After appearing in MasterChef: The Professionals 2020, Santosh Shah, former Head Chef of Vivek Singh’s Cinnamon City Kitchen, is returning for a limited edition Modern Nepalese pop-up series, running from September 20 to October 30.
The 15-course tasting menu, inspired by the food and heritage of Santosh’s birth town in Nepal, will run from Wednesday to Sunday weekly, with 15 guests per sitting.
On arrival, guests will be offered an ayla cocktail, an authentic Nepalese serve made with fermented rice wine alongside canapés such as miniature lamb brain donuts and duck breast salad.
The menu features a take on a traditional chicken momo, Nepalese dumplings transformed with added pickled cucumber and caviar – and market-style fried fish with burnt tomato chutney as well as cannon of lamb with akoru rice, bone marrow sauce and mustard greens.
Desserts of Nepalese yamari – sweet dumplings filled with chocolate, chilli, cinnamon and orange – and the showstopping Kodo ko kheer and mango snowball, with mango leather, Sichuan biscuit, caramelised mango and a flourish of gold leaf finish the menu.
Santosh Shah said: “Having spent many happy years as Head Chef at Cinnamon Kitchen City, there was only one that I place wanted to run this pop-up, at the restaurant where I learnt so much. It was Vivek and his team who gave me the confidence to start celebrating and developing my own signature style of modern Nepalese cuisine, and cooking at Cinnamon Kitchen City feels like coming home. Vivek has been so kind in giving me the opportunity to showcase my Nepalese cuisine to diners and I can’t wait to welcome guests to our pop up later in the year.”
Vivek Singh added: ‘‘Seeing talented chefs grow within the Cinnamon family is a pride and a privilege, and to have alumni like Santosh go on to flourish and carve their own path is one of the greatest pleasures I take from my work. Since we opened The Cinnamon Club in 2001, we have been determined to create a nursery for ideas and talent, and we truly believe in creating opportunities for those who join our family. We are so excited to welcome Santosh’s modern Nepalese concept to Cinnamon Kitchen City, and know it will be a resounding success.”