Wasabi

What strikes you first when you walk into this 18-year-old Japanese fine-dine – from the wooden-staired spiral staircase leading up from Harbour Bar - at our most beloved SoBo hotel is the understated luxury of it all. It’s recognised on San Pellegrino’s List of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants and it’s been under the reins of the Iron Chef Morimoto since the beginning. So, you know what you’re walking into and yet, you feel right at home, with warm, efficient wait staff to add to it all. Then again, it is Taj’s world-class hospitality, so you get nothing less.

It was launched as the city’s first contemporary Japanese restaurant, a trendsetter in every right, with ingredients that are flown in every five days from the Land of the Rising Sun, especially the wasabi. Packs a punch, this one, when you bite into the Wasabi Taco with spiced avocado! Chef Masaharu Morimoto has trained the culinary team to create only the best of his vision in his menus at Wasabi, through excursions to his homeland and extensive research on evolving trends in Japanese cuisine. The result is a Multi-course Tasting Menu called Omakase based on seasonal ingredients and fresh flavours, cold and hot appetisers, signatures straight off the robatayaki grill, sushi, sashimi, soups, salads, entrées, mains and sweet endings.

Most recently, the team kicked it up a notch with a brand new selection of sake and Japanese beer, 12 new varieties of the former. Choose where you would like to enjoy these, with sweeping views of the Arabian Sea and the Gateway, be it the free-standing teppanyaki and sushi counters, or the one-of-a-kind design marvel, the bold, sculptural round table that dominates the room and is complemented by an over-scale custom-hammered metal light fixture. The Tatami Room is for traditional Japanese service in a private setting; quite simply, it’s a golden egg, sitting in the corner turret of the restaurant.

Now dine exquisitely on the White Fish Carpaccio and the Avocado Tartare once seated at Wasabi, you must. Something as simple as edamame gets a dash of truffle and togarashi to make it deliciously addictive. Similarly, you have asparagus which is steamed and spiced up just right with mayo. Move on to the Miso Soup – in veg and non-veg – the Crisp Onion Salad, with a not-as-salty soy dressing and the Calamari Tempura Salad with a miso vinaigrette. Robatayaki gives you a neat choice, from eggplant to lotus stem, snap peas, lamb chops, sea bass… charcoal-grilled to perfection. Sushi is a staple at any Japanese restaurant and at Wasabi, you also have the option of nori-less rolls like the Crispy Cucumber and the Spicy Shrimp Tempura Inari. Sushi and sashimi are must-dos, yes, but try the Spicy King Crab with a gochujang mayo and you would be back for this one the next time around.

For a taste of traditional ‘kettle rice’ cooked in a Japanese iron pot, the Chicken Truffle Kamameshi is on offer. Cha Soba is another traditional delicacy, consisting of chilled green tea noodles with scallions, sesame and a kelp soy for dipping. And yes, the Black Cod Miso holds pride of place on the Wasabi menu. PS: if you’re asking for pizza at this Japanese stronghold, you will be catered to. It is contemporary, after all. The Morimoto’s Tuna is quite a delight, filled with tomato, avocado, jalapeno and anchovy aioli.

As the sun sets on your meal at Wasabi by Morimoto – and you’ve taken a bit of a stroll within Taj’s mesmerising marbled walls, filled with the memories of every great visitor and guest that has stepped foot in this historical landmark in our city – you get your belly set for dessert.

Take your pick from the Kuro Goma Mille Feuille, the Sakuranbo Chocolate Tart and the Tofu Cheesecake. The first proffers flavours of black sesame, fresh caramel and cream cheese ice-cream, the second of cherry and cream cheese ice-cream and the third is served with matcha ice-cream and a pineapple salsa. Unusual? Very. Traditional? Definitely. A blend of both in the most inventive manner? Certainly. Only at Wasabi.   

A meal for two would cost approximately Rs 10,000 + taxes.