San:Qi

Four Seasons Hotel Mumbai

Text: Mohan Krishnan

San:Qi was a Bombay icon from the day it opened, offering a range of cuisines covering South East Asia, each a landmark in fine-dining in the city. It was one of the early restaurants other than Wasabi to offer exquisite Japanese, under the guiding hand of the legendary Chef Kato. The Thai cuisine was led by Chef Seefah, who is now a legend in her own right.

San:Qi’s décor was ahead of its time, and there was plenty of drama, with its use of stylish black, wood, steel, glass and stone. Live sushi stations, teppanyaki grills, excellent Dim sum. It was time though for a complete makeover, and San:Qi has just reopened.

Everything has changed, starting with the logo, that references three cities and cuisines – the umbrella for Bangkok, the flat-bottomed Chinese Junk for Shanghai, and the leopard for Bombay. I didn’t know that Bombay has 52 leopards at the national park, the highest density in the world.

These three cuisines are natural companions – with bold and hot flavours.

What about Japanese cuisine? We are sworn to secrecy, but something exciting is happening. Perhaps by November.

The décor of San:Qi is now light, airy, modern. The effervescent GM Nitesh Gandhi, soft-spoken Director of F&B Tommy Franssila and the enthusiastic Chef Aditya Kulkarni took turns to feed us, and our imagination.

The story begins with hiring super chefs for each cuisine. Chef Lin Lin (who is on his 11th visa in India) for Chinese, Chef Budhiman (from the Atlantis Dubai) for Dim sum, Chef Mubin for Thai. For Indian cuisine, they have hired Karum Maharaj, who used to helm the Antilia kitchen, and a team of sub-maharajs. Now there’s an interesting idea.

Chef Bhagwat	Chef Lin	Chef Mubin	All smiles at San:Qi

What about the food?

The first offering, to awaken your senses, is a series of 30 dips, 10 from each cuisine, with crisp pumpkin crackers. It’s like having all the accompaniments from three different thalis – Chinese, Thai and Indian.

We then got a classic Thai salad, no papaya, just edamame, young peanuts and a zingy dressing.

Asian appetisers followed. Two pretty siu mai, pumpkin and seafood. Crispy oyster mushrooms, spicy and loaded with crunch. The Black Swan – a thin crispy dumpling encasing slow-braised duck. A bite-sized Duck Wellington. Dramatic look.

The standouts among Asian mains were the Lotus Leaf-Wrapped Rice, and the Lamb Massaman Curry with the flaky Asian roti.

I never thought of San:Qi as a destination for Indian food. Wrong!!! The Sev Tamatar is the oomphiest creation with the juiciest tomatoes I have ever tasted. I would buy bottles of this. The Rajasthan Laal Maas is better than any I have tasted in the hotels in Jaipur. The quality of the meat, the rich flavours of the gravy, left me speechless. The Awadhi Murgh Kurma was elegant, but muted in comparision.

The Dal Baati Choorma, with five lentils, is finished with Rs. 5000 a kilo ghee, hand-churned on a full moon night. A great story, well told.

The pre-dessert was a cheeky surprise – nostalgia biscuit ice-creams. The biscuit sandwiches had the names Parle G, Monaco, Jim Jam, and Bourbon engraved on top, with appropriate flavours for the ice-creams. It’s playful, tasty, memorable.

The hit dessert was a sorbet with the African miracle berry that transforms sour flavours briefly into a sweet sensation.

And then, a lovely takeaway in an elegantly designed container – hand-rolled truffles with jaggery, coconut, sitting on a bed of star anise. "For the ride home."

San:Qi rides again. All the way to the top.