Quite in the manner of a camera-wielding, cheerful tourist battling Delhi's heat and dust, Morimoto, the very talented chef who specialises in turning traditional Japanese cuisine into artistic contemporary wonders, meets us in short pants.
That's not exactly the image of a high-profile chef, but what's one more difference in a meal that will be marked by several such distinctions?
The occasion is the launch of Wasabi, the definitive Japanese restaurant at the Taj (Mumbai) that has finally made its way into the capital, and Morimoto and his other celebrity counterpart, chef Hemant Oberoi of the Taj Group, are taking us through the paces. We are presented with a "tempura sushi", delicious and cooked enough to seduce anyone with "raw" misgivings.
There's a black cod miso that's clearly the highlight of the afternoon, but there are also the likes of shrimp in spicy mayonnaise, the signature wasabi cr