8848 - GOKARNA FOREST RESORT
“Because it’s there”
Climber George Mallory’s popular expression fits in just right when I recommend you to scale 8848 Mt. Worry not about climbing the Everest, it’s the tasteful bar and patio we are referring to situated facing the yard where the grass is always the greenest, flowers bloom the prettiest and amid a forest of Gokarna where deer dwell. Tempting already, isn’t it?
The official site of Gokarna Forest Resort will supply you with the basic information about this relaxing corner like its inviting French interior and well equipped bar serving world class beverages and summer drinks. But here, I tell you more. Here I tell you that Forest Chicken, Lamb chops and Spinach and Walnut pies (weird combinations are show stealers) are the names you have to remember if you want to order the runaway successes.
In whispers: I also have a secret to tell. The chef is not really just a chef; I think he is an artist splashing greens of basil, reds of beetroot, yellows of pumpkin and blacks of olive on the plates. He considers the work nothing inferior to graphic designing.
Chef Jibesh Pokharel has been looking after the entire kitchen of the facility for past couple of years. And it’s been a complete circle of earth around the sun since this particular bar and patio extended its services offering rainbow recipes of food and drinks. The sauces sizzle on the barbeque smoke every weekend. However, the menus keep on shuffling so dropping in often will only save you the regret of missing something.
The food dished up is continental, the flavors are authentic natural. The appearance is a spectacle and one is likely to understand more clearly what ‘eating with eyes’ really means. The anticipation of food coming to your table from the kitchen is satiated and intensified, both at once, right from the moment starters arrive.
I bet you’ll smile. First - because of the comprehension, second - because of the sight in front of you, third - you take the first bite and the counting is forgotten. After all, there are rarely some things that beat the ecstasy of good food.
“Start with the liquid first and then vegetables and then the meat” Chef Jibesh instructed when he saw one of us heading straight for the fried prawn kept aside cold tomato soup and stuffed mushroom. But since he might be in the kitchen when you visit, dip the prawn in the tepenard and munch on. That’s where all the ‘yumminess’ hides. The scooped miniature pumpkins teamed up with asparagus, lettuce, parsley, cheese and dried carrot followed by taste buds tingling Brusetta only leaves you wanting more.
That’s when the main course is appreciated with all hearts. Pasta coming together with prawn (or any other choice if you are not a seafood fan, like me) is unadulterated in savor. The next plate of Tender Loin Beef (or any other) Steak is balanced nutritionally – protein from meat, fibre from seasonal vegetables, minerals from spinach, antioxidants from tomatoes and all that our body needs. To top the desires of appetite, there is this distinct tang of onions cooked in balsamic vinegar that for once, might teleport you straight to Italy. MAMMA MIA!
Dessert! A long sigh of wistful reminiscence! See the effect?
Dessert never stays long on the papaya-cream splashed, chocolate speckled plate. Chocolate mousse, sprinkles of sugar caramelized cashew nuts, juicy fresh fruits and striking little flowers from the patch will make your inner child cry tears of joy for the perfect dessert assemble. Maybe that’s only me, never mind.
Having consumed the MSG loaded food with laden preservatives and artificial flavor almost every single day, there is nothing that denies our craving for fresh and clean bite. There is a constant seek for food prepared with precision and presented with passion, which is accurately why one should be at this bar and patio at Gokarna, aptly named 8848 MT. And also because it’s there.
(Published: ESSENCE Magazine, Year 4, Vol 5, August, 2015)
Photos Missing - Copyright issue
Photos Missing - Copyright issue
