Care for Some Ratatouille from East? Merci but No Thanks!

Sure, East (Kemp's Corner) serves a mean Roti Kanai, but we hope the cooking directions don't come from a culinary expert under chef (and owner) Nachiket Shetye's hat. Our Monday afternoon lunch at the restaurant bought back flashes from the cute animated flick, except the rat we spotted running around over our heads wasn't a gastronomical genius and the dialogue that ensued with the chef wasn't pre-written by witty écrivans.

"We know the rats are in here, but we guarantee they're not in the kitchen," said Shetye, exasperated by our outrage. And how come rats use the Pan Asian eatery's criss-cross bamboo interior as their gymnasium? "Because we don't believe in poisoning them. Instead, we lay traps and then set them free," he assured, not even trying to pretend like this was the first rodent sighting. We admire his stand on cruelty against animals. We only wish they cared that much for humans!

So must we, like Anton Ego, evil critic-turned-friend in Ratatouille, swallow our egos and celebrate the coming of the rat? Frankly, that's a little hard to digest.

And in other kitchen chronicles not so far East, a little foodie told us of another bizarre incident. An overheated bowl of Cheese Fondue exploded (not cracked) on the table at Gallops (Mahalaxmi), sending pieces of glass flying around.

Is it too much to expect a good meal in Mumbai sans le drama? Apparently!