One of the year's most anticipated openings, Vikram Vij's My Shanti restaurant is due to officially open for business on Sunday evening at Morgan's Crossing in South Surrey. It's rare to have a restaurant that draws a 'wow' before you've even opened the door, but the shimmering silver exterior that designer Marc Bricault has created certainly does that and more.
Vikram took us on a walk-through of his new space - currently a work in progress - and explained what was still to come; saris will hang from the ceiling in the dining space "to absorb sound and to give a visual treat", the imported-from-southern-India twigs that feature in the chai station and around the room will be woven across the ceiling in the bar to give an organic feel and currently en route from India, a mural of a village scene by an artist in Northern India which will hang on the main dining room wall.
This is a clearly a project that's been planned for a while and the attention to detail is impressive; the specially-designed wallpaper on the ceiling, the recycled lights which are old water jugs from Vij's "they're pretty flimsy as they are hand-made and come from India" explains Vij, "so I've been collecting them for a while." The washroom space which is meant to bring to mind an Indian railway car, with light boxes with images of India and the plan for the vast patio involves a vines, candle light and insulating all-weather curtains. Eater Photographer Tallulah was on hand to capture the scene.
· My Shanti [Official Site]
· All Previous Vikram Vij Coverage [EVAN]