Expensive tastes
Dilip Bobb: Nov 25 2012, 02:00 IST
What's the most expensive meal you have ever eaten? Till a decade ago, the most expensive restaurant in India used to be the Zodiac Grill at the Taj Mahal hotel in Mumbai. Back then, the bill per person averaged R3,000, an eyebrow-raising amount for a meal in those days, and that was without any accompanying wine. Today, dinner at the same venue is closer to R8,000 and no one bats an eye, never mind raising a brow. If you order the beluga caviar, just that one dish is priced at R9,500. Taxes are one reason restaurant prices are reaching stratospheric levels but now we have a new marker: the celebrity tag, either a famous restaurant abroad or a famous chef, usually both.
The same Taj Hotel now has Wasabi, in Mumbai and Delhi, made famous in America by legendary chef Masaharu Morimito (the restaurant is called Wasabi by Morimito). The chef's tasting menu includes nine courses that feature oysters, foie gras, black cod miso and seared teriyaki Kobe steak imported from Japan and costs R16,500 plus taxes. The Wagyu steak here is worth the R6,000 price tag but all this is sans alcohol. You might need a stiff one after the bill arrives, though. The Taj also uses its celebrity chefs to up the dining ante. They have a Chef's Studio in their iconic Mumbai property overseen by Hemant Oberoi, one of India's reigning celebrity chefs. It offers a private dining area by appointment only and a table for eight
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