MAVEN OF RAMEN

Japanese chef Masaharu Morimoto is taking the dosa back with him to create different versions with his own twist

- POOJA BIRAIA JAISWAL

Wasabi by Morimoto, the famous Japanese restaurant at Mumbai’s Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, turned 19 last weekend. To celebrate, Masaharu Morimoto—the founding chef who has to his credit 20 restaurants across the world and who is known for introducing Japanese cuisine in India—was in the city to lay out a specially-crafted Omakase menu. Omakase in Japanese translates roughly to ‘I leave it to the chef’. The Wasabi in Taj has a special place in his heart because it is the second restaurant he opened, after Morimoto in Philadelphia in 2001. “I am often asked why I opened the second one in India and not anywhere else in the world,” he says. “The answer lies in love. If we had not loved each other—Taj and I—we could not have sustained for 19 years.”

Morimoto recently opened his 21st restaurant in Jakarta. Known best as the ‘Iron Chef’ on Japanese TV, he got trained as executive chef of the first Nobu in New York, started by the legendary Nobu Matsuhisa. Morimoto is known to have championed the idea of modern Japanese cuisine. His expert play with sharp Japanese flavours and spices combined with his love for sushi and ramen, and inclusion of distinctly western ingredients like olive oil and dairy products, have made him a favourite among all those he has served, right from former US president Barack Obama to an array of Bollywood celebrities who are regulars at Wasabi.