Lessons from an almost great culinary experience
Not in the mood for a long walk, my dining companion and I headed instead down the road to the the buzzing Wale Street to enjoy some fine Indian dining experience.
All across our line of sight, the heaven-touching apex of Cape Town’s Table Mountain range stuck up from almost every corner of the city.
As if to protect it.
The air on this winter evening was rather cool and enjoyable.
The unmistakable whiff of Indian spices and herbs wafted to our noses as we stepped into Bombay Brasserie in Cape Town.
As we were traveling in the shoulder season, we got a table even though we hadn’t made any prior reservations.
After taking in the grandeur and fine dining ambiance of the restaurant with its eclectic decor; monstrous and obscenely ornate chandeliers; and chairs beautifully upholstered in cherry silks; we were certain that dinner tonight would be cosmic.
Or so we hoped.
Our culinary journey began with a tot of mango lassi made out of yogurt smoothly blended with very ripe mango pulp, cardamom powder and ice cubes, to form a puree of delectable deliciousness.
We then chose a peri peri salmon for the starter.
The texture was rather soft and delicate for my taste.
This was later followed with a bite-sized amuse bouche. A delectable Hors d’oeuvres whichheld a melt-in-your-mouth surprise of sweet, seductively fragrant, smooth-and-luscious-on-the-tongue yogurt that readily burst out on the first crush.
After the Hors d’oeuvres, our server pulled out the stops again and treated us to a delightful palate cleanser of sorbet, complete with a smoking pot and all!
At this point obviously, both my companion and I are in agreement that the only way to top this is to accompany the mains with fireworks.
Literally.
We had ordered a Biryani dish, Dal makhani (composed of black lentils with tomato, butter and cream), and Peshawari naan on the side.
Unfortunately, the mains didn’t live up to our expectations.
The food was rather bland.
We then ended our evening with a dessert of cardamon ice cream sobert and fresh fruit platter topped with chocolate.
“Here, have some”.
“No thank you. I don’t do chocolate”.
“Come on, one piece only won’t hurt…” I persisted
“I’m sorry, I can’t.”
I ended up eating the entire option.
I later learned that my companion gave up chocolate at about the age of 5.
And no, it’s not what you think.
It is not because my companion hates chocolate.
Or for fear of putting on weight.
Overall, my companion described our dining experience at the Bombay Brasserie as akin to having great foreplay but horrible sex.
Go figure!
The pre-meal, appetizer, and Hors d’oeuvres were delectable.
Everything else that followed was pretty much hit and miss.
A simple test
Have you ever wondered how differently you’d react or do things If you knew better?
And you cared to view the world from other people’s perspective?
and you empathized with them…
What would you do?
Does the restaurant that offers to-die-for complimentary appetizers and Hors d’oeuvres know that the mains that customers actually pay for suck?
And, when the foreplay is great but the s*x sucks, does your partner know?
Does he/she care enough to find out?
When I assume that everyone in the whole wide world cares for chocolate… am I being empathetic enough?
Caring cuts through all the clutter and excuses and poses a simple question:
What would you do differently if you knew?
P.S. My dining companion is allergic to chocolate.
