By Tara Narayan

WHILE at the GMC’s geriatrics ward many months ago HOD Dr Edwin Gomes kept advising my fussily vegetarian patient (my Tambrahm hubby) to eat more eggs, “Eat four eggs, six eggs, eight eggs,” he instructed, “this will give you give you the vital nine essential amino acids (actually there are 20 I’m told but nine are essential), we need the valuable amino acids as building blocks for muscle power.”
Well, four months later we came home and hubby listened to the good doctor but limits himself to a two-egg omlet every morning for breakfast, which I make for him in half butter, half so called virgin olive oil, fine chopped onion, grated ginger, a dash of zaa’tar powder and whatever greens I have stored in my fridge…chopped parsley, spring onions, arugula lettuce; mercifully, he’s always kush with his breakfast of omlet-two slices of toast, two cups of tea.
THEN somewhere along the way I realized I was overly vegetarian too and not even eating the fish curry I love, there’s not enough protein in my eating habits either! Why shouldn’t I have a double eggs breakfast too; but with no inclination to make it at home for myself, come 11 am hunger pangs strike and I make some excuse to step out in search of a Western-styled breakfast doing eggs downtown Panaji…only to discover not many do egg breakfast package within my budget of say Rs100-Rs200 or less. Sorry, no five-star jaunts nowadays seeing how bad the times are.
But once in a way or every other day or every other two or three days or whenever I feel like it – in my forays up and down town Panaji to do bits of shopping, I stop over at either my favorite CreamChoc or Patisserie Victoria (Miramar) or Aurawell Café & Lifestyle (Caranzalem) or the closest to where I stay Padaria Prazeres (Caranzalem) to enjoy a poached egg breakfast — and then try to skip lunch at home, which is a “poushtik” kichdi-dahi-banana wafers (or crunchy but not spiced up curry leaf boondi which I prefer from Sawant Brothers down town Panaji market where Vijaybhai greets me like an old friend, all these things count) — it’s the standard combo hubby condescends to eat for lunch if you know what I mean, in my next life I never want to be responsible or accountable for any man’s meals).

BUT back to my tryst with egg breakfasts, frankly few are doing justice to it, the perfect health-conscious egg breakfast, although the egg breakfast menus offer a choice featuring eggs poached, scrambled, sunny side up, masala omlet, herbal omlet, or some other exotic way of doing eggs like “eggs benedictine” or various omlets stuffed with salami, ham, chicken, etc…prices rising from Rs120 upwards to Rs400 if it’s say egg breakfast Turkish style with oodles of chilled yogurt surrounding the perfectly poached steaming hot eggs and other perks – alongside multigrain bread or sourdough bread or croissant if you like (few make perfect buttery croissants), or at Padaria Prazeres you may ask for the olive foccacia bread with garlic cream cheese at extra cost), then read butter pats, potato mash, etc…sometimes microgreens sprinkled atop the eggs for that very delicious delicate touch.
Usually I settle for my poached eggs breakfast at CreamChoc down Campal promenade down town Panjim, the al fresco sit-out peaceful and one can rest and recreate a bit here; my egg breakfast deal is as near perfect as you can find it…two just so poached eggs, they use the tastier free range eggs, yellow yolk oozing and maybe will spill if you’re not careful while placing the poached eggs on crustily toasted multigrain bread…side helpings are of lightly vinegary mixed lettuce salad with halved cherry tomatoes, a golden potato patty, bowl of little butter cubes. You eat, enjoy. No coffee or tea. I tell Meena here they should introduce peanut butter and yes, cocoa to drink for the first is more delicious than dairy butter and the second more divine than all the fancy coffees or teas stocked (cold Vietnamese coffee as sweet as condensed milk). A glass of water is fine for me, thank you, although I don’t drink water after any meal, or just maybe a little bit to cleanse the remnants of my poached breakfast in my mouth! It’s the best Rs150 poached egg breakfast in town.

Somewhat best is also the Aurawell Cafe egg breakfast. My pair of poached eggs come with a helping of lightly cooked moong sprouts, two slices of thin sourdough bread, wee portions of salt-black pepper in some exquisite little tableware…cubed or lashings of butter. One morning I got only a single slice of toast and protested, “Hey, Savio, nobody serves only one slice, and if you forget the butter it’s not a breakfast deal, okay…” The sweet man agreed but I was politely told extra slice of toast will be Rs30 on the Rs150 breakfast. That’s not fine, I said, they’re making more than 100% profit on the breakfast, at home it would cost me only Rs50! Stupid argument, don’t tell me go home and have your breakfast then! Still, Aurewell, is a relaxed new health conscious place to catch breakfast and conversation with someone if you have a mind to. Their protein salad with moong sprout combos are very agreeable though and one may do takeaway but tell them to pack the dressing separately to mix in at the last minute before consumption at home. By all means take your own dibba if you want to avoid today’s ghastly plastics packaging everywhere. I usually keep dibba in my two-wheeler dicky while toing and froing around town. Greatest idea, don’t be lazy, help me set a eco-friendly trend! At some places they are very happy if you have your own steel dibba. By the way at Aurawell Café they have these interesting sattu combo packets at the cashier’s counter, Rs50 each, and they will mix it up and serve you but that’ll be Rs100 in the cafe…I’m happy to buy a few packets, take them home where they lie on my dining table still not served to me or anyone else. I better chuck them out now. Sattu you know is a protein packed roasted gram flour and all the working class folk stay alive on simpler versions of it in Bihar and Kolkatta…something like that! If you have a mind to check out this mildly savory I imagine sattu drink, go Aurowell Café one of these days. Most interesting café waiting to come alive!

ANOTHER place I love to drop by to get mesmerized by all the magnificently chalked up offerings of the day is Padaria Prazeres which can be pretty crowded most days, it’s a cramped small café but neatly organized and one may sit inside or outside if there’re vacant seats. Poached eggs breakfast is as perfect as you want it to be.
If you feel like it on a blue Monday morning check out the sunny-side up eggs breakfast at the fairly newly opened Patisserie Victoria (somewhat opposite Neomi’s/PNB at the Miramar beach end of Caranzalen street) – here the Rs120 poached egg breakfast comes with two slices of bread, butter, no frills. The plum cakes have arrived so you may buy a packet, decent plum cake, thickly sliced – Rs300 packet, the little chocolate profitroles are inviting but ignore. At Te Fitti where 18 June road my poached eggs came with Goan poie along with this curious chilled hard golden flower-shaped butter…impossible to spread in the poie, altogether Rs130. But easygoing place to meet up with someone. Okay, no more, I’m done with breakfasting out!
OF COURSE Panjim and Goa thrives with confectionary and bakery produce and I may look for real soft buttery croissant or an olive foccasia bread sandwich sometimes, not often though. I wish they would offer hot cocoa on their menu and my one-time friend Ambrosia Saladbaba’s peanut butter is very good…but nobody stocks it, there’s really no imagination when it comes to doing egg breakfasts down town Panjim! Somebody needs to start a real good Only Breakfasts place – serving plain and exotically dazzling egg breakfasts with substance and style.
I can do my poached egg breakfast at home but they don’t turn out too perfect, you require skill to turn out poached eggs…maybe side offerings of orange marmalade and blueberry jam with Kaizen sourdough bread (Rs250 loaf if I remember right), they’re a vegan café and don’t do eggs, but their menu lists some tantalizing salads for breakfast, soothing place with a pilates studio.
Sigh, my foodie passion indulgences don’t last long and I’ve more or less stopped looking for poached egg breakfasts now! The hubby naturally thinks I like to waste money but the truth is if I don’t step outdoor twice a day I go crazy, I prefer outdoors to indoors any day. If you know of a perfect non-five star place doing great poached egg breakfast down town Panaji, do let me know – one of these days I must check out the fabulous outdoor garden courtyard cafeteria of The Heritage Bistro (attached to the Surya Kiran Heritage Hotel down the Campal old world villas), but egg breakfasts served only before 11am; after that only sandwiches, they have an esoteric menu. Wonderful place with trees all around.
Well, egg breakfasts anyone? Remember if you have an egg breakfast at brunch time you may not feel hungry for the rest of the day till evening! Eggs are one of the best sources of natural protein amongst foods. Eggs are naturally rich in vitamin B2 (riboflavin), vitamin B12, vitamin D, selenium and iodine…also vitamin A, other B vitamins like folate, biotin, pantothenic acid, choline, minerals and trace elements including phosphorus. Go do some homework. Eggs are so versatile and may be served up so many ways.