Of Roast Chicken and Trance Music...

21st March was Nyla’s birthday and she decided to take us out for dinner to Little Vagator. I had no idea where we were going till we actually got to the place.
First we went to this amazing joint called Nine Bar. It’s a free entry, open air, party venue that apparently plays mostly only trance. (Well, at least it was playing trance when we got there on Tuesday night. And friends who had gone on a Saturday also got trance.) Situated on top of the hill overlooking the Disco Valley, Nine Bar has a very 'chilled out' ambience. Mostly foreigners here, minding their own business and appearing to have popped over just after having woken from a nap, so you might not feel comfortable if you wear your best threads. Great trance music but if you're not the type, then you could just sit down (there is sitting down space built all around the dance floor) and snack into their juicy pizzas. Didn't get a chance to try these myself, but am told they are second best after the ones made at Ingo's. (Another snippet- If you’re in Anjuna, try this place called Munchies for their pancakes.) We were at Nine Bar for less than an hour before we had to leave for dinner.

(This is the best part!) Dinner was at— and this is probably Goa's best kept secret, no more (and no, I won't kill you 'cause I told you)— Fusion. Mediterranean food and pizzas are the specialty. The name's a bit of an anticlimax, but from the moment you step into the place, it keeps getting better. The climax is the house special, their te... uh oh, hold on a sec, I'm getting ahead of myself here. Backing up a bit, to when you enter the restaurant. The place is huge and most of it is open air. Fusion is divided into two dining areas (formal and casual) and each of these is sheltered under a huge thatched roof. We chose the casual area where we got to sit on cushions on the floor. Cloth covered lamps and a low dining table completed the décor. Since its open on all sides, the breeze was, er..mind blowing! And the night sky, oh the night sky! Brilliant!
I ordered ginger lemon juice to start with and it was delicious. For the main course, we ordered pizza and roast chicken, some salads and French fries and roasted potatoes. Everything, right down to the fries (and I seriously believe you can tell how good or bad the food is going to be from the way they make their fries) was perfect in my rating. The chicken though, was only the best roast chicken I've ever tasted in my life. Crunchy on the outside, soft and delicious on the inside. It must have been marinated with some herbs ‘cause I kept finding pieces of it on the skin.

If that wasn't enough, there was the pièce de résistance—the dessert! I ordered chocolate cake with ice cream and it was absolute heaven! Not the gooey chocolate stuff, just a solid chocolate cake. If there was 1% of something lacking, then I found it when I tasted their house special tea (complimentary) which was a mint/lemon grass flavored concoction. It just hits the spot! Nothing like it to wind up a great dinner. (If I could have met the chef, I would have kidnapped him and sold him (or her) to a king.)

The entire experience was made all the more enjoyable by the head waiter Sonum. A native of Sikkim, Sonum is off to Switzerland to make cheese for three months during the off season. A very endearing chap, Sonum is the first waiter to advice me to order less. A word to the uninitiated- Fusion, like most beach area restaurants in Goa, is closed in the off-season (between May and September). The place is owned by an Isreali so it's closed on Saturdays. And the German lady who makes the pastries leaves next week, so try to make it there as soon as you can.