India, April 17 -- It started this way. I went to lunch at Manish Mehrotra's Nisaba. I had not been back since it opened officially, though I had gone for the previews and had confidently predicted that it would become Delhi's hottest restaurant. A short time later, Nisaba opened to the public and duly became the city's hottest restaurant and hardest reservation. I was relieved to have been vindicated and happy for Manish. But I did not go back.

Last week, my wife (who had been back with friends) told me that I did not know what I was missing. And so, I went with her for lunch and yes, the food had actually got even better since the previews. I posted pictures of our meal on Instagram and said that while there used to be only four Delhi ...