Botticino, Trident BKC (Mumbai)

There are perfectionists and then there are people who infuse passion to perfection. What happens when both these traits are imbibed in one person? It’s pure talent. My latest discovery for Nonchalant Insider was a difficult choice considering I love Italian food and there are very few establishments who manage to satiate my cravings.

Botticino, Mumbai’s latest offering has been around since a while, but I can say it has arrived after I discovered it lately and fell head over heels in love with the place, the food; the warmth and impeccable hospitality all make up Botticino.

Botticino is situated at Trident right in the midst of Mumbai’s commercial hub – Bandra Kurla Complex. A large property catering to the top executives and the working force of the area, it houses an authentic Indian restaurant and a large sunny coffee shop complete with buffets and brunches apart from the a la carte menu. Botticino has to be one of their star restaurants. Its done up in pretty shades of light colors giving it a very fresh and vibrant look. From cream upholstery to hints of lilac in the sofas and the linen, this place reeks of a chic Italian dining establishment and is spacious enough to give you room for privacy.

Botticino boasts of a unique dining experience with some table arrangements which are suspended on platforms and seem like they are hovering on air only supported by thin metal frames, you feel you are sitting in an indoor balcony beside sunny windows. They also have a grappa bar, a first of its kind inIndiawith shelves lined with an array of delicate grappa bottles sourced from the finest areas of Italy. Grappa is a grape based pomace brandy and positioned as an after dinner drink. It is definitely an acquired taste as its extremely fragrant and made out of pomace i.e. the skin, pulp, seeds and stems of grapes used for winemaking. Botticino Chef’s have come up with nouvelle ways of using grappa in their cooking or certain signature dishes to give you a mild experience in case you are not used to strong flavored alcoholic beverages.

I met with the face behind Botticino’s kitchen – Chef Vikas Vichare. At first this Mumbai born talent came across as a soft spoken, meek gentleman who only spoke when spoken to. But as I indulged him in my interest in all things food and expressed my passion for cooking he warmed up to welcoming me in his kitchen with open doors and passionately cooked up some signature dishes which he thought were best sellers.

Creativity has no bounds for Chef Vikas as he also dabbles in painting and is a dramatist in his free time. From his early days in honing his skills at Travetino, another Trident star restaurant he had taken full charge in launching Botticino and till date maintaining its inimitable standards. He has worked under Chef Tuomas Heikkinen who has trained him in Italian cuisine apart from providing him insight into Italian Culture and its people. From the way Italian food is prepared right to the way it’s plated and served up, Chef Vikas in his true talented avatar makes sure the whole some experience is dished up the way it should be and in his true style. His menu includes specialties from Piedmont,Lombardy andTuscany and is inspired by this region ofItaly.

It is not only the dishes which he cooked up for me which left me awestruck but his attention to detail while presenting them absolutely left me surprised. The meticulousness of his deft hands as they work on the plating leaves you wondering that such talent can only come off passion and practice. Chef Vikas demonstrated and dished out some favourites which are a must try when visiting his establishment.

First up, while he prepped for the ultimate dish I was looking forward to, chef brings out the amuse bouché which is the quintessential Italian dish of tomatoes and buffalo mozzarella. It is what I least expected to look at as for a moment it seemed like anything but a tomato mozzarella salad. A wedge of tomato sliced at various intervals and stuffed carefully with folded basil leaves and mozzarella on bed of diamanté shaped chopped tomatoes and sprinkled generously with an in-house prepared basil salt. For a dish so simple to make it complicated and served with such finesse it truly was an amuse bouché. I settled down to savor this bite after bite while sipping on a delicate stemmed glass of grappa and a cheese and grape platter.

Next up, Chef tossed a chilled Pear and Pecorino salad complete with the freshest hand picked leaves of Arugula and tossed in a caramelized balsamic dressing. The addition of caramelized nuts was a crunchy outcome to this fruity and peppery salad. Once again a simple dish which can be made up in a jiffy using the freshest ingredients available.

The main part came when I was whisked into his kitchen to stare at a huge tank filled with lobsters atop another tank filled with crabs, all of various sizes. This is Botticino’s favorite area which they call the Austmarine. This tank is like a ritual for any diner who is welcome to come into the kitchen (yes, they have no issues with guests being given access) and handpick out their lobster or crab for the day from the choices swimming in front of him in the austemarine.

I got to pick out my little lobster who decided to dash to the other end of the tank like a torpedo before chef fished him out, this was to prepare the basil gratinated lobster dish served up with beans, zucchini and a tangy saffron lemon sauce

Once out, the lobster (or crab) is weighed, funny and a little queasy to watch it calmly sitting on the weighing scale not realizing its going to be cooked the next few minutes

I must warn you this will not be for the faint hearted, but if I could watch this and then eat it well then guess any food aficionado can take it in. Chef proceeds to slit down on the shell of this crustacean

Snips off the legs with a pair of sharp scissors (no need of sharp pincers poking you at the end result)

The slit shell is tweaked apart and the yellow bobbles you can see inside is the brain

The brain has to and must be removed (this is not edible) and chef carefully cuts its off

The cleaned lobster with its sweet meat is ready to be prepped for cooking. Chef explains that he prefers not to loosen the meat from the shell as anyway it will lose water when cooked and shrink plus retaining the meat on the shell brings about a full bodied flavour

The prep takes place with a simple recipe of EVOO, hand torn basil and butter chunks

The lobster is ready to go into the oven first

Baked at over 300C for about 5-6 minutes, the baking is just enough to tenderize the meat with the EVOO and butter and impart flavor from the herbs

Once out of the oven, Chef proceeds to soften and coat it with some more lubricant.

It is popped under a grill to cook a bit more and retain the temperature while chef prepares the saffron sauce

A little white wine is poured into a flash fry pan

A dash of seafood broth is added to the pan

A generous helping of lemon juice and saffron is added to the simmering liquid and the mixture is reduced to a delicious looking lemon yellow sauce which is the colored well with the excellent quality saffron strands

Chef proceeds to plate the beans and zucchini around the plate and places the baked and then grilled lobster onto the plate, spoons over the tangy and aromatic saffron sauce

The basil gratinated lobster dish served up with beans, zucchini and a tangy saffron lemon sauce ready to be served up with a glass of chilled white wine.

While I decide to tuck into my lobster meal, chef patiently waits to whisk me back into the kitchen and quickly proceeds to bind the dough for the pasta, next up is the Ravioli of Chicken and Mascarpone with Mushroom Cream and Pine nuts

Chef explains that all their pastas are made in-house (he even shows me the cold storage where different kinds of pastas are shaped or rolled out and kept ready to use) as he presses the rolled out dough into the pasta machine.

The sheet has to be passed through the machine several times to get the desired thickness. Chef places the sheet down like a blanket and proceeds to pipe out the flavorful mix of chicken and mascarpone lightly flavored with cream cheese, herbs and garlic. The mixture is piped down leaving atleast 1” gap in between each mound

A brush of egg white is spread in between the gaps

Another pasta sheet of a similar size is placed on top of the filling piped sheet and chef immediately presses down on the area where the gaps were brushed with egg white. The egg whites act as sealants and ensconce the filling.

With a sharp pizza cutter, chef cuts out squares of the sealed ravioli.

Pops it into a mesh metal basket and dunks the ravioli for a couple of minutes into boiling water.

A simple mushroom sauce flavored with garlic, wine and crunchy pine nuts is used to flash toss the ravioli. The dish is served up piping hot, ready to savour

The next and the most significant dish which chef holds proudly to his heart is the pan fried tuscan goose liver (Foie Gras) with crisp potato galette and a Barolo wine sauce. Chef gives out and unfortunate bit of information that foie gras will soon be banned world over and getting this piece of meat would be next to impossible.

Chef also informs that an Italian’s goose is never cooked, it’s always pan-fried! this gourmand’s delight is prepared in true Tuscan style with aged balsamico, soft potato galettes with a mozzarella cheese filling and a Barolo wine reduction on the side. Plump, sinful and delicious – just the way the Italians like it.

A sinful cut of the finest foie gras is prepped by making checkered incisions on the surface of the jelly soft meat. This will ensure an even browning and the meat cooking through well

A smattering of rosemary and the light marinade, chef proceeds to place the foie gras onto a hot pan for pan frying

On a high flame the foie gras is pan fried with balsamic and rosemary till it brown evenly on the surface yet retains its soft melt-in-your-mouth texture on the inside.

It’s placed in a warm oven for retaining its temperature while chef prepares the potato galette

Mozzarella is grated and kept aside

Mashed potato lightly seasoned and herbed is shaped into galettes; this is further stuffed with grated mozzarella.

Pan fried till crisped on both sides, the galettes are ready to be plated along with some good meat

A bed of spinach over which the galette and foie gras is placed with a sprig of rosemary

Chef proceeds to pour over the Barolo wine reduction, which is basically Barolo wine poured into the same pan which was used for pan frying the balsamico marinated foie gras.

The dish is ready to be served up in all its glory

Last but not the least and to wash down the fine Italian meal was Botticino’s signature pomegranate and celery sorbet. The best part was when chef proceeded to spray a good amount of grappa onto the sorbet before I proceeded to dig into this frozen delight. Be prepared to be surprised with grappa being offered to you when you dessert materializes or in your shot of espresso.

More often than not, the simpler things in life make a larger impact on you. Botticino is one such understated place with a fantastic menu and the talent backing it up in the form of Chef Vikas Vichare. Apart from the preview above they have some excellent nosh which is a must try for a true authentic Italian dining experience.

Nonchalant Gourmand was accompanied by team mate – ace photographer Nikita Modi. Nikita is a freelance photographer who has her interest in food photography grounded for such exciting opportunities but also dabbles in exclusive Advertising and Fine Art Photography. She has completed her Masters in photography from Speos,Paris,France. You can see her works at:

Website – www.nikitamodi.com

Blog – http://blog.nikitamodi.com

All copyrights of the photographs are exclusive Nikita Modi Photography©

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