wholesaler, thought not. No wonder then in 1977, he renamed this fish the ‘Chilean Sea Bass’, which foodies all over the world now breathlessly order. Imported from Chile, this fish costs over Rs4,000 a kilo. It is baked, glazed with honey and light and dark soya, and served on a bed of steamed black fungus mushrooms imported from China.

Verdict: The fish is plain delicious and you won’t get it anywhere else in the country. But at Rs2,900, there’s something fishy about this dish.

Yauatcha Rs2,900

Champagne Cod

It doesn’t get more luxurious than a cod marinated in Champagne and glazed with Chinese honey. Sourced from Holland, the cod is steamed and served with lashings of champagne. The white meat has a “unique” flavour not found with any other meat. Though the restaurant didn’t comment on how much the cod and Champagne costs, cod meat fillets retail at $59 per kilo in the US, and a bottle of the best bubbly will put you back by Rs2,000 at the least.

Verdict:  Go ahead and enjoy this delicacy. If you are eating at Hakkasan, you are unlikely to be counting pennies anyway.

Hakkasan Rs4,500