The daunting drive from Basavanagudi to Sarjapur Road was always a roadblock, so
to speak, for me to try out this place. Today however, I was visiting family
who live a hop away from Fisherman’s Wharf and I jumped at the chance. Being a
Mangalorean, I face painful withdrawal symptoms when denied my seafood fix and
I can therefore tack on my name to the been-there-done-that list of coastal
cuisine restos in Bangalore .
Funnily enough, I’ve never ever tried Goan cuisine before. Oh, I know all the
wonderfully musical keywords (bebinka, recheado, sorpotel, balchao), and today
was my chance to dig in!
Ah! Finally a place in Bangalore
where you don’t have to drive a couple of u-turns to find a parking spot! The
restaurant itself is set like a traditional coastal home, all wood and brass, Mangalore
tiles and airy central courtyard. The theme is carried forward with wicker
chairs, wicker accents on the ceiling fans (!) and the nautical-looking hemp
wrap around the pillars. A gazebo seats a live band that plays Goan music very
tunefully and is a wonderful add-on to the place.
We walked in at 3pm, almost when last lunch orders were
being taken, and were promptly seated. Yay! Happy hours had just begun so we
now had a 1+1 offer on beverages, and we promptly asked for the classic
margaritas. They arrived chilled, tongue-curlingly tangy and just what the
doctor ordered for a lazy Sunday lunch.
Their menu features everything from continental to north
Indian to Chinese to Goan. For starters,
we went with a Greek salad, Goan style chilli prawn, kingfish rava fry and
squid rechead.
The Greek salad was good but pretty generic, with fresh,
sweaty feta that by itself tasted fantastic, but mixed into the salad imparted
a slightly dairy-ish flavour to the rest of the ingredients. But these guys do
know their seafood! It’s very easy to overcook fish and turn it into Goodyear,
and I was thrilled that all three starters passed the test. The portions too
were quite generous: good-sized prawns in a capsicum/onion spicy base that
tasted vaguely Chinese, a large kingfish steak with the crispy rava casing that
I’m so familiar with, and non-rubbery squid rings in the flavourful sour-spicy
rechead masala.
For mains we ordered prawn balchao and Goan fish curry with
kingfish, both accompanied by white rice. I had actually been looking forward
to eating my meal with red boiled rice that is such an intrinsic part of
coastal cuisine, and was terribly disappointed to learn that it wasn’t
available. The fish curry was a delicately flavoured dish made rich with
coconut milk and a large chunk of tender kingfish. Two thumbs up! In contrast
the prawn balchao was an explosion of flavours, it was all out war! Spice
battled the sour, sweet fought for supremacy. Never having tasted balchao
before, it was an interesting experience, but I’m not sure I’m a fan.
I am yet to taste a satisfactory tiramisu in Bangalore , and though we
ordered one for dessert, I kept my expectations low. I was right. The tiramisu
came in a glass and was a frothy, caramel-flavored whipped cream confection
that didn’t remotely resemble that famous Italian dessert. Completely
avoidable.
All in all, except for the dessert, it was a great seafood
meal, even if it did pinch the pocket a bit. This was one of those times where
I was happy to have sand in my shoes!
Meal for 4: Rs.3800 (1 salad, 3 starters, 2 mains, 1+1
margarita)
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