A post from Goa
Setting up home, Goa food scene and Amazon finds for new home
Hello, my dear reader,
I know it’s been a LONG break from the newsletter. I thought it was not more than a few months, only to realise it was 7 months long (my last post from Kolkata in Jan 2023). Not surprised given how fast 2023 seems to be running away. With columns, other writing projects, a new home to set up, music class homework to submit, working on brand campaigns, and trying to squeeze in some time with my son during his holidays, the newsletter was the only thing that I could let go for a while to get a breather.
Today is August 1st and I thought it is a good day to start afresh with 5 months left in 2023 and 10 issues of Sattva that I can send out. Let’s pray I stick to that.
Goa home news
You might have heard from me on this if you follow me on Instagram and have seen some behind-the-scenes pics in my stories.
We bought a second home in Goa and its completion and delivery got delayed due to the pandemic. But it’s finally ours.
After a lot of internal debate to the point of mental exhaustion on whether we should outsource the decor to a specialist or just do it ourselves, we chose the latter. I can tell you now that setting up a house when you are not in that city is way too much trouble.
One might think online shopping is a breeze. This is so not true when it comes to selecting and buying furniture for your home. A time came when my eyes were bleeding images of furniture from the 50-odd websites I was scouring to score the best pieces at the best prices. We had a limited budget to work with, so it was all the more a task to find sturdy and aesthetic pieces that did not break the bank.
As someone who is madly house-proud and rather private, it has come as a shocker even to me that I’ve agreed to put our Goa home up on Airbnb when it is fully up and ready. It helps that we have a friend who is already in the Airbnb management business and is a super host who manages a few properties with rave reviews. This also means that the house needs to be stocked up with everything from a safety pin to a clothes dryer and everything in between.
I like it when it rains hard. It sounds like white noise everywhere, which is like silence but not empty.
Mark Haddon, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time
We were there for all of last week and it rained non-stop. The sound of rain was a constant in the background, like the auditory equivalent of a hug. Monsoons in Goa is a real vibe. I realise non-monsoon Goa is going to feel very pale and non-romantic in comparison to monsoon Goa.
I will be sharing with you the details of our Airbnb when it is up and ready, most likely sometime next month, both on my Instagram and here on Sattva. It is a small 8-apartment complex built in a Spanish hacienda style, located in North Goa, Assagao to be precise. We are on the ground level and every window has a green view. The house has a living-dining area, 3 bedrooms and an open kitchen + a strip of garden in which there is an open-air jacuzzi. I’ve done up the home with some Spanish-style touches in greens and blues, green for the greenery of Assagao and blue for the beaches of Goa. It’s very different from my Bengaluru home of 12 years and yet very similar because it’s all me and the aesthetics I love.
I can’t put it better than the Asian Paints ad that said “Har ghar kuch kehta hai ki andar isme kaun rehta hai”.
Our home is just that-simple, grounded and beautiful and I hope it will bring joy and calm to everyone who stays here.
Goa food scene
The fine dining scene in Goa is exploding and in my very rough estimate, much more than any city in India. All the top chefs and brands want a piece of the Goa pie and that of all the tourists who throng the state all year round. Would you believe me if I told you that at lunch hour on a Monday off-season, popular restaurants are running full?
In my last three recent trips to Goa, I’ve eaten out a fair bit as I did not have the bandwidth of cooking at home. Here’s a list of places I’ve tried and the dishes I liked there. All restaurants are located in Assagao except Hosa, which is in Siolim
Bawri - Started by Chef Amninder Sandhu who is famous for her open-fire cooking, this is a stunning space full of greenery and macrame. We went in the early days and the place was already buzzing, but the food did not have the oomph and the smokiness of wood fire or open-fire cooking. Not even the bharta. The charred paneer was not charred by a mile. The smokey cocktails we ordered had to be replaced with something else as the smoking machine wasn’t working that day. I will still try this place at a later date as I understand that niggling issues affect a restaurant when it has just started. What I liked - Yogurt kababas, Stuffed Bhavnagari chillies and in desserts, the black and white gajar halwa with nolen gur ice cream and wild honey. Bonus marks for very attentive service.
Gunpowder - This restaurant needs no introduction, which is probably why it felt like their staff were doing us a favour by letting us in on a Monday afternoon. Ya guys may be famous, but the attitude definitely needs some toning down. Decent south Indian food but the stand out for me was the mushroom pepper fry, which made me want to eat the whole dish myself without sharing it with my husband.
Jamun - This is the closest restaurant to our home (3 min walk) and I will highly recommend this place to the guests. It’s as famous and fancy as Gunpowder, but the staff are warm and hospitable. Their music playlist is entirely shazam-worthy and every single dish was spot on. We tried the dal makhani, pudina paratha, malai broccoli and tandoori mushrooms. I’m told their Jamun cocktail is a must have. I stuck to my Martini Rosso here, but I plan to try the cocktail next time.
Jackfruit Tree Cafe - The perfect neighbourhood cafe in Assagao, right next to Jamun, with a friendly owner Savio is perfect for breakfast (9.30 am onwards), lunch or early dinner (last orders at 8pm). This is probably the only cafe / restaurant in Assagao which wont burn a hole in your pocket. Freshly brewed coffee, organic eggs (if you ask for them) from the owner’s hens, nice simple salads and local dishes like xacuti are delicious. Do NOT miss the garlic poi (local Goan bread) that I’m still salivating in memory of. If you are scared of dogs, then this place is probably not for you, as they have 3-4 indies as pets that keep going around the cafe.
Hosa - Hosa means new in Kannada and this restaurant aims to do a south Indian fusion cuisine. The decor is outstanding compared to the rather casual, just thrown-together decor in most of the fancy restaurants in Goa. The plantain pepper roast served with nool parotta was repeat order worthy. Their podi appams had barely a speck of podi on them and the stew was gluggy thick and way too sweet, as was the alasande-potato curry (beans-potato curry with a dosa). Do try the kesari bath served with saffron sorbet and grilled pineapple. Oh, their cocktail menu is a like a directory (with drinks listed for the time of the day, like raagas) and their food menu a one-pager :)
Kefi - Started by a gentleman who spent all his life in Lebanon, I like the food here, but the seating could be made much more comfortable, given that they are not a cheap restaurant. Their eggs kejriwal, freshly made pita and red bell pepper soup were all delicious. The broccoli almond soup is now my husband’s favourite. The souvlaki wrap (veg) is also hearty, stuffed to the gills and tastes great cold too.
Neighbors Cafe - Their tagline is coffee by day and cocktails by night, which I think is interesting. As we went in for an early dinner, we were given the cafe menu. My son ordered their ‘smoked shroom sando’ and while it was $$$ at Rs 500 plus taxes, it was one of the best sandwiches I’ve eaten in a while, something I even tried to replicate at home today. Their sharing platter Neighbors Chips and Dips was flavourful too. My only grouse here is for the prices they charge and it’s Goa for god’s sake where anything grows into a jungle, having plastic hanging plants is unforgivable. Pardon me, I’m nit-picky like that when it comes to plants.
Mustard Cafe - Excellent Bengali food along with the usual continental fare. I’m in love with their Shorshe Bata Jhal made with veggies and their desserts are to die for. Their raw banana kababs were melt-in-mouth. I felt a sticker shock for basic vegetarian pasta dishes that were priced at nearly 500 for rather small portions, but that apart, great tasting food and good service.
Shopping list
Online shopping is no cakewalk. Of course, it saves you the time and effort of driving to multiple shops and lugging back the stuff, but finding something online that actually looks and feels like the pictures posted, is sturdy and matches your need is a big deal and that takes a lot of effort. In this case, online shopping made it possible to shop for so many items sitting in Bengaluru and getting them delivered to Goa without much hassle and nothing beats Amazon in that.
I’m sharing with you a list of some of the things we bought for our Goa home from Amazon that I am happy to recommend if you are looking for something similar. This is mostly for smaller decor items around the house, except for a two-seater sofa.
If you enjoyed this free newsletter, here are some of the ways you can support me.
❤️ Buy my books | Latest book is also available for international orders here.
❤️ Join my Instagram family
❤️ Share my newsletter with a friend
This newsletter may contain affiliate links for some products. As an Amazon affiliate, I may earn a small commission if you purchase something by clicking on my link, at no extra cost to you. It helps support the newsletter.
None of the products mentions are sponsored unless explicitly mentioned.
Welcome.to Goa, I am from Mumbai but have been living in Porvorim since past 27 years. If you need anything please know that you have a subscriber very close by. My wife is an Architect who has some projects in Assagao. She is also from Mulund. Best wishes to for your home in Goa.
Thank you for great information and Mention about mustard cafe.