Paris in the Jungle
It’s 8.30am and the first spaced-out causalities after night of intense partying in North Goa have begun their search for breakfast. They will arrive at a space bustling with activity, fragrant with the aroma of fresh-baked croissants, Italian-style coffee and the promise of good food. Baba au Rhum, poetically named after the 1835 rum-infused French dessert, caters to lovers of life and lovers of food. The cafe-restaurant, created nearly eight years ago by Dayini Feraud and Leo Michaud in the tiny, nearly-impossible-to-find village of Arpora, has transformed the space into the go-to place to eat in Goa. But that was then. This year Baba au Rhum has exploded out of its tiny rural setting into two new eateries - a cafe near Starco Junction that is a mini outlet for all the goodies. And a bigger restaurant in Anjuna, called appropriately, Baba au Rhum Jungle Bar. It is located on the back road from Baga to Anjuna, nuzzled under the trees with an amazing lush rice field view. Over the years Baba au Rhum has developed a following amongst locals and Bombay celebrities alike. They all come for the atmosphere, the music and most of all for the food. Food made with love and all the painstaking attention to detail that characterises French cuisine (their salads, for example, are made with organic lettuce, washed in filtered water for god’s sake and then spun dry, but then this is normal in France). It’s not fancy, it’s just delicious in a way that you had forgotten delicious could be. The croissants are to die for. No joke. There’s no way you’ll summon the will-power to resist the aroma of their croissants. The smell catches you off-guard, it touches you in places beyond your capacity to refuse. And the taste; Soft yet crunchy, ever so slightly sweet (but not too much) and buttery with just a touch of salt. And that’s just the beginning, the restaurant serves up easily the best burger you’re ever eaten, exquisite French quiches, delicious sandwiches on their own home-baked baguette, wonderful fresh fruit juices and omelettes of all kinds. Their cappuccinos are steamed on a vintage Italian coffee machine using organic coffee and fresh milk. Perfect for breakfast with their house fruit salad and granola muesli. And if you’re looking for dinner, they make Italian-beating pizza (that’s why the Italians love it so much) in a traditional wood-fired stone oven with flames and everything. The cafe also features a specialist in-house patissier, trained in the art of cakes and exotic French delicacies, such as cream-filled chocolate eclairs, chocolate-passionfruit tarts, fresh strawberry tarts, lemon tarts and more. The cakes have proven popular with the birthday crowd and the cafe often caters to large parties in the area with French delicacies, pizza and other made-to-order requests. While the cafe started out as just a little French bakery serving croissants and baguettes to a few tables, today it supplies fresh bread, croissants and cakes to local shops and supermarkets on a daily basis. The restaurant has received a series of glowing reviews in the Indian and international media and has been featured in the BBC Good Food Guide and CNN Travel “Got the Munchies in Goa? Where the experts eat” to name few. So if you’re a lover of good food and the good life, and you’re looking for somewhere new to eat, check out Baba au Rhum’s two new spaces. Who knows, maybe you’ll find yourself there one morning, hungry, with stars in your eyes and looking for some really good food.
