SanQi Four Seasons: Worth it for a Brunch
Four Seasons is located in a lush area in South Mumbai, which is why it’s always a delight to return for dining. San-Qi is also my favourite since it provides a panoramic view of the verdant landscape from the comfort of a tastefully revamped restaurant. This is in addition to revelling in gastronomic enchantment and receiving a warm welcome. SanQi has a vast range of delicacies and wines to complement your meals, whether you want to take a Pan-Asian culinary journey or incorporate the specialities of North India, Japan, and Thailand. SanQi recently invited me and my friend, Puranjit, for an amazing brunch that included the finest of each cuisine.
San-Qi (the three energies) is a restaurant that covers two levels of exquisite settings, convulsing with the energy of modern Asia. As a result, a visit ensures that you enjoy a varied gastronomic experience as you journey across the East’ most favourite cuisines. The Tandoor and Wok kitchens are on the bottom level, while the open top-level reflects a modern Japanese atmosphere with a sumptuous Sushi bar and a Teppanyaki table.
SanQi is a contemporary food theatre that serves a medley of benign and strong flavours from four Asian cuisines, each produced by a Master Chef from the area. The contemporary style, with elements of glass and natural woods, complements the exquisite Asian cuisine. Ingeniously arranged to delight your senses of sight and taste! Executive Sous Chef Vikas Singh orchestrated an intriguing exchange of nourishing cuisines, ingraining our meals with a global touch on fresh, natural flavours. Chef Singh’s culinary abilities, which ranged from ocean-fresh Japanese Sushi to Cantonese, were a delight to witness.
The day was spent relaxing inside the calm, private dining area, which was doused in natural sunlight and the shifting shadows of large trees. Our creative drinks arrived on the table just as we were finishing admiring the rustic bottled-wall décor on our side. Lalfak Zualzela, the bartender, was gracious enough to make me a Signature drink called Sin Apple. A whiskey-based alcoholic beverage with a distinctive twist on a tall, chilly summer drink. This seriously enticing drink made with Jim Beam Bourbon, apple, cinnamon, mint leaves, pineapple juice, and gingerette, was one of the most refreshing cocktails I’ve had this season.
Puranjit, on the other hand, chose the Signature Mumbai Sour, Four Seasons’ take on the New York Sour with cinnamon, mulled wine, and lavender notes.
We began our meal with a typical Chinese dim sum savoury, the delectable Turnip Cake. San-master Qi’s cooks served the softest and crispiest turnip cake I’ve ever had. I was protruded from the first to the last bite, remembering my Michelin-starred adventures in Singapore. Except, there, the turnip cake is referred to as a carrot cake. Regardless, this nostalgic flashback served as another reminder of how well San-Qi has infused true Far Eastern flavours. The delicate texture of the cake may be traced back to how beautifully the shallots are fried and how precisely the dish is prepared. Furthermore, the turnip cakes were given with a generous amount of garlic and chilli, which definitely improved the flavour. I’d call it an ambrosial unfolding!
Chongqing Chicken, a typical, spicy Sichuan style dish wok’d with dried red chillies, was the second meal to tempt our tastebuds. This dish exceeds all expectations! Cantonese food is not bland, as many of us believe; instead, the Chongqing region in southern China uses a lot of red chillies and Sichuan peppercorns in everything they make. As a result, their food is the spiciest in China. SanQi’ stir-fried Chongqing Chicken, which takes its influence from southern China, stimulates the same palate with spicy overtones. It was beautifully spicy, fiery, and very treacly on the whole.
Our third course was a Sashimi plate with a variety of other signature dishes. Chutoro (tuna belly), Hamachi (yellowtail or Japanese amberjack fish), Botan-Ebi (pandalid shrimp), Tataki Tuna, and Tataki Salmon were served with a dollop of scallop salad. I like how the Chef arranged the salad in a hollowed-out orange cup and added Tobiko, orangeish flying fish roe with a natural smoky-salty flavour. Simple yet delightful Japanese culinary craft at its finest.
We were served a refreshing Thai Pomelo Salad with various Dumplings as the fourth meal. Pomelo looks like a gigantic grapefruit and invigorates the palate when served in a salad. It’s like taking a journey to Thailand for your taste senses! This salad, in particular, had a subdued touch of fruity, sour, and salty fusion of mind-bogglingly flavours. Crystal veg dumpling, Edamame dumpling, Chives dumpling, Asparagus and lotus root dumpling, Chicken shumai, Prawn dumpling, and steamed chicken dumpling were all included in the Dumplings basket.
The fifth meal came from the Indian zone and included mouth-watering Galawat Kebabs and Highway Murgh Tikka served with Chur Chur Naans. The soft Galawat Kebabs exuded the true spirit of Awadhi cuisine, as though served straight from a Nawabi Lucknow kitchen. With each bite, I was reminded of the opulent lifestyle previously enjoyed by the Kings of Awadh. Similarly, the infamous Highway Murgh Tikka is a culinary delight made by marinating the chicken in hanging curd overnight and then slathering it with chillies, garlic, and ginger before putting it in the Tandoor.
Tandoor’s smokey flavour pairs so beautifully with the authentic flavour of Indian spices that it’s sure to become one of the greatest Tikkas you’ll ever try. ChurChur Naans were the perfect accompaniment to the kebabs and tikkas. While Chur Chur Naan is a traditional Iranian leavened bread, it is also one of North India’s most popular tandoori bakes. Overall, a fantastic fusion of classic flavours!
Our main meal from the Cantonese range, Yang Chow fried rice and Hunan style steamed Chilean sea bass, came in sixth place. Seals and whales eat coldwater Chilean sea bass, also known as Patagonian tooth-fish, making it one of the most nutrient-dense foods on the planet. This fish soaks up all the natural flavours when combined with Asian veggies, herbs, and sauces, and as a result, it becomes one of the healthiest and most flavourful main meals worth trying.
The Yang Chow fried rice was a pleasant surprise, especially considering it included a little bit of everything: prawns, chicken, pork, and more, all with delicate Asian flavours to keep it light.
Our meal came to a close with Timeless Chocolate, a hallmark dessert, and Mandarin Cheesecake, a Chinese dessert. It was tempting to watch Puranjit cut into his ganache-filled Fondant sponge cake, which seemed to be an amusing mushy creation. This spicy and powerful dessert featured sous-vide mandarin, sorbet, mandarin star anise, chocolate soil, and mandarin gel with a sprinkling of Cantonese spices and mint on top! I took a bite of the fondant’s meltingly soft centre, and it was a devilish chocolate utopian trap for me.
This dessert is on another level of perfection when combined with the underpinning ingredients of the previous meal! When it came to my dessert, the Mandarin Cheesecake, which tasted a lot like fried ice cream, was amazing, but wait till you cut through the outer layer. The cheesecake then breaks out with luscious mandarins and mango filling. That’s what I call sunshine on a dish! With an enticing coating of white chocolate structures, this vivid dish was ladled out with embellishing charms such as Mango bavarois and sago pearls. Without a doubt, one of the most refreshing Chinese desserts I’ve encountered this summer!
San-Qi serves “The All-You-May-Eat,” an A La Carte Brunch for culinary enthusiasts on Sundays, where you can sample one of four cuisines: Chinese, Thai, Japanese, or Indian. Don’t forget to combine your meal with one of San-wonderful Qi’s wines or spirits, as their comprehensive wine list includes a wide range of Bordeaux and Super Tuscan wines, which I strongly recommend. The restaurant’s wine list has a fantastic blend of old and new world wines that appeal to a variety of palates and to get the most out of your dining experience at San-Qi, ask their sommelier for advice on wine pairings with the day’s dining selections.
SanQi’ B-Fashioned classic concoction, is a must-try when it comes to cocktails. With salted banana syrup and dried banana chips abundantly slathered on top, the mixologist will astound you with his creative spin on the drink. Before leaving, we had a brief conversation with Executive Sous Chef Vikas Singh, who has 11 years of culinary expertise with high-end luxury hotel companies such as the Four Seasons, Mariott, and Accor Group. Chef Singh told us that he is primarily interested in current European and Asian cuisines and that his culinary goal for San-Qi is to create genuine, regional dishes with a contemporary twist, with only top quality products utilised in his gastronomy demonstrations.
