Balbirahluwalia

The man responsible, Mumbai-born chef Piyush Sahay, is as much of a surprise as his eye-catching fusion food. He is, after all, a former airline chef, albeit one who has cooked at high-end hotels and a restaurant in France. Sahay doesn???t make the Indian Food Lite served at College St. fusion restaurant Xacutti. Rather, his cooking is complexly flavoured ??? witness gorgonzola pheasant kebabs ??? yet WASP-friendly. ???My approach is bolder than Xacutti. I???m very comfortable with Indian spices,??? he says by telephone.

???I make food that the Western palate can appreciate without all the heat. Your palate needs to be clean for the next course.???

Tabla is named for the Indian hand drums syncopating the funky background music. (It???s no relation to Tabla restaurant in Manhattan). Owner Mindi Ahluwalia chose the location because ???Rosedale is a great market for fine dining.??? Let???s hope the handsomely appointed dining room, as decorated by previous short-lived tenants Rosewood, Roxborough???s and Cucina, can shake off The Curse of The Vanishing Restaurant. The mustard yellow leather chairs are practically empty on two midweek visits, which may be due to the quietness of its November opening. Or maybe diners are intimidated by the glossary required to understand many of the menu terms, foods such as chenna (cottage cheese), kewra (screw pine essence) and rabri (reduced milk). And that???s just the desserts.

Glossary or not, Tabla understands the basics. Meat is cooked to order, the service is attentive and the portions are generous; even halved, the quail entr??e would be daunting. Salad greens come alive when dressed with lime juice and yogurt. And the sauces, oh the sauces. Forget the usual sloppy Indian curries; Tabla???s vivid sauces are used sparingly, like the tamarind and coriander daubs that perk up moist but fishy salmon tandoori ($12).