The Bebinca Betrayal
Three candles hovered overhead,a few more dotted our table in the courtyard at Casa Portuguesa Restaurante at O Palacio in Hauz Rani.
Goan food arrives but doesn’t quite hit the spot
Three candles hovered overhead,a few more dotted our table in the courtyard at Casa Portuguesa Restaurante at O Palacio in Hauz Rani. The vestiges of summer heat hung in the evening air,but a look at the menu — Grilled Prawns,Stuffed Pomfret,Filetes a Portuguesa,Lula Recheadas and Sarapatel — would have you longing to dig your toes in a sandy shore and to raise your face to sea breeze. We decided to go for foolproof Goan dishes: no Salada de Casa can do what a Sarapatel does.
As a Portuguese fado played somewhere in the white courtyard,we were ready to sing out our orders too. But somehow the mystique died a quick death. For when we asked for Chourico de Goa,the waitress nodded and replied,“Yes,one spicy sausage.” Maybe it is simpler to write down,but Filetes Rechados too was mercilessly turned into “a spicy fillet”. Any Goan worth his or her salt knows that Sarapatel is Sarapatel,but that order too was loudly written down as “Yes,one spicy pork sausage.” Goa retreated quickly like a summer hallucination,but there is no point being fussy when a Goan meal awaits you.
In the flickering candlelight we took in the restaurant. It has two parts — a courtyard setting and air-conditioned indoors,which would be a great option as summer picks up. Set in an old haveli,the restaurant has a cosy ambience with white-washed walls,a banyan tree,a well maintained garden and small walkways with shiny mirror-embedded steps. It is easy to ignore the rest of crowded Hauz Rani behind the bamboo shades.
The food arrived quickly and we first dug into the Goan Sausage (Rs 350) which was a delicious affair except for an extra-vinegary twang. The Sarapatel (Rs 590),a spicy pork dish made with liver and other offal,was tasty,although it lacked that waltzing taste that comes only when the meat is let to soak in the gravy for a day or two,as is done in any Goan home. The Prawn Curry (Rs 670) was the highlight of the meal,the prawns curled up like well placed commas in a long-drawn sentence that was the silky,fragrant,coconut milk gravy. The Filetes Rechados (Rs 680),however,were too lightly covered with the “rechado masala” and didn’t quite hit the spot.
The portions are not huge,although the complimentary salad is substantial. We were fussed over,the cutlery changed after each course,the crumbs dusted off the table. And as the fado singer hit the high notes,the Bebinca (or bibik as Goans like to call it) arrived. This famous layered dessert is made of flour,coconut milk and eggs in a clay oven. We were surprised to see a thin burnished sliver gleaming at us. For Rs 300,you would wish for at least one thick slice. It was delectable as Bebinca should be; we were told it was not made at Casa but flown in from Goa .
For those longing for anything Goan,this place would work,but we couldn’t escape the thought that for the price of this meal plus a little more we could have flown to a Goan shack and had sarapatel as sarapatel should be and a really good slice of Bebinca.
Meal FOR TWO: Rs 3,000
Address: E-12/70,Hauz Rani,
(Opposite DLF Place Mall,Saket)
Contact: 9582317623
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