Enjoying Goan delicacies by Ervell E Menezes
FOOD, glorious food, is the chorus of most who visit this enchanted place, beginning with the hippies. Ever since the domestic tourist has matched the 'firangi' or foreign tourist to eat as much as he can. Restaurants sprang up, where originally there were only shacks, and today there are more restaurants in Goa than stars in the sky where quite often one is able to sample good food. But the secret is to find the good restaurants before they become big and bad. Also, many of them provide a variety of cuisine which means a good mix of all the masalas and Goan cuisine is often the casualty. Then there are others who mix song and dance with food. There was the Haystack in Arpora in the 1990s where Remo sang on a certain day in the week and folks came essentially to hear him. The food was secondary. Likewise, Titos in Baga-Calangute, also in North Goa, which was a six-table restaurant in the 1970s has today graduated into a huge, three-levels music place, more to be seen than to see or eat. It's the place to be in for the Mumbaikars, especially the 'page 3' folks. The latest in that line is Francisco Fanquit Martins Sweet Chillie in Candolim. Fanquit is known as the cultural king of Goa he has won numerous awards for the Republic-Day parade in New Delhi and the Carnival in Goa. But here too it is music before food, obviously. Like most restaurants in Goa they have a variety of cuisine, moghlai, Chinese and Goan. Few stick to Goan cuisine which is what quite a few visitors would like to sample. Pork is generally preferred, vinegar is used liberally. Sorpotel and vindalo are favourites. So is sea food like mussels, oyster, shell-fish (tisrio) and the like. Chicken caffreal is another popular dish which has its origin in Portuguese Africa. Florentine in Saligao may not be the cleanest place to dine in but its caffreal is a winner and costs only Rs 50 a half- plate, so many drop in and take it away in parcels. Some Mumbai parties are known to be serviced by caffreal all the way from Florentine. The capital city of Panjim is known to possess a few family-run restaurants which have been running for three and more generations. There's George Bar and Restaurant near the Panjim Church or Bar Godinho and Restaurant near National Cinema but over the years the quality has deteriorated. But you can stiff get a few good buys. So is the case with Corina's on the waterfront. Venite's a first floor place is still good. Avanti was good in the 1980s but when it shifted to the first floor the prices too shot up and the quality went down in inverse proportion. Horseshoe in the Fontainhas quarter is good but a wee bit expensive but one gets near-five-star service at a lower tariff. In all of Goa the two most popular eating places are Martin's Corner at Betalbatim in South Goa and Britto's in Calangute-Baga. It seems to have overtaken Souza-Lobo's and its next-door neighbour St Anthony's. The roast chicken is delicious and cost around Rs 60. The sea-food platter is also a big draw costing around Rs 190. Cajetan Britto who runs the place for the last two decades is now specialising in yummy-yummy pastries, so much so the newcomers know 'Brittos' mainly for its pastries. There's Starlight on the Arpora-Anjuna road known for its sea food. A rice-thali with fish costs just Rs 30. The shacks that crop up each season are supposed to be cheaper places but it doesn't work that way. Folks who get the licence pass it on to others quite alien to the restaurant business. Many of them deteriorate into rip-off joints to say nothing of their extra-curricular activities, though these can also be attributed to some well known restaurants. The full-moon and rave parties of course are a different kettle of fish, many of them run by foreigners with every succeeding government turning a Nelson's eye to them. O Coqueros in Porvorim in North Goa, where notorious criminal Charles Shobraj was nabbed in the 1980s, is not the shadow of its old self. And would you believe it when it was recently renovated they've had the gal to install a statue of the criminal Shobraj. That's a reflection of the New Goan values. Its latter-day rival casino too has come down a long . In South Goa Seagull in Betul, on the banks of the river Sal, is another popular destination. The ambience is good, especially after sunset. Elton Cairo, is a second-generation restaurateur who went to catering college. He has now realised that he must concentrate on Goan cuisine, especially sea- food. The only exception is fried rice (not Chinese food). Seagull also has rooms which are quite economical. His chicken caffreal costs Rs 65 but he gives the breast portion. Mussels and oysters are other favourites. Then there's Fernando's Nostalgia in Raia, also in South Goa, which has a distinctly Goan flavour with its proprietor being very knowledgeable on Goan cuisine and its preparations. So is Mum's Kitchen in Miramar, also very Goan. So if one knows to pick and choose or sift the wheat from the chaff or get to the good ones before they turn big and bad there's much to be enjoyed. But very soon it may become a fine art or a specialist' job. Until then, happy eating. http://www.navhindtimes.com/articles.php?Story_ID=082258 _______________________________________________ Goanet mailing list [email protected] http://lists.goanet.org/listinfo.cgi/goanet-goanet.org
