Fiddling with the Taste buds- Goan Style!!

When we hear about Goa, we visualize beaches, Churches, palm trees, Goan Feni, Amazing Seafood, serene landscapes and huge amount of tourists. Though residing in mumbai, my native place is goa. Since childhood I have been exploring goa right from the developed cities to quiet and peaceful villages which are totally pollution free. Most of my trips to goa have been with my family and a couple of ones with my college friends. Every year I would explore new places and new local goan dishes. I made it a habbit to explore a new goan restaurant in each of my subsequent visits to goa. After eating continental food, Goan food from fine dine hotels, food from shacks, from city cafe's to small village restaurants my quest has grown! 

I am dedicating this blog to a few Restaurants who have helped me find the true goan flavour!

1. RiTz ClaSsic

  

Fish Thali at RiTz ClaSsic!

Panjim or Panaji is a buzzy city on the banks of Mandovi river! The road leading to the city is scenic and surrounded by water. This city has many local restos and Cafe's which are famous for proper goan food! Ritz classic, located in the first by-lane of 18th june road is a winner in every sense! The first thing you will notice when you enter the restaurant is the long waiting queue of people! Make sure you reach before 12.30pm or 8 pm,else be ready to wait for your turn. The service though is very prompt. This restaurant is famous for its cheapest fish thali which is super tasty! Fish curry, salad, one vegetable, one fried fish piece, shellfish or crab masala, kismoor(dried fish and coconut),roti and rice make the fish thali. This thali costs you a mere one hundred bucks! Alongside you can try prawns fry, dry shellfish, king-fish fry or any chicken dishes which are equally tasty. One dish that i never forget to order here is the Chanak,aka barramundi masala fry(Rechado)! Its simply out of this world!The prices are quite reasonable and the ambience isnt bad either. This is one restaurant which i never give a miss when in goa!

Barramundi Masala Fry(Rechado)

2. ThE UpPeR HoUsE!!

Another typical Goan restaurant amidst panaji city is "The Upper House". Located on Cunha rivara road near the church square, this is a popular joint for goan food and has a pub too! The decor of the restaurant is a mix of Goan and modern art. The service is quite good and the manager is helpful with the menu! The soups are very authentic, while the salads are trendy and fresh. The fish thali was the best dish which has a red fish curry, kingfish fry, a vegetable, raw mango and goan brown rice! The Quantity is enough to serve two people. Mix vegetable Xacuti and Chicken in green curry are dishes which you cant miss here. They are best eaten with Goan bread-hot and crisp!

KingFish Fry!

The pricing though is bit on a higher side but its worth it! A Meal for two will cost you 1200 bucks! This is one restaurant which I am gonna try again in my up coming visits to goa!



3. MandOvi's RiO-RiCo!

Located bang opposite the Mandovi river is the old and famous Mandovi hotel in panaji city. Rio-Rico is a authentic Goan food restaurant located inside the Mandovi hotel! The Ambience is amazing and there are two dining options. First being the air-conditioned hall with live music and a huge television screen and the second being open air dining overlooking the Mandovi river and sunset boat cruises! The service is prompt and the staff is polite. The Caldo-verde soup was good with bread sticks! Paneer tikka and Chicken Tikka were amazing! Fried prawns were well made. 
 Prawns biryani was supreme with medium sized fried prawns and good quantity of masala to accompany the saffron rice. The Pricing is moderate but its worth all your money. The live music was a delight to hear. 

Prawns Fry

Paneer tikka! 

A Pastelaria

The hotel also has a bakery shop on the ground floor which serves amazing pasteries and puff's! I recommend this restaurant for atleast one fine-dine experience!


4. TilVe's Bhojanalay

Moving on to the rural parts of goa, about 20 km's from panaji is the Ponda city. Just before the main city we come across farmagudi village where "Tilve's Bhojanalay" is located. Its a famous place and any passerby or auto-drivers would guide you there. Its not a big restaurant but a place run from home. But what matters to me is the quality of food and this place never dissappoints. The normal fish-rice plate consists of a fish curry, fried fish, chapati, 1 vegetable, salad, rice and kokam-extract. Its a wholesome dish and tastes perfect. 

Prawns Fry!

Menu-Board!!

White-Snapper fry!

You can also have prawns fry, king fish fry, lady fish fry and white-snapper fry which are local specialities. The dry shellfish dish is amazing. But the show stopper here is the "Mussels fry"!! Perfectly fried and fresh, this dish is a must try one. The pricing is quite reasonable considering the amazing food! I just cannot skip this place no matter what!!

5. QuarTerDecK

Going by the name, Quarterdeck is located on the banks of mandovi river in panaji city and covered by water on two sides! The ambience of this restaurant is amazing! You can see the river cruises and casino boats pass by while you enjoy the live music and delicious food. Evening to night is the best time to visit this place. Quarterdeck is one of the restaurants of the Mandovi group and hence the food doesnt dissappoint. This place serves food ranging from pizza's,burgers, french fries, sizzlers to Chinese, Punjabi and Goan food!

Tempting Sizzlers!

The sizzlers here are quite good and are available in different varieties! The Fish Tandoor is one dish which is must try here. You can also have Chicken Xacuti, Chicken Kafriel, Goan chilly chicken or Vindaloo Chicken which are all goan specialities! The usual chinese fried-rice goes well with the vindaloo gravy as it is quite spicy. The usual punjabi dishes are good too for a change. Do try their ice-cream at the end. The pricing is moderate and the service is quite friendly.

Chicken Vindaloo at Quarterdeck!

View of Boat Cruise and Quarterdeck Ambience!

A Road trip to Goa!!

If its Goa, it should be a road trip!! There are two ways to reach goa by road. One being the good old scenic NH-17 bombay goa highway and the other being NH-4 pune bangalore expressway. For years I have been travelling to goa by the old highway. The road is full of natural surroundings, ghat-roads and is toll free. You reach goa in around 12-13 hours if you drive at a stretch with one or two halts. But recently that road has been full of potholes and bad roads in ghat areas. So I tried the alternate route which was the NH4- Pune Bangalore expressway. Goa is around 600km from where i live,mulund,Mumbai.
We travelled by Hyundai-i10 all the way. Starting our journey at 5 am, the journey began through empty roads of mumbai, through the harbour route of airoli-vashi-navi mumbai-cbd and panvel. Soon we reached the Mumbai-pune expressway and through hazy surroundings made our way through. The road is good with minor bad patches. We halted at first food-mall for refilling petrol and sipping tea. After 2 hours we reached the end of the expressway to join the outskirts of pune. 
TOLL : Airoli -30 Rs.  Pune Expressway- 165 Rs.
The road led us to katraj and overlooking lavasa area where the road condition was bit bad. Khambatki ghat was a slow route as its a narrow road with medium traffic. The end of ghat road saw us join the new bangalore expressway. The road is a good with small bad matches in between. We halted at Hotel Ashirwad palace near the Wai-Mahabaleshwar turn for breakfast. 
TOLL : 50 rs
The road ahead was plain with many small villages and farms passing by. This road is not at all scenic and hence it gets a bit warm as you reach satara. There are many frequent petrol pumps and eateries on the way.
Speeding through satara and karad you reach kolhapur by 11.30 am. To go into the city, you have leave the expressway and join the service road. You can halt at hotel Sai international which is located just before kolhapur.
Toll- Rs 131 and Rs 60.
After kolhapur you enter karnataka state and you can immediately spot the difference in the road condition and surrounding facilities. There are latrines and drinking water facilities after every 2 kms. After half n hour from kolhapur you reach nipani where you have to go off the expressway.
Toll- Rs 30.
Reaching nipani, you will see Hotel Goa Ways on your right. Take the right turn and enter the by-lane. This road takes you to Ajra-amboli route**. This road has been newly constructed and it takes you through small villages leading to ajra. There are many small restaurants where you can halt for lunch. We however, travelled till amboli and halted at MTDC resort-Green Valley for lunch at 1.30 pm. It is located just opposite to the amboli police check post. Its a great resort for food as well as staying over night. The rates are economical as well. 

GOA Ways restaurant -Nipani

Starting at 2pm, we travelled through the amboli ghat and witnessed enchanting scenic views and monkeys on the way. The road is not great here but you can enjoy the scenary and easy through. The road led us to sawantwadi. Passing through the moti talav, we travelled ahead to join the old bombay goa highway at Banda. This is a newly constructed 4 lane road which takes us into the Goa border. 

TOLL- Rs 250 ( Goa entry tax)
The smooth road takes us through patradevi-colval into the beautiful town of Mapusa. You can turn right at Hotel Green Park to enter Mapusa town and Beach areas or continue straight to reach Panaji and Margao. The straight road leads us to porvorim and eventually passing the mandovi bridge into panaji city. The view through the mandovi bridge is a spectacle. The amazing goan stay began hereafter.

**If you dont want to go through ajra-amboli route, you can continue on the expressway after nipani to reach belgaum and thereafter reach goa through Ponda. This route is a expressway route but takes and extra hour and half.

Total toll- Approx 650 Rs.

Feel free to ask any doubts in the comments.