The beauty of Goan cuisine

Over the years, Goa has attracted a number of foreign chefs and adventurers, people who always dreamed of running a restaurant in paradise. Some of these ventures have failed, and with the restaurant industry having the highest mortality rate [90% of the restaurants close down in the first year], it is a risky proposition.

The only upside being the level of investments in many of these restaurants is far less than would be the case in Mumbai or Delhi. Where expenditure has been made, like in the case of Fiesta or Oh Reverie, two highly rated restaurants, their prices reflect this. Otherwise, Goa, particularly in that rather depressing Calangute belt, has these succession of mediocre restaurants catering to the Manchester Plumbers, Russians and generally the charter flight brigade.  These are not restaurants I propose to either visit or deal with. 

One of my favourite restaurants which I have written about in the past is Sublime. It lives up to its name, and it is run by the highly talented Salim Christopher, the son of the late Jalal Agha and Valerie. It has shifted from Anjuna to Arpora in the garden of an old Portuguese villa. Unlike many restaurants it is open for lunch.

I started with a delicious clam chowder and proceeded with a succulent breast of duck which was glazed with maple and ginger with mashed potato, French beans and crisply onion rings. The menu has changed a bit, but the old favourites including some excellent steaks remain. There is a sesame coated tuna starter which is of high quality. It is not particularly vegetarian friendly and sometimes the service can be offhand. But Salim’s presence in the kitchen ensures that standards are maintained. 

For French cooking, La Plage remains unsurpassed. The trio who founded the Le Restaurant have now closed it down, and concentrated their energies on what was a beach hangout. However, the setting of La Plage is quite exceptional. It is on Aswem Beach near Morjim, and the menu, albeit limited, is excellent. 

It ranges from prawns tempura, bisques, and a variety of innovative dishes, including a deep fried gorgonzola with a green apple dressing. I love it for breakfast, particularly the scrambled eggs which are light, fluffy as befits something made in a Baine Marie, that is the process of placing the eggs in a receptacle which is in turn placed in boiling water. I was slightly disappointed with my scrambled eggs this trip as they were relatively dry.

There is also Bomras, one of Goa’s truly outstanding restaurants. Bomras has taken the constituents of Burmese cooking and by a process of alchemy transformed it into a modern, light and innovative cuisine. 

Rahul Jacob of the Financial Times has described it as the best Burmese restaurant in the world, and I think he has a point. There have been a few concessions to popular tastes recently, the highly evolved tea leaf salad has been taken off the menu. But compared to the current favourite amongst food writers, the Republic of Noodles, it is streets ahead. Who recommends something as mediocre as that I cannot imagine, but it figures in all the guides as a serious restaurant.