Mumbai restaurants feel quake aftershocks

MUMBAI: On Wednesday, as news arrived of irradiated water flowing through taps in Japan, a wave of anxiety swept certain quarters of Mumbai.
The Killer 9 earthquake, whose epicenter lay 7,000-odd kms away in Fukushima, is having a ripple effect on the city's hospitality industry. Fine dining restaurants that serve Japanese cuisine and import raw material from there are already starting to feel the heat of the disaster.
Joss restaurant at Kala Ghoda has discontinued certain seafood items like 'hamachi' or loin of tuna even as it looks to other suppliers for options.Owner Farokh Khambata says, "We have sufficient dry stock that includes sushi, rice and noodles to last three months. However, our weekly supplies of seafood have been affected so we are considering alternatives like Norwegian salmon ."
"Some items are not fast-moving and cannot be stored, so we purchase them in small quantities. We could run out of those. More importantly, ingredients that are sourced from the earthquake-affected areas will be affected even if the rest aren't," says Joss' manager Vikas Yelgulwar.
From sushi, which is the lowest common denominator of Japanese cuisine worldwide, to wasabi or horseradish, edible seaweed, cooking sauces, vinegar, silken tofu, soup powder, rice, noodles and seafood, each item is imported. Vast consignments of tubes, packs and bottles are unloaded in the city on a quarterly basis.
For now, existing stocks will have to do. "Fortunately, we shipped our last consignment of non-perishables two weeks ago so we are placed comfortably for the next three months," says Sukku Shah of Pune-based Olive Tree Trading, one of the largest importers of Japanese foodstuffin India. "We are debating our next order. We may source similar ingredients from Thailand, Singapore and Dubai should the need arise. For instance, Japanese firms situated in California also prepare silken tofu."
At another south Mumbai restaurant, the supply of Japanese sauces has stopped since the crisis broke. "We are procuring sauces from Chennai so that we do not have to strike items off the menu," said a staffer.
Business interests aside, Farokh Khambata and Sukku Shah have been writing anxious emails to their business contacts in Japan. So far so good. "The effects of the earthquake and the tsunami are relatively manageable. It is the nuclear threat that weighs over us all. The Japanese authorities are not forthcoming with details, leading to speculation and worry among the international community," says Khambata.
Shah reposes faith in the resilience of the nation that was severely tested during the twin attack on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. "I believe they will bounce back stronger once again," he says.