Oberoi redux

Whilst the Taj old wing has opened to a discreet if persistent pitter patter of publicity, after the 26/11 terrorist attacks, the Oberoi has reopened discreetly in its new avatar. The Tiffin has been replaced by the Fenix, a casual dining restaurant situated at the end of a decidedly spectacular if rather controversial lobby. 

Apparently, at Bikki Oberoi’s insistence the black granite has been replaced with the whitest possible marble imported from Greece. This ocean of white is contrasted by the witty addition of a pillar box red piano. Fenix has the benefit of a more comfortable seating than Tiffin, a menu which is a touch more evolved and what promises to be a great Sunday brunch with unlimited Bollinger champagne. The bay area off the lobby where tea was served now offers champagne and a high tea with clotted cream and scones, and a glass of fizz, if you feel extravagant. It is these small details on which the Oberoi scores. 

Another old favourite, which I think had passed its sell by date — Kandahar — has been replaced by Ziya, This is quite a coup, as this restaurant showcases the talent of the greatest avant garde Indian chef, Vineet Bhatia.  He is a serious chef and deserves a full article as does the restaurant which is a significant addition to the limited range of international quality restaurants in this city. 
Under the benign eye of the new F&B manager, Michael Farquhar, there is a gravitation of quality international chefs into the various outlets.  Michael knows his food. He has the unique distinction of having been the classmate of world’s greatest chef to date, Rene Redzeti of the Noma in Copenhagen, rated as the world’s top restaurant. 

I was most impressed by a new chef from Beijing who specialises in dim sums at the India Jones, Ying Zhang.  The dim sums we had were from the a la carte menu and not from the all you can eat dim sum lunch also served at the same restaurant.  There is a difference between dim sums prepared on the spot and those which are pushed around in a trolley.

There were some absolute winners, such as the Turnip Puff. Turnip is a much underrated vegetable and in a flaky pastry sous it is a wondrous thing, and the pastry was good enough to equal the iconic venison puff at Yuatcha in London.  But the real star was the steam spinach dumpling, delicious combination of spinach, mushrooms and vermicelli wrapped in wonton skins. Amongst the non vegetarian dim sums I enjoyed the barbeque duck with sweet bean sauce in a translucent wrapping, not dissimilar to a Vietnamese roll. 

In fact, the charm of India Jones is the extent to which it is using its Pan Asia USP to serve a variety of dim sums which have nothing to do with the Cantonese origins of the kind of dim sums served in, say, Royal China. So you get Thai appetizers such as the steamed asparagus with vegetable dumpling accompanied by a Thai chilli paste, spicy enough for the Indian palate. Good show.