At the modified tatami circular table in the turret, ladies-who-lunch are tippling the bubbly and popping the bite-sized rock shrimp tempura.

As the mysteries of Japanese cuisine are tantalisingly revealed at the newly-opened Wasabi, Vinod Advani learns the importance of some key players

The platter of raw fish sits in front of me. Fillets of eel, tuna, scallops, fluke fish, loll lazily before my eyes. So artistically arranged, I hesitate to disturb this culinary canvas. My saibashi (chopsticks) seem to dare me. Hyosuke Yasui, Japanese Consul-General, stares at me with wry amusement. Raw fish? Surely not!

Wasabi, where the two of us are lunching, is the tony 50-seater new Japanese restaurant, above the Harbour Bar, the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower, Mumbai. Where there were no steps to heaven, a curved staircase now leads you up into tora-tora temptation.

Gossamer thin curtains brush against your skin, olive drenched walls frame windows that give a ringside overview of the hustle that bustles around the Gateway. Tables at various elevated levels are surprisingly already occupied.

Three young things, lunch break around the teppanyaki counter. India's youngest MP, recently elected, chit-chats (as all dyed-in-the wool politicos do) at the sushi counter. At the modified tatami circular table in the turret, ladies-who-lunch are tippling the bubbly and popping the bite-sized rock shrimp tempura. With eight bankers behind, expertly click-clacking chopsticks into Cha-Soba (chilled green tea noodles with chopped scallion, fresh wasabi and dashi-soy sauce for dipping), the picture of an egalitarian eaterie is complete.

The thousands of Japanese food aficionados who have suddenly mushroomed and who have already eaten at Wasabi are unanimous about two things. One. The food is outstanding. Two. The prices are over the top. With the patience of Job, maestro chef, Hemant Oberoi (who has admirably continued where Masaharu Morimoto signed off) emphasises that everything is flown in fresh from foreign climes.

Fish must be fresh, so that no fishy smell assaults your senses in Japanese cuisine. All fish, caught anywhere, is first imported into Japan, treated, cured and then exported worldwide. That's expense added.

Eating authentic wasabi (horseradish, Wasabia Japonica) at Wasabi is a nose-tingling experience. Unlike the other wasabis you may have sampled, the pulp here is ground from the plant itself and not made from store-sold powdered paste. Wasabi, like watercress, only grows in shallow waters in Japan's mountainous areas. That's expense too.

If I were you, I would think of wasabi as a delicious learning ground where the mysteries of Japanese cuisine are tantalisingly revealed. Like me, you will learn the importance of seven key players: rice vinegar (su), soy sauce (murasaki), pickled ginger (gari), horseradish (wasabi), seaweed (nori), rice (gohanmo) and fish. That long-grain Indian rice is too dry for sushi but the Japonica variety works.

That Nori (seaweed) Sushi rolls could have a choice of fillings - tuna, crab, carrot, omelette.

That its Californian version has the seaweed inside the roll and sesame seeds on the outside. That both versions are eaten with chopsticks.

That Nigiri Sushi is picked up with your thumb and middle fingers, because it's like a bruschetta.

That Shirumono, the entire category of Japanese soups, includes both clear and thick soups. That you can make Miso soup at home provided bonito fish flakes are available.

That Japanese cooking and presentation is very visual.

I thought the Black Cod Miso outstanding, as was the Chilean Sea Bass in black bean sauce.

Mr. Yasui guided me through the first raw fish platter and I am happy to report the eels behaved themselves in my tummy later. Everything available at Wasabi, except geisha girls!