Talk about conspicuous consumption. An explosion of wealth in India's biggest cities has spawned a culinary revolution - and a raft of luxe and exotic restaurants to serve it. Indeed, now that the country boasts 36 billionaires and a roaring stock market up 36 per cent this year, dropping several thousand rupees on dinner has become increasingly common.
"The country is one of the world's fastest emerging economies and Indians' newfound confidence is reflected in a number of areas, one of which is this developing preference for fine dining," says Sabina Sehgal Saikia, food critic for the Times of India in Delhi.
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Echoing a well-worn trend in Los Angeles, Miami and New York, India's new gilded restaurants have become a place to see and be seen, a pit stop for local paparazzi on the prowl for images of Bollywood starlets rubbing elbows with some of the nation's richest tycoons. "I call it trophy dining," jokes gourmet writer Ajit Saldanha of Bangalore. "If you've got it and don't flaunt it, well, what's the point?"
Also contributing to the demand for more diverse fine-dining options is the growing influence of Western culture on Indian palates. Returning from jaunts in Paris, London and New York, Indian professionals, clad in European suits and well versed in American pop culture references, are eschewing staples like amma's dal and rice in favor of favorites from abroad, including sushi, steak and sea bass.
"The surge in upscale restaurants is definitely not an isolated phenomenon," insists Mumbai-based food critic Rashmi Uday Singh. "The fat cats are now spending on all kinds of things--from Botox to designer labels."
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Importing gourmet ingredients, top wines and seasoned chefs is costing Indian diners big-time. Some of India's upscale eateries could soon become far more expensive than even New York's toniest restaurants.
For example, the Kobe mignon at Delhi's uber-elegant Orient Express costs Rs 5,500 ($123), while a similar dish at New York's chic Tao costs roughly 30 per cent less. The Chateau Lafite Rothschild '01 at Leela hotel's Zen in Bangalore fetches Rs 28,000 ($626). That same bottle costs roughly $200 stateside.
India's newfound appetite for high-end cuisine is attracting the attention of A-list celebrity chefs. Two years ago, "Iron Chef" Masaharu Morimoto, the Japanese mastermind behind the global Nobu sushi franchise, opened Wasabi in Mumbai's Taj Mahal Palace. And just last year, top Italian chef Antonio Carluccio, a perennial favorite on the BBC, designed the extravagant menu at Atrium, located in The Park hotel in Chennai.
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Forbes.com's list of India's ten most expensive restaurants in India is based on recommendations from the country's top food critics, who insist the pricy menus are worth every rupee. Prices listed do not include taxes, and restaurants are listed in no particular order. This list is hardly definitive. Sushi has swiftly become India's cuisine of choice, and the crop of exorbitantly priced eateries catering to the raw-fish frenzy could easily have dominated this list.
Most of these restaurants are based in hotels, a testament to the role expense-account wielding travelers are having on the nation's food scene. In Mumbai's Taj Hotel, New York-based chef Michel Nischan helped open the city's first all-organic haute restaurant, with a menu that tips its hat to local appetites (try the Kaffir lime martini and the Tamari shrimp and scallops).
Sakura, housed in New Delhi's Hotel Nikko, helped launch a spate of Japanese restaurant openings across the country. With its minimalist décor and serious sushi menu, it has become a favorite of India's Beautiful People and their minions.
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