Goa

Gourmet Feasts

Goan cuisine seems to be an interesting combination of Portuguese fares and Indian masalas. This is also where you get an absolutely brilliant combination of crab curry, pork sorpotel, vindaloo and xacuti. Remember that Goans are avid pork eaters, so if you’re in doubt, stick to the fish curries! And of course, you cannot miss the absolutely heavenly bebinca, Goa’s most popular sweet made of flour, coconut milk, jaggery and eggs. Similar ingredients are also used to prepare the sweet pinagre and bol-de-coc. Skip the usual butter chicken or vegetable au gratin and feast to your heart’s content on the lip-smacking cuisine of Goa, best prepared at the tiny shacks that line the length of Goa’s beaches. Since you alight at Panjim, head out to George Bar & Restaurant for sausage pao, mackerel recheado and fish curry, accompanied by chilled beer. Chicky Chocky is known for its sizzlers and pizzas and Goenchin offers the best Hakka Noodles you’d ever find! Try the prawn curry and pomfret recheado at Branco Restaurant and Bar or Barnabe Sapeco’s Hotel Sagar. Similar Goan and Portuguese cuisine can be had at Hotel Venité – their pork vindaloo, and chicken cafreal are particularly nice. For a quick snack, head to Ruchi for its range of pao bhaji, pani puri and bhelpuri. The Confeitaria at Fontainhas is one of the oldest bakeries here and beckons you to try the pinaca, doce and bebinca.

The beaches in Goa are of course lined with food stalls and shacks, which are definitely the best way to savour authentic Goan cuisine. For some of Goa’s famous pigling, duck and turkey dishes, drop into Anthony’s Indian Treasure in Arpora. True to its name, Shore Bar, in Anjuna Beach conjures up a range of fresh seafood combined with chilled beer. Try the coco-choco pancakes at Martha’s Breakfast Home and the momos at Tin Tin Tibet. Grab your share of fresh fried crabs, masala crabs and stuffed crabs at Crab Key Cuisine and try some organic stuff at the Organic Food and Massage Centre. The Bogmallo Beach has the popular Full Moon Kneipe that lets you choose from fresh lobsters and tiger prawns. D’mello’s at Coconut Creek Resort is another popular choice for Goan, Italian and continental cuisine. Baga is more known for its happening nightlife; hence it’s here that Café Mambo’s, Club Tito’s and The Cavala are located. Try some home-made breakfast goodies at Lila Café – they also serve German, Mediterranean and Swiss cuisines. An interesting experience can be had at Sai Krupa Mirabai’s Goan Village, which not only has great Goan food, but also holds Goan cooking classes twice a week!

Calangute is a particularly favourite beach and the hub of several activities. For health freaks, After Eight Restaurant serves food cooked only in olive oil. Try the pork vindaloo at Capricorn Bar & Restaurant, chicken cafreal and pork sorpotel at Gabriel’s Goan Food Restaurant and the baked muffins and croissants at Infantrian Pastelaria Restaurant. Candolim Beach houses the Oriental Royal Thai that would only be too glad to teach you Thai cooking! More Goan delights and seafood are available at Mico’s Restaurant & Bar, Anow Inn Restaurant and Calamari Beach Shack. Head out to Margao’s Longuinho’s Restaurant and Bar for Goan, Chinese and Tandoori fares. For a bite of the authentic pomfret cafreal, try Cajueiro Restaurant and Bar at Porvorim and the squid masala at O’ Coqueiro Restaurant. As interesting as its name, Bean Me Up Soya Station and Salad Bar at Vagator offers soya-bean dishes, tofu ice-cream and organic juices.