From Hummus to Heroics: a memorable trip to Goa

Terminal in a Garden, Hummus Delights, Driving Test and Football Triumphs

It was Good Friday and Rishabh, Rachayeta, and I were playing this wonderful card game called 15 when we started discussing Goa. One thing led to another and we almost booked tickets for the next morning only to check for tickets for 2 weekends later and realize we will save INR 12K if we went on April 22.

So, we booked flights to the new Manohar International Airport airport or MOPA and a hotel - The Acacia Morjim - for 4 for a mini vacation to North Goa.

Terminal in a Garden

First up, we finally got to see the beautiful Terminal 2 of the Kempegowda International Airport. Also known as the Terminal in a Garden, T2 is a tribute to the Garden City of Bengaluru. You get to walk through 10,000+ square metres of green walls, hanging gardens, and outdoor gardens built through indigenous technology.

It has already established a benchmark in sustainability with 100% usage of renewable energy across the airport and becoming the largest terminal in the world to be pre-certified with a Platinum LEED rating by USGBC (US Green Building Council) even before initiating operations.

The beautiful Terminal in a Garden

The check-in and security were a breeze as there are very few flights flying from the terminal right now. We were a tad disappointed with the food options available but with time that should be sorted out. Plus, we were flying Vistara which meant we got a good breakfast onboard. We reached Goa before time which meant we had to wait at MOPA before our rental self-drive arrived. But even that was fun as we enjoyed live singing at the arrivals. And then off we drove to The Acacia Morjim.

Day 1: Hummus Delights

The plan was to chill in the beautiful hotel pool, go to the beach, have great food and repeat. And we did that for most of the time we were there.

In fact, we started our trip with a visit to Tomato’s, a beautiful beachside bar and restaurant which was only 1.5 km away from our hotel as we were very hungry and had about 2 hours to kill before check-in. Rachayeta had already been to the one in Candolim and so we knew what to order. We ordered cold coffee, hummus with pita, aglio olio, and warm mushroom thyme, and trust me, all of them were 5-star worthy.

• The cold coffee was perfectly made - a good amount of coffee, cold milk instead of filling it up with ice, cream, and an apt quantity of sugar so that the sweetness does not overpower the coffee.

• The hummus was the highlight dish of the trip. Who knew a simple item like hummus could be so delicious that we would order it 3 times in 2 days? The addition of extra garlic to the precisely made hummus made it a treat to have with the soft, freshly baked pita bread. In fact, the hummus was so good, we even ate the vinegar-dipped carrots and beetroots with dollops of hummus.

• The warm mushroom thyme was a combination of button mushrooms, pecorino cream, togarashi dust, truffle oil, and pesto on sourdough toast, and boy, it tasted good. We cleaned up the plate before we knew it.

• Aglio Olio is usually a dish that oscillates from good to bad really quickly, but the chef at Tomato’s makes it finger-licking good. No chili flakes on top, a generous amount of olive oil, parsley, cherry tomatoes, and black olives, and served with two slices of garlic bread. You will crave more by the time you lick that last bit of olive oil off the plate.

Hummus, mushroom thyme, aglio olio and us

Next, we checked in, cooled down in the hotel pool, and attempted to walk to the nearby beach but kept hitting dead-ends as most of the entry points to the beach near our hotel were through other resorts. We then drove to the Arpora night market, which turned out to be a dud. We ended up having a surprisingly good dinner at the hotel since we didn't want to go to a nightclub with our 3-year-old impressionable kid or as Atiksh says, baby boy.

Day 2: Driving test and an icy cool finish

The second day started with a visit to the beautiful Morjim Beach. We dipped our legs in the water, got sun-kissed, and relaxed on the beach beds with some fresh pineapple juice from the beachside shack.

Sun-kissed at Morjim Beach

Next came the most interesting part of the trip. I had researched cafes and bars in Anjuna, and had decided that we will go to Eva Cafe for lunch. So, we started off and the drive was pretty smooth till we hit St. Anthony’s Chapel. The road became so narrow that only one car could pass at a time through this surprisingly 2-way lane.

The narrow 2-way lane that will test your driving skills to the max

And then began a test of my okayish driving skills. Rishabh got down and helped me navigate back and forth as two large Fortuners came from the opposite side. We somehow parked the car parallel to the gate of a hostel while the cars passed by and then a good samaritan told us to just cross the lane and go straight to the paid parking instead of going to the cafe as the lane only becomes worse. We did exactly as he said and walked the last 300m to the cafe only to find that it was almost full and we had to take off our shoes in the heat. But the aesthetics cooled me down instantly.

Bedecked in all-white, with lots of crochet, wooden furniture, deck chairs and a Greek vibe, it's an Instagram ready cafe with a decent menu if you are into sandwiches and pasta. We ordered fresh lime, cold coffee (I’m a coffee addict in case you forgot), a Rom sandwich, an egg and avocado sandwich, a sweet toast, and a pesto pasta. And then started the wait time, so long that we got the drinks, Rom sandwich and the sweet toast and yet cancelled the pasta before they could start making it.

Cold Coffee and Rom Sandwich at Eva Cafe

The fresh lime was average but the cold coffee was again great (looks like Goa is a place that can’t get cold coffee wrong). The sweet toast was basically toasted white bread with peanut butter, pieces of banana, and honey which Atiksh loved (he is more picky than us when it comes to food taste), so no complaints there.

The Rom sandwich confused us. It was more like a slider in a round baguette bread and two whole sliders. Just look at the pic below and you will understand what I mean. It was average at best according to Rachayeta and Rishabh. Then came the egg and avocado sandwich, which I had ordered for myself and it was good but again two whole sliders (why call it a sandwich) and too much for one person.

So, we got the remaining sweet toast (again too much in quantity) and one portion of egg & avocado sandwich packed and headed out. This time, Rishabh stayed out of the car and took us through the narrow lane till we hit the proper Anjuna road.

Next stop was Project Baked Coffee and Dessert Bar where we ordered two tasty slices, a mango pastry and a lotus biscoff cheesecake. It was a sweet ending to a crazy afternoon. We went back to the hotel, changed our sweaty clothes and headed back to our favorite spot, Tomato’s for some more Hummus, Aglio Olio, Mexican Flautas and a very well made Peach Whiskey Sour.

Mango pastry and Lotus Biscoff Cheesecake at Project Baked; Mexican Flautela at Tomato's

Iceman sends United to FA Cup final

We came back to the hotel with a bottle of wine and a Satiwa Hemp Crafted Gin which we decided against opening as we would not be able to finish it and would have to leave it behind. We started playing 15 again (maybe I will write a short post on how to play it) and I started watching the FA Cup semi-final between Manchester United and Brighton. The match ended 0-0 but was not at all dull. Both teams had chances with United getting better as the match went on but then Bruno came off injured and the game went to penalties eventually.

Now, Manchester United suck at penalties. David De Gea has saved only 7 penalties since he joined us in 2011. And this time was no different. He did not save a single penalty from the first 6. Then Wout Weghorst decided to do some shithousery when Solly March came to take his penalty. After sending Robert Sanchez the wrong way to keep the game alive at 6-6, Weghorst picked up the ball, kissed it and handed it to March. Whatever he did or said clearly worked as March skied his penalty and then the Iceman Victor Lindelof, who had a great game, kepts his cool and sent United to the FA Cup Final where we will have to face rivals Manchester City to stop them from winning the domestic double (they beat Arsenal 4-1 last night to take a strong step towards 3 league titles in a row. Why, Arsenal why?) or even a treble if they can beat Madrid in the semi-finals and win the Champions League on June 11 against the winners of the Derby della Madonnina with Inter Milan facing AC Milan.

But those are topics for another day. For now, I enjoyed the win, the wine and the card game and went to sleep. Next day, we just lazed around at the hotel as the staff was really lovely in extending our check out to 2pm. Then off we went to MOPA with a pit stop at a small roadside cafe just before the airport called Meraki. We had great cold coffee (again), banana shake and decent pastries - all this for a paltry sum of INR 340.

All in all the mini vacation turned out to be a perfect blend of food, adventure, and relaxation. From appreciating the delicious hummus at Tomato’s and exploring the beautiful Eva Cafe to basking in the sun at Morjim beach, the trip was a great escape. The best trips are the ones that are unplanned and impromptu and I hope that this post has inspired you to take a break and plan your own adventure.

Get in the comments and tell me about your spontaneous travel stories.

Peach Whiskey Sour at Tomato’s