Venue: Goa Niwas,Chanakyapuri
Date: 05 March, 2015
Goan food in Delhi is not as popular as some other state cuisines (Rajasthani, Punjabi or South Indian).
Chanakyapuri is home to various state houses and one Sunday afternoon we chose to go offbeat by trying Goan food at Viva O’ Viva, the restaurant at Goa Niwas.

Viva O’ Viva emitts boho-chic vibes and was decorated with motley items such as colored fish, old ceramic jars, a wood cross, a Christmas tree and two Foosball tables.

It is a medium sized hall at the ground floor of this Portuguese style building. No Goa experience is complete without Mario Miranda cartoons and here these were used as laminated table mats.

The menu was hand written on a board and placed at the center of the hall.

We ordered a fresh lime, sea food pulao and coconut pancakes. Seafood pulao took about half an hour to come. Given the decent helping of sea food in the pulao, it was above average, but salty and lacked oomph.  The pancakes had sweet coconut stuffing and were doused with honey.  This was quite similar to the Bengali sweet wrap Patishapta.

We thought that a milk based dessert would be a nice combination with pancakes and we ordered ice cream with strawberries.  They were out of this and recommended fruit cream instead. The fruit cream was just that – a combination of some fruit slices in sweetened cream.

Though the place is reasonable on pocket, it is somewhat more expensive than the canteens in other state houses.

The meal was simple but apt for a summer lunch. Goan music playing in the background completed our experience.