Mouth-watering Citrus!

Madhu Nair has given suburban Bombay a new 24-hour restaurant of multi-cuisines, discovers MARK MANUEL.

THE Waterfall Cafe at the Leela Kempinski in Bombay used to be one of my favourite coffee shops for 17 years. Then it underwent change this year to keep up with the times and with the competition that had sprung up in the Leela�s backyard. And in its place, I am happy to say, has come Citrus, not a coffee shop but a young and trendy 24-hour restaurant. Responsible for the change is Madhu Nair, Captain Krishnan Nair�s daughter-in-law, a savvy and vivacious young hotelier with the ubiquitous designation of Director �Design & Operations.

I say ubiquitous because Madhu�s touch is everywhere, from the intricately carved gigantic silver door that opens into Citrus to the choice of cutlery in the restaurant, burners in the kitchen, and music on the channel. Captain Nair�s philosophy used to be Atithi devo bhave, which in Sanskrit means that �the guest is God�. Madhu has inherited this philosophy from him. �In making the changes I have looked at giving the guest satisfaction and VFM. The days of giving the guest anything and a big bill are over. He smiles and pays the bill now,� she told me shortly after Citrus opened and I had lunch with her one afternoon.

We took a table by the window, and I glanced furtively outside as we sat down. Madhu noticed my look. �Everything has changed inside, but the waterfall remains outside,� she said with a knowing smile. And indeed, the waterfall was still there, gurgling cheerfully and with birds diving and bathing in its shallow rock pools. I could see gardeners working in the distance. Inside, the place is now a lavish theatre of food. I feasted my eyes on the brightly lit surroundings for a while, taking in the changes, trying to remember what the old Waterfall Cafe used to be like.

Again, Madhu noticed my observation and remarked, �You will not find anything of the old here. I have taken Waterfall Cafe completely apart to create Citrus. I really blew up the kitchen, there were four walls and a ceiling with rubble on the floor, but it had to be done. The place was 17 years old. It needed a complete change to be able to dish out the kind of quality I was aiming at. The ambience is now new, the service is young and energetic (I spun the psyche of the old employees, she said!) but with the values of the old generation, and the menu is an all-day dining experience.�

The Leela Kempin-ski�s executive chef, a burly, ruddy-complexioned German called Frank Muller, ambled over to show off the Citrus� menu. It is a delightfully simple yet dramatic menu. Soups, starters, sandwiches, pastas, pizzas, rissottos, main courses in fish, meat, poultry, vegetables, and desserts. And the food is Mediterranean, cross-Asian, and North and South Indian. Yes, you may have Chicken Tikka Makhani with Naan and Malabar Prawns with Kai Dosa. Or Mutton Rogan Josh with Roti and Lamb Ishtew with Aapams. In fact, I suggested a mixed lunch and Chef Muller did not bat an eye.

Madhu is sadly not a foodie. �I won�t go into the intricacies of a dish, into how it is prepared, but, yes, how it is presented is important to me,� she said. Her husband Dinesh is the opposite. �He is a complete foodie. He will travel across the world just because he has heard of some new restaurant,� Madhu said. She of course understands food. And her tastebuds tell her what is good and what is not. �I can also look at a dish and tell which chef has made it in Citrus,� she said. And she runs surprise quality tests that keep the kitchen on its toes. �I�m stringent about quality, the guest must be respected, he must get the best quality for every penny spent,� she explained.

Chef Muller, who was interacting with guests helping themselves to the buffet, came over. �You will see,� he said, �that we fill the buffet only with small portions, enough for four to six, not more. That way, we have to refill it all the time, and freshness of the food can be guaranteed.� He works with only what is seasonal and what is available and what is fresh. And Chef Muller works his team hard. It is a young team of enthusiastic and talented youngsters. �I like challenges and at Citrus we are obligated to do something different all the time,� he said. �That way nobody gets bored, not the guests, nor the staff or me!�

I will not be so ambitious as to try and describe the menu to you in detail. This is not that kind of menu. I suggest you visit Citrus on a Saturday night when the buffet is open till 1 a.m. Look at what is on display, then ask for the menu. And be assured that this is truly a 24-hour menu. You could ask for the Tempura and Teriyaki at midnight or a Pizza and Rissotto at dawn, they will serve it to you. �Even if it�s not on the menu we will do it for you,� said Chef Muller. So there you are! In fact, he is of the firm opinion that if the Bombay diner likes the food at Citrus then the houseguest at Leela will like it too. �This is like a free-standing restaurant in a five-star hotel. If I satisfy Bombay, I have guests all round the year,� Chef Muller explained. �And it is true,� Madhu added, �more and more people are driving over. The young crowd that is busy at day, comes in at night. Daytime, the neighbourhood comes here to work and lunch.�

If you will go by what I had, I will recommend the meal Chef Muller served me to get a taste of Citrus. It is his menu of signature dishes. Try the Creamy Bisque of Crab Soup; the Fideua, a saffronised linguini seafood paella; the Marinara, a woodfire-made pizza with seafood and chillies; the Cajun-spiced Pomfret Fillets, which is the Jambalaya with Creole vegetables; the Confit de Canard, crispy-baked duckling with a delicious apple-ginger chutney; the Grilled Chicken in tangy avocado and orange salsa; the Chicken Tikka Makhani and Mutton Curry Rogan Josh from the North Indian menu; Lamb Ishtew from the South Indian; the Geang Keow Wan Pak (green Thai vegetable curry with jasmine rice), Nasi Goreng (Indonesian fried rice, satays, drumsticks and shrimp crackers) and Trung Chien Voi Cua (a Vietnamese crab omelette) from the Asian.

For dessert have the Sticky Date Pudding with vanilla ice-cream and butterscotch sauce, the Vintage Chocolate Marquise with mint cream and the Triple Chocolate-Berry Zuccotto Leela with strawberries. That�s an awesome amount of food, you will say, and I agree. Over my protests, Chef Muller said roguishly, �We are open 24 hours, take your time and eat, eat, eat!� I am told that while creating the Citrus, Madhu Nair looked at the stupendous success of the Citrus in the Leela at Bangalore for two years before going ahead with her plans for the old Waterfall Cafe.

�Creation is easy, recreation takes a lot of energy, but there was so much excitement doing Citrus,� she explained.

I mentioned at the start that she is the Director � Design & Operations, but she started young and inexperienced in the industry, taking each day as it came, like pieces in a jigsaw, and she had no portfolio then because everybody else in the Leela was senior to her! But Madhu Nair has grown since then and is today capable of creating anything for a hotel, from the architecture of a restaurant to the overhead music, so that the manager just walks in and takes over. That is her speciality. Captain Krishnan Nair must be proud of her. I tested Madhu while walking out. �What�s the music playing,� I asked. She did not miss a step. �It�s new age music,� Madhu replied, �Tao... you know, fusion?� I didn�t, actually.

Citrus
The Leela Kempinski.
Sahar, Bombay 400 059.
Tel: (91-22) 5691 1234/ 5691 1302.