By Tara Narayan
NOT that I go for any more 5-star resort holidays or even 5-star buffet eating but once in a blue moon as it is said I get a chance do a once over of one or another of our 5-star buffet presentations. Looking at them still gets all flustered for the choices are everything one may think off and more, then come the dilemma of what to eat and what to pass as an exercise in disciplining the palate, not easy to do.
Most folk who do 5-star eating out frequently follow a pattern which is useful if one believes in self-restraint for larger causes like…hey, I don’t want to be sick tonight! Everything will be very beautifully laid out in sections of here are the soft beverages, salads and appetizers, then the assorted breads and soups vegetarian and non-vegetarian, the main meal dishes vegetarian and non-vegetarian, the live stations of popular chaat items (one may be happy making a meal of these alone), south Indian but now nationalized idli-vada-dosa…there’ll be an oriental section of garlic fried rice and Manchurian this or Manchurian that, also an Italian section offering pizza and pasta with lots of broccoli florets, a Lebanese section, there’re the papad, pickles…finally the desserts bonanza followed by coffee and chocolates or more beer, wine, etc. I don’t know why folk drink before and during and after meals while seeking some more!
Say a cover charge of anything from Rs2,000 plus, plus may include house selection of wine or alcohol of preference and some of them may be included in buffet price or you have to pay plus, plus extras for something you dream up.
Most of us of course do a 5-star buffet on special days like birthday or anniversary or some such celebration. Like me most of my friends skip breakfast and lunch if they’re going out for dinner and know it’s going to be a special treat to enjoy the evening with a difference…recently, I was out at an old favorite Cidade de Goa, now Taj Cidade de Goa Heritage, and was happy to be at Laranja Restaurant here to see how the lunch buffet spread included the wholesome freshly baked Goan bread poie (in halves) at the breads and salads section, along with choice cheeses, yes, a Japanese sushi selection which I really liked with the zing of green wasabi alongside…in fact, one may make a meal of sushi alone to be happy.
From the grill section came prawns, fish bites, chicken breasts…the long garlic bread rolls, the garlic naan and so on, I can’t bear the naan because they’re of pure refined flour and turn pretty leathery as they cool and one play at chewing them till the bitter end. Best of course is a crisp tandoori roti (these are of whole wheat flour I dare say) to scoop up the a divine “ma-ki-dal” (in which I squeeze in lots of lemon juice, I’m always happy when there’s a generous amount of lemon wedges to access (one nice thing about -5-star buffet spreads).
Funny or not funny, I found myself so filled up on just appetizers and salad stuff that I had to just sigh and say goodbye to the main dishes section, for dessert after a lot of looking I tried out the exquisite pista roll, no ice-creams, thank-you. Nothing to beat the gelato and sorbets of ChocoCreme near Miramar beach!
Well, I wasn’t paying the bill and I can no longer do “paisa vasool” because I learned a long time ago that it’s foolish to do that; for one only ends up guilty and sick in mind and body later on! As usual once again I really wished the 5-star buffets would offer half-price rate to those who wish to do lunch or dinner on a limited choice of soup, appetizers, one main dish with any kind of bread or roti served at table. Forget the desserts!
Never mind that I know folk who will eat little of anything with substance but make a meal of desserts alone! Goa, I think has far too many choices in sweets be it Catholic Goa or Hindu Goa or Portuguese Goa…actually, I love Portuguese Goa most when it comes to Orchata sherbet, caldin-style fish curry or bol sans rival or the little custard-filled tarts called …. (Sigh) None of the 5-star buffet meals feature these things! Unless of course one is doing an exclusive a la carte Goan meal and even then chances are the chef would be using tinned coconut milk in the caldin curry (fresh coconut milk and tinned coconut milk offer a world of difference in sublime or deadly sweet flavor).
I’VE come to the conclusion again that 5-star buffets are frustratingly impractical to do and don’t get into this “paisa vasool” kick even if I’ve skipped breakfast or lunch! I am very sorry none of the 5-star resort executive chefs ever think of offering the more wholesome range of millet roti/phulka at table…of rice/jowar/nachne/ bajra, not even light missi roti or makki di roti! If these were on offer I wouldn’t look at the tandoori wheat roti or naan or crumpled kulcha. No to assorted paratha, no to Malabar paratha, no to mesmerizing roomali roti! Okay, no more. You understand why some of my friends won’t go eating out with me!
However, this is to say once in a way it’s relaxing and entertaining to go have a dekho of one of the 5-star resorts buffet presentations in glory real, unreal and surreal. As Baba Ramdev would say it’s very, very difficult to make the shift from rajasik (kingly) to sattvik (saintly) eating…going from being a rogi to bhogi to yogi, or something like that, if you want to entertain longevity of mind and body, heart and soul.
All this is to say I wish sumptuous 5-star buffet meal deals would re-invent themselves in health-friendly and people-friendly ways and I don’t mean just wealthy people’s ways! When it comes to eating there are the eternal temptations of life between vile to sublime or sublime to vile and all the diseases we suffer from courtesy what we put in our mouth from morning to night and up to midnight so often depending on the lifestyles we live. One of my friends would say, only love, don’t judge!
Hey, I’m not judging anymore but I see a whole lot of needless suffering all around me and that is food for thought if you make the connections between what we drink and eat and how we feel, think and live to suffer from suffer from whatever we do so increasingly in our times.
WHICH reminds me to note here that any of who are pining for some wholesome savoury snacks including the best ladoo in town Panaji, you need to just drop by at the cosy Zantyes Cashew Amonkar Enterprises (next door to Mishra Pedha at Taleigao)…when Neeraj here gets a stock of halim seed ladoo (Rs250 packet) he calls me up and I go get them for I love them so; I go there for just the halim seed ladoo although there are other ladoo temptationsj. If you don’t mind me saying so ladoo must be the national sweet of India.
After all Lord Ganesh always has a couple of ladoo in his hands, boondi ladoo, most ancient of ladoo delight, except difficult to find the shudh variety nowadays even at the Tirupati Temple! However, sharing a secret, try Nitin Maganlal’s Mithai Mandir at Caranzalen circle, they do special ladoo only order and do these velvety yellow small boondi ladoo (in Amul ghee) as well as methi ladoo which I tasted recently and was utterly disarmed of all my doubts (I usually shun the ghastly orange red boondi ladoo done in hydro fats)! See what I mean, nobody loves me.
Note: You will also find all kinds of interesting tidbits at Amonkar Enterprises — including real bhajani chakli! It’s become my favorite stop over when my wallet warms up a bit1feelspocket s warm up enough to indulge!
Price of buffets at a few 5-star resorts….
At the multicuisine restaurant of Laranja at Taj Cidade de Goa Heritage…lunch buffet is Rs1,947 and dinner buffet is Rs2,950 (inclusive of 18% tax).
At the Marriott Resort at Miramar beach they don’t do a daily lunch buffet but they have a magnificent Sunday brunch priced at Rs2,800 and dinner buffets are Rs3,300 (inclusive 18% taxes) – at their Waterfront Terrace Restaurant.
At the Fortune Miramar they only do breakfast buffet going on to brunch (up to 11am) and this is priced at Rs767 (inclusive of 18% taxes).
At Taj Vivanta Panaji they don’t do a regular daily lunch buffet but have a breakfast buffet for Rs1,711 and dinner buffet only on Friday/Saturday/Sunday for Rs2,100 (all inclusive of 18% tax). Charges at all the 5-stars vary depending on with liquor or without liquor. This has to be clarified in advance if you’re doing a booking.