Click on the pic to view slideshow While I waited at the fab multi-cuisine restaurant Trifecta of Hotel Royal Garden in Juhu, for my guest (he was held up in the Mumbai traffic), the suave and charming Samir Kochhar, the rich NRI Rajat Kapur of Bade Acche Lagte Hain on Sony TV, I decided to do some food tasting. I called for Thai Coconut Milk soup – a tangy consommé with coconut milk, Thai herbs and diced veggies or a choice of pork, chicken, shrimp or lamb – which was smooth, velvety and I felt rejuvenated to welcome my guest when he arrived. The stylish actor, whom I am so used to viewing suited and booted, looked equally dapper in jeans and a denim shirt. He jovially announced he was hungry and from then on Chef Sandy and the Trifecta team took it upon themselves to satiate a robust Punjabi appetite with delectable dishes and tempting presentations while the actor kept me in splits with his wit and humor. Having hosted the Derby, Samir knew what Trifecta meant and also concurred with the restaurant Trifecta's offer of three cuisines- oriental, Indian and continental. My Punju guest preferred the Indian which was seconded by yours truly. On Chef Sandy’s recommendation we went with Mutton Tawa Boti in which chunks of lamb preparation in chef’s special gravy was relished by Samir who felt, “It tastes good but different, exudes a south Indian flavor.” While I enjoyed the spit roasted Paneer Malai Tikka which had melt-in-the-mouth cubes of cottage cheese delicately flavored with Indian spices. This Delhi boy who came to Mumbai when he was just nineteen, with stars in his eyes, had a debut with Mohit Suri’s Zeher followed by Jannat and other movies and his recent Bollywood jaunt was Vikram Bhatt’s 3D film Dangerous Ishq. He has hosted Survivor India but for a person who kept away from daily soaps on TV for 12 long years what tempted him to take up Bade Acche Lagte Hain? “In fact I was not in Mumbai when I heard that Ekta Kapoor (producer) was looking out for me. Then I thought of giving it a try and decided to play this character of a wealthy guy who owns 11 malls in Dubai (if it were for real, what would my net worth be!)” he wonders. Samir started with modeling and was a sportsperson, more of a football guy and did not know much about cricket. So when he was asked to anchor a segment ‘Extraaa Innings T20’ for IPL by Set Max channel, he was surprised nevertheless he went with it impetuously and considers himself lucky on being accepted successfully as a sports presenter. With his baritone being the most impressive feature besides his persona, he has garnered quite a female fan following. He loves to travel, is fond of dogs, enjoys a mean ‘mirchi’ with his meals and before anyone falls for this gentleman headlong, let me tell you he is married and happily at that to Radhika, who runs an event management company. On that note we tried to concentrate on the main course of our lunch - Samir savored Kheema Pao and Mili Jhuli Sabzi prepared in ‘zatka’ style with a basket of assorted Indian breads. Subzi Pulao was rich with dry fruits and a generous smattering of veggies and Mah ki Dal in its creamy avatar went well on the palate. All this while my esteemed guest kept worrying about his workouts going to waste and also speculated on what his personal trainer would say if he were to witness this gastronomic indulgence. I had decided to pander to his sweet tooth with the yummi-li-cious desserts of Strawberry and Bailey’s mousses which were presented with a flourish - each triangular piece of the mousse sat amid arty compote in a ceramic dish and it was after a great deal of resistance that we finally managed to dig into it and how! Now that Samir’s character is packed off back to Dubai in BALH, his fans are going to miss him for sure. But, to keep away your blues, you can watch him anchoring IPL yet another time. And you never know, Samir Kochchar’s popularity may make the producers bring back his character yet again in Bade Acche Lagte Hain.