Headline: A Bombay Mosaic From Around India Source: New York Times 5 May 2002 at http://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/05/travel/05TAB.html?pagewanted=2
Goa Portuguesa The state of Goa, south of Bombay, on India's Malabar coast, is a former Portuguese colony; its cuisine encompasses Portuguese dishes, such as caldo verde (vegetable soup) but is also characterized by strong flavors (fiery vindaloo is Goan) and tropical notes, such as lots of coconut. It also makes exuberant use of many New World ingredients such as cashews that first entered India through the port of Goa. This splendid Goan restaurant is about 10 miles from the heart of tourist Bombay, halfway to the airport, and our midweek dinner there on the way to our night flight made a delicious and diverting farewell to the city. There was hardly anyone in the brightly lighted dining room with a tropical theme (a second room, with bar, is entered through a passageway). But a roving guitarist in flowered shirt and straw hat, and a television set, suggested that a busier night might be a three-ring circus. We were coddled by a pleasant staff in loose shirts and sarongs. The menu (or menus, including a children's menu, a South Indian menu and a Goan menu, which we stuck to) is a long page-turner. There is also a wide choice of exotic cocktails and the same handful of Indian wines we'd met elsewhere. Goan food can be fiery, but our pomfret curry, in a rich, red coconut-based gravy, served with lots of rice, was mild and flavorful. We each had two magnificent tiger prawns, rubbed in spices, grilled and beautifully moist. The three sauces presented with them (garlic butter, a Portuguese brown sauce and a Goan masala) seemed like gilding the lily. But cashew coconut suke, in which soft strips of coconut are delicately spiced and sautéed with tomatoes and green onions, was outstanding. A moist dark jaggery cake tasted deliciously of raw sugar (jaggery), and the Goan classic sweet, bibinca, was a wonderful sticky multilayer cake made with coconut and banana. This was a restaurant to return to again and again, we decided, to savor its layers of flavor. Like the bibinca. Like Bombay itself. Prices, at 50 Indian rupees to the dollar, are for a meal for two, without drinks except where noted. With the exception of Goa Portuguesa, the restaurants are all in downtown Bombay. For additional restaurants and tips on getting around, look for an excellent guidebook, "Bombay Indian Travel Guide," by Farah Baria, a local journalist, published by Kamlesh Shah in Bombay. [List of restaurant reviewed in article:] Khyber Restaurant, 145, Mahatma Gandhi Road, Fort; (91-22) 2673227 or 2673228, fax (91-22) 2673122. Open daily for lunch and dinner. Meal for two with a bottle of Indian wine, about $55. Reservations are recommended. Trishna Restaurant and Bar, Birla Mansion, Sai Baba Marg, Kala Ghoda, Fort; (91-22) 2614991 or 2703213. Lunch and dinner served daily. Meal for two with a bottle of Indian wine about $60. Reservations recommended. Samrat, Prem Court, J. Tata Road, Churchgate; (91-22) 2820022 or 2820942, fax (91-22) 2825811. Lunch and dinner served daily. Meal for two, $7. Reservations recommended, especially on weekends. Britannia and Company Restaurant, Wakefield House, 11 Sprott Road, 16, Ballar Estate (Pier); (91-22) 2615264. Open for lunch, snacks and drinks Monday through Saturday 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., but lunch only 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. Closed Sunday. No reservations or credit cards. Meal for two about $4.50. Goa Portuguesa, Kataria Road (Shivaji Park), near Hinduja Hospital and opposite post office, Mahin; (91-22) 4440202 or 4440707. Lunch and dinner. Meal for two with a bottle of Indian wine, about $46. Reservations are recommended. ===================================== Don’t forget – you saw it on GoaNet! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-W-E-B---S-I-T-E-=-=-= To Subscribe/Unsubscribe from GoaNet | http://www.goacom.com/goanet =================================================================== For (un)subscribing or for help, Contact: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Dont want so many e=mails? Join GoaNet-Digest instead ! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Help support non-commercial projects in Goa by advertizing!! * * * * Your ad here !!
