As a day of hurried sight-seeing ended; we once again approached our hotel staff for a good place to eat.
“What’s the name of the restaurant that is situated below the road level; you have to take the steps down to get there?” asks one staff aloud, unable to recall the name.
“Lazy Goose” says the other, and that’s where we head for dinner. We parked the car by the side of the main road and took the steps down to the restaurant; only to realise that there is a road leading to the restaurant from the main road and you can park your vehicle near the restaurant.
Live music was playing as we stepped in. The decor was themed on boating with the tables sporting blue – yellow table runners and a boat with yellow oars seen perched upside down on the ceiling.
Cheerful place and we started with a Green Apple Cooler and The Bikini Blast. The former was average, the fact that it was served in a less than ordinary looking glassware didn’t help either ( with a bunch of leaves dipped inside !! ) and the latter was good.
We tried the Lazy Goose Caesar salad, very nice !!
The mains we ordered included Grilled Fish Fillet – with a creamy clam sauce, Goan chorizo rice and cauliflower mash, was super good 😋; the Lazy Goose Surf & Turf – a chargrilled medallion of beef with a large prawns served with sides. The beef was a bit chewy, but the prawns were awesome and a Signature Burger of Spicy and Smokey Beef & Bacon, the kid enjoyed it !!
Loved the presentation on the plates and the food portions were generous. It was a happy ending to the day; listening to the lovely music and talking about all the historic places we covered in Goa – the grand forts, the majestic but sadly derelict churches and hearing some incredible stories.
The stories begin with the arrival of Vasco da Gama in 1497 to India. The Portuguese came looking for Christians and spices; they believed that the biblical Garden of Eden was located in the East and also remained hidden here, some ancient nation of Christians. They had a grandiose scheme of hoping to unite with the Christians of the East, combat Islam, retake Jerusalem and form a prosperous Portuguese Asian empire. Vasco da Gama arrived in the present day city of Calicut or Kozhikode in north Kerala and was summoned by the Hindu Raja called Zamorin of Calicut. The Portuguese under Vasco da Gama was not successful in establishing trade relations with the Zamorin as the Arabs held the trade monopoly and Vasco da Gama returned home.
The second Portuguese armada to India was led by Pedro Alvarez Cabral and he declared war on the Zamorin. Cabral was however welcomed at the Port of Kochi in Kerala, which lay further south and was successful in securing trade privileges from the Raja of Kochi who was a vassal to the Zamorin and resented it.
Francisco de Almeida, was the first Portuguese Viceroy in India; his residence was at Kochi. After him it was Afonso de Albuquerque the second Portuguese Viceroy in India. He conquered Goa is 1510 and Goa became the chief city of the Portuguese in India. Afonso de Albuquerque came to be known as the Caesar of the East.
More in the next post !!
Miles and smiles 