KEEPING UP WITH THE BAJAJS
Meet the couple transforming India’s food landscape, one restaurant at a time
Kintu Bajaj suggests you order her favourite truffle edamame dumplings at Yauatcha, Mumbai’s beloved dim sum teahouse. With a Lalu (their signature blend of Oolong tea, lychee, and lemongrass) in hand, and the neon glow from the bar highlighting her features, she is as effortlessly modish as husband Kishor, who is simultaneously declaring his love for crispy cheung fun. The couple argue amicably, an easy camaraderie that has touches of old-world grace.
With their unassuming charm, it is hard to imagine the Bajajs as the game changers in Mumbai’s luxe landscape for over three decades. Their flagship enterprise, the Badasaab Group, is the city’s bespoke tailoring brand, which has dressed icons like Amitabh Bachchan, Sir Vivian Richards, and royalty from Morocco to the Netherlands. The company’s construction arm has created landmarks like Kubelisque in Bandra; the Bajajs later went on to introduce Italian menswear label Brioni in India.
But it was their visionary launch of Hakkasan in 2011, under their KA Hospitality brand, that jump-started the city’s Michelin-starred ambitions. “We were convinced that the discerning Indian was eager to welcome a superlative international dining experience,” says Kishor. More than just bringing the iconic London-based Cantonese restaurant to India, it was the Bajajs’s commitment towards maintaining the authenticity of the brand that had the fussiest gourmands queuing up for reservations. “Not only were we experiencing the finest food, but each and every guest was treated as royalty,” Kintu reminisces. “That’s what running a restaurant is all about—not just great food, but a complete dining experience.” Original must-have dishes were faithfully recreated on the menu, just like the signature midnight blue-latticed interiors, by Paris-based Gilles & Boissier.
Within six months of opening Hakkasan, the Bajajs also brought the fragrant whiff of a Cantonese tea room to Mumbai’s commercial district. Floored by the Chilean mooli rolls, venison puffs, and Mongolian lamb chops at its London SoHo flagship, Kishor says he instinctively knew that the “progressive eating style” of the dim sum paradise would work. Equal parts casual-chic and elegant, Yauatcha was another instant hit.
And now with Otto Infinito, KA Hospitality’s youngest addition and its first homegrown brand, they’ve brought Mediterranean all-day dining to Mumbai’s young turks. “It is an accessible brand, emphasising the idea of easy dining, for corporate yuppies at the Bandra Kurla Complex,” says Kintu. If you’re planning to drop in, she suggests you try the truffle tuna carpaccio and the kofte tagine, while Kishor advises you to dip into the maghrebi platter.
It is now the turn of KA Hospitality’s much- a waited l a unches in Bengaluru and Delhi. Kishor says 2013 is a big year—Yauatcha will launch in the Garden City in August, just a month before it takes the Capital by storm. “The expansion comes on the heels of a fantastic response to all three brands,” says Kishor. Kintu adds that the inspiration she derives from tables
du jour across the world also has a large part to play in the success; she loves the modern Japanese at New York’s Bondst and the prix-fixe menu at Per Se. Also on their speed dial are Tea House in Bangkok, and Le Petite Maison and Okku in Dubai.
Besides food, the couple bond over travel, music, and entertaining—the soireés at their Mumbai triplex penthouse are legendary. But they both confess to being as comfortable sipping wine at a gazebo on a beach as they are at formal sit-down dinners. Kintu recalls an impromptu carnival romp in Rio as their most memorable vacation. She says it is this penchant for hippie-haute that has spilled over to their professional endeavours.