For any lover of fine food, both the Taj Mahal’s and the Trident’s specialty restaurants are manna from heaven. So a friend and I booked ourselves at Souk, the Taj Mahal’s fabulous Middle Eastern restaurant on the Tower’s top, on Sunday night, the day when both hotels opened their doors since terrorists had held them hostage for over three days.The Taj is a place I frequent often, and as many of its regulars, the staff are, well, friends. As we were entered Souk, restaurant manager Santosh greeted me by name. And I was home. He was managing Wasabi at the time of the attacks, and November 26 was his day off. But fortunately, he assured, most of his staff escaped safely. Save one, Thomas Varghese, one of Wasabi’s and this city’s finest waiters. He was shot by a terrorist at 3.30 am and died later.The mood at the hotel was understandably sombre for a while, but we were glad that the staff seemed resilient and even happy that things were functioning again. All the staff at Souk were safe that night, as they were rushed into the function room next door and taken out safely at 4.30 am. One of my favourite waiters was actually smiling and happy to see us, which encouraged us to have as normal a meal as we could.The food was fabulous as always, although the normal six-page menu here was now reduced to two pages. The main kitchen caught fire during the attacks and therefore they were working out of the pantry outside the kitchen.Chef Hemant Oberoi, head chef of the hotel, visited Souk and knew people on most tables. It was heartwarming to see him get a big hug from these guests, especially since he lost the four chefs immediately under him. We were told by a gent on the table next to us: “I have grown up dining at the Taj and I know Hemant for several years. It was like one of my own family members had lost people in the attacks.”The washroom attendant was on duty that night too; he was rushed to the function room and rescued, but his tears belied his fear. To get back to work after such an ordeal is commendable; to get back to providing the same level of service and quality is admirable. While the Taj staff were stoic and proud to reopen less than a month after the attacks, we were prouder still to be their customers on their first night.
