Entrées and encores

How many great meals can a determined diner fit into a single fortnight? Here are the highlights from Bengaluru, Bangkok, Copenhagen, Bilbao, Dubai and beyond

- VIR SANGHVI

I am used to doing annual round ups of the best meals I have eaten. This time, I am going to squeeze the time frame slightly. These are the best meals I have eaten, not in one year but in a single fortnight.

Massimo Bottura in Bengaluru.

Bottura is often called the world's best chef. His Osteria Francesca restaurant in Modena has been number one on the list of the World's 50 Best restaurants more than once and it has held three Michelin stars for years.

Fortunately for us, Massimo loves India. So, for the last four years Culinary Culture (full disclosure: I am Chairman) has brought him to Mumbai, Delhi and now Bengaluru. He sold out two dinners at the Leela in Bengaluru, but the meal he enjoyed the most himself was the benne dosa at Vidyarthi Bhavan!

Gaggan Anand, Bangkok.

Gaggan's flagship is a 14-cover counter open for only eight services a week. Each meal is a performance as either Gaggan or his head chefs take you through the menu.

What's different now is that Gaggan divides the menu into four phases: Indian, Japanese, Thai and a mix of everything. In a just world, he would get three Michelin stars.

Maison Dali, Dubai.