Mumbai Food: Asian food with giveaway prices at Pali Hill eatery

Char grilled pork ribs

Chef Milan Subba and pilot Arjun Singh hail from two starkly diverse backgrounds. While Singh's grandfather was one of the first captains to fly for Air India, Subba's grandfather was a farmer who had moved from Mongolia to Kalimpong, Darjeeling, for better prospects. In fact, till about two years ago, Subba was working at a Tajikistan five-star, and Singh was involved in his family's laundry business. But today, if the duo is jointly helming Soy, a new Asian QSR (quick service restaurant) at Pali Hill, it's because they want to champion the idea of "spectacular food at bargain cost".

"Although I enjoy flying, food has always been my first love. And what we noticed about Mumbai is that it's getting more and more expensive to eat high quality food, so I wanted to change that," says Singh.

(Left) Arjun Singh and his sister, Pallavi, with chef Milan Subba. While the Singhs own the restaurant, Subba is the brain behind the menu. Pic/Ashish Raje

Located in a nook on the bustling St John Baptist Road in Bandra West, the 30-seater serves pan Asian treats, including fragrant Thai curries, sushi, dimsums, satays and noodle soup. The idea of the restaurant germinated when the two met at the gym. "We were clear that we wanted to serve Asian food. Not only is it popular, but it's also where my expertise lay. It's food that I have grown up eating," Subba tells us when we meet him at the restaurant one evening. What particularly bowls us over are the barbecue pork ribs, which are succulent and char grilled to perfection. Turns out, most of the recipes were passed down from Subba's grandmother and later perfected by his mother. "My grandmother's core idea was to use basic ingredients in the most optimum way.

So, if she had to prepare ribs, she would first cook it over charcoal and then steam it. The slightly hardened texture of the chargrilled meat would soften after steaming," he says. Subba prefers to slather it with barbecue sauce, which is unlike the standard European marinade made with brown sugar, ketchup, vinegar, water and Worcestershire sauce. His "Chinese" concoction is whipped out of tomatoes, soya, Thai herbs and lemon leaf. "I usually glaze it for at least three hours so that the flavours completely seep in," says Subba, who has primarily worked at Asian fine-dines, including The Claridges, Mango Tree and Crowne Plaza.

The tasks are divided between the duo. While Subba manages the kitchen, Singh handles the business aspect. "The upside of a QSR for is that it has smaller menus so it's possible to them to be more creative," says Subba. Keeping in mind, footfalls from health conscious folks, they have also introduced more vegetable-based and gluten-free dishes on the menu. For example, the Thai curry, dumplings and stir-fried dishes are prepared with vegetarian alternatives like bok choy, tofu, mushrooms and carrots. "It's difficult, but not impossible," says Subba, laughing.

But what's truly eye-popping are the prices. "Name one restaurant in this city where the food is not only five-star quality, but where you can order the entire 38-item menu for less than Rs 5,000," says Singh. Rightly said.

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