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Tag: Food Review

Prime Rose- Loving the foodie avatar of this neighbourhood bar!

Posted on by Aditi Malhotra

Old-Time Memories

Prime Rose, Sangolda, was one of the first restro-bar that I visited in Goa when I finally moved in from Delhi. It has been a friend’s favourite joint to hang out for late-night drinks and I remember visiting this place with him directly after landing at the airport, making it our first night as residents of Goa. Since it was late, we didn’t have much of a choice and what I remember this place was basically for drinks and some finger food. Strangely after that, I did not get a chance to visit Prime Rose until recently.

MORE THAN JUST GOAN FOOD- THAT’S SPICE GOA FOR YOU!

The New Avatar of Prime Rose

My same friend had been pushing me to visit this place, and this time around not for drinks but for food and food is something I never associated Prime Rose with. But since my friend compelled and told me about their upping the food quotient, I went ahead for a dinner with family to Prime Rose.

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And to say the least, I was pleasantly surprised, not only the food was really delicious, but also the presentation of food has improved 1000 times. It’s no longer just a bar and finger food place, it’s a restaurant that is in line with any of the food-focused restaurants in Goa. And I saw the change, this time around the place was buzzing with foodies who appreciate good food and drinks and not just a hangout zone for late-night drinkers.

Since Prime Rose has primarily been rated as a bar, their cocktails are definitely a strong point and their in-house bartender has enough to offer and keep you in high spirits. Ask for the bartender’s special take on LIT and I am sure you will ask for more, but a word of caution there, don’t go overboard with this one.

Black Thunder and Bloody Mary
Bartender’s Special with Chicken Overdose

UNCLE TILLY’S- MY NEIGHBOURHOOD PIZZA PLACE!

Food

Coming to food, the place has a good variety on the menu and there is something to suit every taste bud. Focusing on comfort food, Prime Rose surely has added its own touch to regular dishes and even the presentation of food is commendable.

The Chicken Overdose, for instance, was a perfect starter where the regular fried chicken was given some personal twist by the chef and presented with an amazing dip to go along. It became an instant hit with everyone in the family.

TORO TORO, BAGA- EXPERIENCING A TROPICAL CAFE BAR!

A simple dish like Loaded Chicken Nachos was also something that left our taste buds lingering.

Chicken Nachos

Pineapple Polenta with Shrimps was simply one of the best dishes of the evening, I loved the subtle flavours of the prawns balanced with the sweet and sour pineapple.

Pineapple Polenta with Shrimps

Spicy Pesto Grilled Chicken should definitely be given a try. Marinated with green apple and basil, this grilled chicken with its juicy flavours is a perfect match to anything you pick up from the bar, even if it means a simple juice.

MONSOON MAGIC AT ANTARES!

Beef Tenderloin served with an orange vodka sauce, polenta and a serving of rice is something that you will not forget for a long time. The combination of stir-fried beef and orange sauce was just amazing.

You can also go in for Pizzas and Burgers, the Grilled Chicken Pizza and BBQ Beef Burger make for a perfect kind of main course to satiate a big hunger or easily shared between 2 people as the portion size is quite good.

Grilled Chicken Pizza

12 MOST INSTAGRAMMABLE RESTAURANTS IN NORTH GOA

So this time around, visit Prime Rose purely for its food and consider good drinks as a default and I am sure you will love this new avatar of the place.

My edited version of this review was also published in the Herald Cafe

About The Restaurant

Phone number

+91 7741028959

Cuisines

Fast Food, Goan, Finger Food, Italian

Average Cost 

₹700 for two people (approx.) Exclusive of applicable taxes and charges, if any, ₹50  for a pint of beer (approx.) Cash only

Address 

19, Barros Wado, Chugam Road, Sangolda, Penha de Franca, Goa

More Than Just Goan Food- That’s Spice Goa For You!

Posted on by Aditi Malhotra

Spice Goa is one of the names that pops up the moment someone mentions Goan food and more especially the famous Fish Thali, but trust me when I say there is much more to Spice Goa than just the scrumptious Goan food.

Monsoon Magic At Antares!

Posted on by Aditi Malhotra

Monsoons in Goa are something that you can only feel and experience, words can never justify the beauty of it or even the not so beautiful part for those who don’t like rains. Both ways, it has to be literally experienced to know what Goa monsoons really are.

#CoastalPlates At Mahe Call For All Your Attention!

Posted on by Aditi Malhotra

There have been many occasions when I feel that along with a passion, and partial profession, blogging is also a blessing. As a blogger, many a times I have attend events, which are beyond the reach of common people, I have witnessed screening of movies and shows before their worldwide releases, I have eaten at places before they have opened doors for public, and at all such times I feel very privileged, lucky and blessed to do so.

Lunch Scenes By The Sea At Toy Beach Club, Goa

Posted on by Aditi Malhotra

Lunch Scenes by the sea are always so exciting for me and Toy Beach Club had been sitting on my list from the time it opened its doors and finally, I was able to make it there for a lunch date with my sonny boy.

‘Miya Ji Ki Rasoi’ Awadhi Food Festival At Goa Marriott Resort & Spa

Posted on by Aditi Malhotra

Awadhi cuisine is native to the land of Nawabs, Lucknow and is highly influenced by the Mughal style of cooking. The bawarchis of Awadh somewhat invented the dum style of cooking or the art of cooking over a slow fire especially when it came to the meat. Their spreads consisted of elaborate dishes such as kebabs, kormas, biryanis, nahari-kulchas, zarda, sheermal, rumali rotis, and warqi parathas. The richness of Awadh cuisine lies not only in the variety of cuisine but also in the ingredients used like mutton, paneer, and rich spices, which include cardamom and saffron.

But when you get to gorge on this culturally rich cuisine in Goa, it’s simply wonderful. You don’t have to travel miles to get the taste of Lucknow, as Goa Marriott Resort and Spa has an ongoing food festival called Miya Ji Ki Rasoi curated by guest chef Asif Quereshi who has specially flown in from Lucknow. In fact, not just the chef has come from Lucknow to host this food festival, but he has also brought in some ingredients from Lucknow in order to replicate the exact tastes and maintain the authenticity of the cuisine.

The elaborate spread has the infamous galauti kebabs, haleem, nihari, dum biryani and other dishes bringing in the best of Awadh into Goa. And go crazy tasting the various chutneys and pickles that are made with the local Awadhi ingredients and go so well with the starters and main course dishes.

Chef has taken a lot of effort in building the menu keeping both non-veg and veg options in mind and thus the vegetarians can actually enjoy this Awadhi feast as much, contrary to the popular belief that Awadhi food is only for non-vegetarians.

My personal recommendations include
Galauti Kebabs– these were delish! For those who have been to Lucknow and tasted the famous Tunday Kebabs, oh boy, these tasted just the same. They were so so tender that they simply melted in my mouth. And a great insight was shared by the chef, that all the meat was cooked for hours in order to become very tender and soft, all because the Nawabs did not want to put any efforts in eating. They wanted easy to eat food that didn’t take much strength to even chew!
Haldi Mitch Ki Tawa Machhi-This too made for one of my favorite dish of the evening. It was very flavourful and delicious.
Ananas Ke Tikke- a great option for vegetarians, although the paneer tikka was good too, these chunks of pineapple marinated in tandoori masala and roasted, were truly amazing. The sweetness of pineapple was so perfectly balanced by the spiciness of tandoori masala.
Haleem- can’t really describe in words, but it was amazing. Top the haleem with some fried onions, lemon juice, green chilies and coriander leaves and savor it with some sheermal and you will taste the heaven!

Finish the meal with sweets like Imarti, Shahi Tukda, and Zarda and enjoy a wholesome foodie experience.

The festival is on from 13th May to 26th May, 7PM-11PM, so make the most of it and do savour some great food and drinks. Share your expienece with me in comments and do let me know what other places would you like me to visit.

Bikes, Good Food, Great View and More At Enfield Garage Cafe!

Posted on by Aditi Malhotra

In one word if I have to describe this place, it would be AWESOME! Enfield Bikes, Good Food, and A Great View, what more can you ask for, still if you want more, Enfield Garage Cafe organizes regular events to keep you amused. The Sunday Stories especially is a very popular weekly event that happens at Garage Cafe.

To Experience Scrumptious Bohra Cuisine, Dig Into ‘Thaal’, Goa

Posted on by Aditi Malhotra

Bohra Muslims, who are said to have migrated originally from Yemen to Gujarat, are firm believers in the maxim: “The family that eats together, stays together.” The entire Bohra family dines out of one platter called the thaal and it typically accommodates 4-8 people. Each dish is placed in the centre of the thaal and every member pulls his or her share. Bohras have a no-wastage policy. Not a single grain of rice is left on the plate when it is taken away.
To promote this thought and keep the tradition alive, Rumana came up with the idea of ‘Thaal’ as she too believes in community eating and bonding over food.

Habanero- A Tex-Mex Culinary Experience

Posted on by Aditi Malhotra

The moment someone says Mexican, I imagine cowboy hats, a raw appeal, some Guns and Roses type music and Nachos! So it was about time we explored this Tex-Mex Restaurant & Brewery in our very own Goa, and hence Habanero happened. Living up to its name, Habanero, which means North America, looked every bit Mexican. I especially loved the vibrancy of the place, the bold colors of lamps and those big Mexican hats adorning the tables. It has a picnic table kind bench seating, which gives it a very appealing look overall. You feel as if you have entered a happy zone and this seating enhances the experience. They usually have live performances quite often and there is a decent size stage where it happens. Unfortunately for us, it was only instrumental music, but anyway the place seemed lively enough. As we settled down, the first thing we did was to pick up those hats and of course, pose and get some pictures clicked 🙂

 

The lady manager at the Restaurant was a very warm person and came forward to both welcome us and then also suggest the must-haves. So going mainly by her choice we ordered:

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Starters

Macho Nachos, Chicken

Fully loaded with chicken, tomatoes, beans, jalapenos, olives, melted cheese, sour cream and guacamole, these were simply the best. Rated amongst their signature dishes, I would say it does full justice to it. I have eaten loaded nachos at a lot of places, but topping it with sour cream and guacamole was an add-on that I had just at this place.

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Sesame Shrimp Lime Tostada

Lightly grilled shrimps, cooked with a sesame lime sauce on a bed of lettuce leaves and salsa on a crispy tortilla, it made for an interesting dish. Totally worth indulging.

[easy-image-collage id=9839]

Chipotle Chicken Skewers

I totally loved these, grilled chicken chunks in sweet and spicy chipotle sauce. The first bite may feel more on the sweeter side, but as you eat, you feel the chipotle spices doing the work. I quite enjoyed this sweet and spicy combination.

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Drinks

Bloody Mary

Pineapple Mojito

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Beer Sampler

There were 3 beers served as a part of the sampler, IPA, Lager and Mango Wheat, of all three I liked Lager the best. IPA was ok, but the Mango Wheat did not leave me with any mango flavor.

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Main Course

We were so full with the starters, that main course almost confused us. We glanced through the entire menu, shifting choices between Burgers, Tacos, Mexican Rice Bowl and Pork Ribs. All of them seemed appetizing enough to order, but we weren’t sure if we would be able to finish. Hence after a lot of deliberation, we settled for a Mexican Thali. Yes, even Mexican menu has a thali, though reading the word thali with Mexican food, didn’t quite gel well for me, but it made me all the more curious to see what was it all about and how was it served.

Well to be honest, when I saw the thali, I was disappointed. I understand that thali concept basically means getting to try a little bit of everything and we are normally used to seeing traditional thali’s in many cuisines, but with Mexican, all I expected was at least a different presentation. A typical steel thali with compartments didn’t do justice to this cuisine. I was quite put off with that, the food did not look appealing at all presented that way, neither did it look Mexican. It’s my heartfelt suggestion to the management, that even though the concept is great, it would be better it items are presented in some other manner, more like a combo than a thali. Taste wise the food was very Mexican and alright, but the presentation kind of ended the game for me, as far as the main course was concerned.

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Desserts

Fried Ice Cream

This was nicely done, but the outer covering does have a scope of improvement, it should be slightly thinner, the quoting was too thick.

[easy-image-collage id=9846]

Tres Leches Cake

This definitely was a very soothing experience, both of the eyes and the mouth. It looked beautiful and tasted equally good. Again a small suggestion here would be to not sprinkle too much of cinnamon powder on the cake, as it takes away the subtle taste of buttercream cake dipped in milk.

[easy-image-collage id=9847]

Overall the experience was not very great but wasn’t bad either, it was good, and I can surely give another chance to the place because I enjoyed the starters and my drinks.

 

Habanero Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Artjuna- A Prefect Combination of Food & Lifestyle Place!

Posted on by Aditi Malhotra

Normally, we don’t think of a lifestyle shop and food together, for most of us they are two different things and we have to go separately for eating and shopping, but If I tell you about Artjuna, it offers more than just food, its a perfect place to shop apparels, fashion accessories and even furniture, yes you read that right, Artjuna has all this and a lot more to offers its visitors.

Right from the entrance, the warm vibes engulf you, the place has such a colorful and vibrant feel to it that one can simply spend hours chilling there. I am sure once you step in, you make up your mind right then, that you don’t want to leave soon. It’s a place that holds your attention and keeps it intact until you leave and even after that. For me, Artjuna has been a wholesome experience. The Bohemian fashion apparel, accessories, and furniture is something that Moshes and his wife Anastasia, two passionate people who own the place, have collected over the years. Their love for art and classy things is evident in their collection. If you really take a closer look at the items on display, they give you a feel of a very personalized collection, it’s not that they have just picked up anything and everything to fill up the place, but its a very selective and tastefully placed collection.

An old Portuguese house that has been converted into this lifestyle shop and restaurant also houses a decent sized library for book lovers and also a place for yoga and recreation.

 

Coming to food, Artjuna takes great pride in not just saying but maintaining high-quality standards in all their food items. They strictly use fresh farm produce, seasonal vegetables, extra virgin olive oil, imported tahini and wild honey to prepare healthy meals. They serve Meditteranean, Israeli and Lebanese cuisines. This garden ambiance adds to the overall appeal of fresh serves and healthy food. Every juice that you order at Artjuna, is prepared right after you order, nothing is pre-prepared and kept and hence the freshness is always guaranteed.

I began my culinary experience by ordering a Watermelon Salad with Feta, as it has been one of my all-time favorite dishes and Artjuna totally lived up to my expectations. The best part was the Feta, it was perfectly balanced and not over salty as most of the places serve. To go along, I settled for the Energiser, a combination of beetroot, carrot, orange, ginger and some cinnamon which gave the kick to this fresh juice.

Followed this up with a Mazzet Plate, served with Pita Bread, this platter had a perfect selection of Meditteranean flavors, with a smooth tahini, greek kalamata olives, olive pate, feta cheese and mixed vegetable pickle. It makes for a really delightful dish and is surely a must try.

Baba Ganoush was another dish that I tried, flame roasted eggplants, creamed into a thick paste with tahini, and seasoned with lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil, this makes for a flavourful dip to enjoy with pita and I loved it. The creaminess was almost mouth melting.

A chocolate fondant cake with vanilla ice cream and a chocolate eclair is what made for the amazing desserts. The cake was so soft and fresh, that the quality of the products used was once again brought to notice.

The place has its own charm and I insist on a visit at least once, the second time you would not require any conviction from my end :). The food, the ambiance, the warm people, the lifestyle shop, the books and a couple of dogs and cats will give you more than you need to enjoy a day out. Trust me on this one, not that you shouldn’t trust me on others ;), but do give it a try, it will be worth your while.

As far as I am concerned, I enjoyed myself thoroughly and look forward to visit the place soon again. Let me know what you think about it, have you visited it yet, or is it on your list now?

Artjuna Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

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Goa, India