Delhi, are you ready for KelC?

When I heard Chef Kelvin Cheung had moved to the capital last October I was eager to exchange notes And the opportunity arrived when he said that his latest project in Vasant Kunj opens in a monthThe produce is so good right Cheung chef and partner on the business with Aman Kumar and Arjun Jain the duo behind food festival The Grub Fest says This the move to Delhi has come as a blessing If only the pollution would go away he quips wearing an apron and a pencil tucked behind a ear We walk through Kikoba the restaurant named after a Japanese mythological character who is a shape shifter from heaven travelling across the country spreading good fortune An open robatastyle grill is where Cheung will take centre stageChinese lamb dumplingBelow on the ground level Dadelmdashan adult cocktail named after Greek inventor Daedalusmdashwill be served The bar down below is starkly different from the simple insides of the restaurant Itrsquos English dandy with a large onyx bar station high chairs with feline prints surrounded by colourful sofa nooksA good snack a good drink and some live jazz Most restaurant bars are clubs with loud music Here you can have a conversation without shouting he says This Cheung is different from the one we left behind in Mumbai A fouryear stint at Bandrarsquos favourite seafood station Bastian ended on a sour abrupt note after a fallout with the owners last August He packed his bags for Toronto to be with family and conceive a restaurant in Canada But India wasnrsquot done with himAman Kumar and Arjun JainCheung seems to have moved on as he talks with newfound maturity that he admits has come with fatherhood He refuses to discuss the last placeKikoba features flavours that he helped rustle up at his father Eddy Chuengrsquos chain of Cantonese HongKong style restaurants Ocenia Mandarin Palace Phoenix and Centura along with what he has learnt on his travels I am paying respect to everyone Irsquove ever learnt from and adding a bit of my style he saysThe style is Shanghainese bun with the filling of an American burger or roast chicken inspired by his time in northern Thailand You will see locals stumbling out of bars at 2 am and following the aromas to nearby stalls I want my guests to get a whiff of the food thatrsquos being prepared he smiles adding that his cooking focusses on ingredientdriven ideas and local produce I am taking advantage of the fresh produce available in Delhi and working with three local farmers to create a special section on the menu using overripened produce that they canrsquot sell he saysCheung is willing to work hard The firstgeneration Chinese migrants to Canada his family took the kids to work His father manned the kitchens and mother handled accounts Too young to do much my older brother and I would be packed off to the bakery where we learnt to make almond cookies As the years passed my brother would press dumpling dough while I learnt to sort and chop vegetables Our eldest sister would help mom stack the bills says Cheung the memory bringing back the nostalgia associated with Chinese barbeque I remember the sounds too The woks being tossed in old women pushing dumpling carts and shouting the names of their wares An aunt opened a fast food shop to cater hot dogs and fries to three skating rinks nearbyHis father who passed on last year left him many lessons He had a knack for remembering every dish he had fed a customer He welcomed his staff in too asking them about how their families were doing and how their day wasChueng can now practice some of those lessons Bodhi Rye his 16monthold son is a delight to track on Instagram I wasnrsquot sure I would be a good father but this phase has changed memdashmy personality even the way I want to run my kitchen and build my team says Cheung stirring up a select few dishes for us to try A comfort broccoli soup turns into a bar snack of gnocchi in broccoli and cheddar sauce and the Japanese scallops come on crisp sushi rice cakes on a bed of corn dashi Drops of soy and ponzu add the acid punch For the yuzukosho I fermented grapefruit lemon lime orange sweet lime and green chillies way back in November he shares The kick comes as a subtle aftertasteA take on his fatherrsquos braised lamb Cheung makes classic dimsum dough for parcels in Chinese lamb seared in a French technique with red wine and lamb stock It wonrsquot go soggy while you take a picture he smilesHe is right Crispy on the outside and juicy inside the shredded filling is as good as it getsOver the last eight years in India Cheung has had a hugely successful career At 31 he opened Colabarsquos Ellipsis Hersquod visit Sassoon Dock and Vashi market for ingredients at 4 am drive back to the kitchen to prep But after all this at service no one wanted to try our food We had dishes with 18 kinds of garnish It was as if we had a point to prove Then I changed my perspective I decided I would do honest food he says introspectingFour years later he opened Bastian a modern seafoodrestaurant in a city that was in love with Konkani kekda The newfound fascination for Delhi gives way to a mushy admission of his amour for Mumbai As an outsider I realised that Mumbai celebrated its traditional seafood But no one was doing a modern take It helped me build a deep bond with India It was a snowball effect I miss everything about Mumbai I made some deep personal connections I met my wife here and we had our son in India so I have a deep love and bond with India he says wistfully about the place that made him a celebrity Sharing plates and tables with the stars brought with it the trolling I got into trouble for not going to the other tables Ninety nine per cent of the time I interacted with everyone I could something I learnt from my father But I am still a chef firstInteracting with customers is a perk I love but when the kitchen needs me thatrsquos where yoursquoll find meCheung on Delhi VS MumbaiGnochi in broccoli and cheddar sauceYou must eat nihari at the Muslim Cultural Centre The regional food in Delhi is excellent but Mumbai does continental and Maharashtrian betterCooking across political and financial capitalsClassic Chilli ChickenMumbai doesnrsquot want to sleep even at 3 am The guests will sit even after the lights are out says chef Augusto Cabrera of Townhall who came to India 15 years ago working in Delhi in the preopening team of Oberoirsquos muchloved 360 restaurant and then later launching Tiffin at the chainrsquos Nariman Point hotel In Delhi 90 per cent of my clients are nonvegetarian In Mumbai itrsquos 50 per cent vegetarian Jain vegan and glutenintolerant Sometimes they order dishes that are not on the menu but we accommodateImpresariorsquos Gresham Fernandez calls out the cultural difference If I serve vada pav in north India or misal pav they wonrsquot get it because itrsquos not nostalgic for them Likewise in Mumbai no one gets excited about daulat ki chaat because it is not cold here he says In Delhi Fernandez cooks for the St Judersquos Swine Dine Project a celebration of pork and every part of the pig a concept that he launched in Mumbai and continues to organise For that menu though I donrsquot tweak a thingKilla kulcha thalExecutive chef Impresario group Shamsul Wajid says that guests in the northern Indian states eat heartily We have a lot of orders for the thali and fuller meal options because they want to eat well with their drinks We do a mix of Kashmiri Hyderabadi and Punjabi dishes Mumbaikars prefer munchies with their drinks And they love their spice Mumbairsquos Socials have a spicier chilli chicken than the Delhi outpostsCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates