SINGAPORE: In Singapore 33, Scotts Road is no any ordinary address, it is not just any street that cuts through the city's belly. It is exclusive and the reasons myriad. For the architecture student, it is the old colonial structure making an emphatic statement in a skyline cluttered with skyscrapers. The art buff who wants to hang a beautiful canvas in his stark living room would head to 33 Scotts Road, for here he can pick paintings and sculptures.
Myriad reasons for many, but for the gourmand just one: absolutely great food. For it is in 33 Scotts Road that Song of India is; a restaurant that has become the final word - or the last stop - in fine dining experience in Singapore. Hopping around in Singapore, my stomach growls with hunger and as if prompted by the aroma of scrumptious food I notice the maroon and orange swoosh on an elegant signboard that read: Song of India.
I walk in. In the garden I first hear the gurgle of the water trickling from a large earthen pot, not too far a gray sculpture sits on a black pedestal. Before I walk up the stairs I stand for a moment to admire the intricately carved wooden pillars that look straight out of an antique shop. Art and antiquity blend seamlessly with the fragrance of food and even the minutest of details follow etiquette. There is a dress code to be followed - if you are in shorts you would have to wrap that blue silk sarong. I pick a corner for myself, a large window that opens into a landscaped garden with wanton creepers and tidy palm fronds.
I look around. The décor is subtle; thankfully, devoid of the ubiquitous Pipli lamp shades, puppets and garish paintings that have become the hallmark of Indian restaurants outside India. Even before the first course of food is served, the dominance of art in a restaurant intrigues me. Says Milind Sovani, Director, Cuisines, "The concept is arty for the restaurant also doubles as an art gallery. All displayed art is for sale, but the buyer can pick his frame only after three months when we change the displays." Considering that Sovani has hundreds of awards on his platter, the art takes one by surprise.
That art would pick a continuum in food I certainly had not perceived. It goes without saying that the food is fit for the gods, but its presentation is, well, so arty. The beetroot soup accompanied with a bread stick and roasted capsicum comes in a porcelain combined tray, the soup not in a bowl but a cup with a twisted handle. The appetizers come in shot glasses and the tossed peanut salad in china pans the size of a ping-pong ball.
But the best was yet to come - an artist's palette in transparent glass with dishes color coordinated to perfection. So wonderful is the main course presentation that I do not want to dig my fork in for the fear of spoiling something so artistic. To keep the copycats at bay, Sovani has even patented his glassware and crockery in Singapore. A Mumbaikar, Sovani holds a Diploma in Hotel Management and Catering Technology and a Masters Diploma in Business Administration.
His stint as a chef not only took him around the world, he has hosted television shows like Har Dil Lazeez and Anna hey Purna Brahma, written a cookery book called 5-Star Recipes and written columns for several magazines in India. He stepped into Singapore in 2002 to start a modern Indian restaurant for another company, but he was clear about his mission: To take Indian cuisine globally.
Though he quit to start Song of India, he has not taken his eyes off the mission. What he has also not forgotten in Singapore is his ability to rustle the best meals in a jiffy. Is it any surprise then that Michelin Green Guide has declared Sovani as one of the top four chefs in Singapore; "Singapore's Culinary Trailblazer" is what they called him.
Forget ordinary mortals, he has wowed the hip and the happening, the monied and even the Prime Minister of Singapore. These days Sovani is a busy man, he is running through blueprints and location options for another Song of India. But that has not distracted him from doing what he loves the moment: cooking Awadhi cuisine and making the saffron pulao that every gourmand would die for. And yes, he has not forgotten his mission.
Next time you hear a Song of India in your neighborhood, you would know Milind Sovani has arrived. He does not talk much, it is his food that makes all the yummy statements. www.deepblueink.com
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