Goan Food in Mumbai for me was always New Martin in Colaba and City Kitchen in Fort. City Kitchen closed down long ago. Martin remains for now and I hope it does not meet the fate of so many other family-owned stand-alone eateries, where the next generation were not interested in continuing the restaurant business. In between, Goa Portuguesa came up in Mahim. But it was too affected and never caught the fancy of true Goan food lovers. I always thought Mumbai had a place for a Goan fine dining restaurant. In one of those moods, on a trip to Goa, I was so blown away by the food at Mum’s Kitchen in Panaji that I thought of chucking my job and taking its franchise for other cities. Thankfully my enthusiasm wore-off with the receding effect of the Feni. So when after an official engagement in the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC), a colleague suggested lunch at O Pedro nearby, I was tempted to agree.
O Pedro I believe has been around for some time and I was clearly late for the party. Much has already been written about its celebrity Chef Hussain Shahzad and Culinary Director Floyd Cardoz by eminent food writers for me to dwell upon at any length. So, I would dive straight into the ambience and food.
As readers of this column would know, I am generally sceptical of nouvelle and fusion food. However, on entering O Pedro, I was disarmed by the decor which was traditional enough to evoke an authentic Goan setting. The seating - in smallish tables but not too cramped - was tight enough to feel like a pub in Colva or Baga. However, that is where tradition ended and the adventure began with its share of surprises, twists and turns.
My companions went for Pedro’s G&T while I stuck to my regular IPA from the tap. The G&T turned out to be purple in colour mixed with triple sec infused blue pea flowers. I had last seen this hue in rice at a Japanese restaurant. But my co-diners thought it was excellent and refreshing with a touch of Indian spices, lime and tonic. I believe them. But I made a wrong call on the starters - ordering Sourdough Poi (Goan Bread) with Balchao and Choriz Butter which were more like flavoured mayos rather than either of the real stuff. Peering over the neighbouring table I thought - the Choriz Chilli Tacos might have been a better choice.
What sets O Pedro apart is the fact that its inspirations are not confined to the Goan Catholic Cuisine and extend to the Gaud Saraswat culinary traditions as well. This was evident especially in vegetarian mains that we ordered.
The Tender Coconut Kismur was a truly good innovation. Tender Coconut Kernels - coated with Tamarind Glaze, curry leaves and spicy dry Coconut Masala was amazing. There is a soft-shell crab variant of the same dish which I am quite sure will be similarly tantalising. Another nice find was the Panji Green Watana (White Peas) Rassa with Fennel and Mustard. The suggested pairing was with Banana Bread (Bhatura) but we preferred to stick to the traditional Red Boiled Rice and it turned out to be delectable. Clams in a Cafreal base green curry was impressive but the Prawn Balchao was too tame for my taste buds. What I would have liked to try though was the Choriz Fried Rice with Pork Belly, shrimps, roasted tongue and dirty fried eggs, also the Lamb-shank Baf-fad. But there is only that much a man can eat.
The catch in experimental cuisine I feel is in figuring out how far to stray from the original. That old number from our adolescent day movie Julie sums up it well Itna bhi door maat jao ki paas aana mushkil hain. Staying too close also runs the risk of people calling it non-authentic as I found the Prawn Balchao to be. Coincidentally I had a similar problem with Yi Jing, at the ITC Grand Maratha the other evening, which promised “evolving nuances” of classic Sichuan and Hunan Chinese cuisine. To me it tasted closer to Cantonese if not Indo-Chinese or American Chinese. There O Pedro seems to have struck the right balance between the fierce Recheado and the subtle Malvani-Konkani fare to produce a menu that is contemporary without being bohemian. And, overall it is not harsh on the pocket. We need more O Pedros for other Indian Regional cuisines - “not too paas, not too door”, neither boringly staid nor frightfully exotic.
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