Wasabi by Morimoto at the Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai, has a list of regulars that encompass the biggest names from business to Bollywood. It’s been a success story that has lasted 19 years and is still going strong. And yet, this gorgeous gem of a restaurant that is tucked away above the iconic Harbour Bar, remains a secret in plain sight, only accessed by those in the know of its brilliance.
Entering Wasabi by Morimoto
The tomato red sign at the entrance of India’s first ever licensed bar is the first clue. The visual trail continues at the other end, where a red stairway and a red elevator both lead the way up to Wasabi by Morimoto. On the right, is a live sushi station. On the left is the main restaurant, with picture windows that offer a sweeping view of the Gateway of India, Apollo Bunder, and scores of posh private yachts bobbing on the Arabian Sea. Just by the dint of real estate, this is one of Mumbai’s most precious stretches. Made even more precious by the fact that the restaurant is the stage for one of the world’s most flamboyant representatives of Japanese cuisine.
Chef Morimoto at Wasabi
For nearly two decades, Chef Masaharu Morimoto and his team have been crafting a menu that has pleased well-travelled Indian palates as well as catered to the very specific needs of Japanese expats and visiting dignitaries from across the globe.
Chef Morimoto often visits Mumbai in autumn, to personally present an omakase over two days. An omakase is all about trusting the expertise of the chef, who decides what you will be served and how. These privileged meals with him at the helm are booked weeks in advance. Which is why the excitement is palpable, as the seven-course menu for lunch is presented to each one of us around the round table at Wasabi’s Private Dining Room inside one of the turrets of the heritage hotel. The embroidered napkins and breezy curtains that have been specially ordered for this visit are emblazoned with red poppies, associated with success and good fortune. A glorious floral centrepiece emphasises the momentousness of the occasion.
A platter to remember
The first course is the hassun, or a platter of assorted, bite-sized delicacies that set the tone for the seasonal theme of a traditional Kaiseki fine-dining meal. Apart from serious eye appeal, the Gram-worthy spread features several elements.
The classic persimmon and tofu salad called kaki shirae, gets a delicious uplift with truffle. Instead of merely putting the tofu and toasted walnuts inside, Chef Morimoto also creates fried sesame tofu on a stick with a shmear of sweet, glazed miso sprinkled with white sesame, and stewed fig in a wine walnut sauce. The pumpkin jelly is a delicate touch that goes so perfectly with the autumnal feel of the Hassun. The avocado cucumber tartare served on a spoon, yellow ginkgo nut, and kuromame or sweet black soybean, sweet potato and crisp-fried lotus root with curry and salt, add plenty of colour, taste, and texture.
Non-vegetarians get a trio of extra treats — succulent seared duck (using Aigamo, a cross between wild and domesticated species); black cod prepared using a Kyoto-style white miso paste as marinade which deepens the umami flavour and takes away any fishy odour; and simmered toro (belly tuna), with wasabi.
To sip and savour
The newly appointed Sake sommelier Amol Bagal recommends some easy-drinking Junmai sake, which also happens to be vegan as well as gluten free, to go with the menu. I sip a sparkling Junmai Daiginjo served at about seven degrees Celsius that is perfect for the sparkling afternoon.
Fine tuna-ing it!
A surprise course sails in on boat-like slices of sweet Japanese melon topped with tuna. The simple yet superlative combination delights everyone at the table. The salad course is presented next. It is an ingenious way of bringing together the diverse worlds that Chef Morimoto inhabits. Called Mizuhiki, after the traditional Japanese technique of tying decorative knots, it has a cord binding a transparent Indian dosa-like wrapping, encasing a Caesar salad with a ranch dressing and black truffle that was famously served to and appreciated by former American President Barak Obama.
Sear perfection
Everyone is all eyes on Chef Morimoto for the sushi course, who comes in to create some tableside drama flame-searing salmon coated with uni (sea urchin) butter that gives off a heady aroma calculated to make one salivate in anticipation. I don’t know which one of the three nigiris to have first, each looks so tempting in its own right! But I decide to go from right to left, savouring the creamy salmon first, the white flatfish one next, and saving the blue fin otoro (the most (prized part of the tuna belly) for the dazzling finish with negimiso (an onion miso sauce) and a dash of paste made with salmon roe, radish, and white sesame!
The spicy hamachi maki rolls placed inside a delicate dried leaf, also on the plate, is almost too beautiful an arrangement to disturb, but I do get to it too. I see the vegetarians are enjoying their white asparagus nigiri with the same negimiso, avocado nigiri, and the fried tofu pocket called inari, filled with rice and zingy shishito peppers.
Handled with care
Rajan Soni, who is looking after us so wonderfully, explaining the nuances of each dish being served, brings in the sharkskin grater to serve us some freshly crushed wasabi paste to add a punch of flavour to the sushi. Soup accompanies this course too, turnip and grilled eggplant for those who prefer plant-based, with the addition of crab for those who like their seafood.
At this point, the sommelier recommends another Junmai sake but served warm (at 45 degrees Celsius), to ready us for the warm dishes coming up next. I hadn’t ever thought I would enjoy a warmed-up sake in Mumbai weather, but this one is delicious and does hit the spot as Bagal predicts it will.
As Chef Morimoto puts it, he believes strongly in omotenashi, or ‘caring entertainment’. And that is exactly what every diner at Wasabi experiences, being looked after warmly at every stage in the meal.
The main focus
The Fry course that’s up next is a hat tip to more Westernised tastes. You can either pick Rock Lobster Mayo or Rock Corn Mayo, or Lobster Katsu in Aurora Sauce or Mushroom Cream Croquettes. I skip the mayo-ketchup combo and go for the deliciously chunky lobster topped with Japanese mayo. The mains are even more sophisticated, and I choose the broiled Chilean sea bass with Jalapeno sauce over the lamb chop with gochujang sauce, tofu and autumn vegetables covered with a tasty dashi, and the potato and spinach grilled with the luxurious royal fern called zenmai, with a teriyaki mushroom sauce.
Dessert, which everyone somehow finds space for, is a sumptuous black sesame pudding with candied chestnuts; and a mille-feuille drizzled with chocolate sauce.
Omakase on demand?
I take home the gorgeous menu personally signed by ‘Iron Chef’ Morimoto as a keepsake, along with some of life’s best food memories on my tongue. I now look forward to the sake-paired omakase that they are thinking of featuring on their regular menu in some time. Chef Morimoto may not be in Mumbai all the time, but we might just have access to his genius through the year.
