By Odette and Joe Mascarenhas
The Orange…what’s so unique about this place? Location, yes in the heart of Candolim. Ambience is bright and cheerful. Overall experience? Yes that is what I am going to let you know, a ‘unique experience’ promoted by Asheen Lobo and Joe Dias…guaranteed to keep you ‘young’ at heart.

But before you embark on this outing…you must ask yourself this question. ‘What do you want to gain out of this evening?’ Is it just food, entertainment or perhaps just a ‘chilled out’ evening? Hubby Joe realised this as he listened to what the two ‘peppy’ youngsters were sharing with him…not just food - but an experience for every day of the week.
We were warmed by the bright cheery ambience that the duo had created ably assisted by their wives Annika Lobo and Cecille Dias. Adam and Eve prancing in the garden in search for the forbidden fruit - the orange. C’mon guys, it was just a mural I was talking about not a reality show, although Joe did perk up at the thought. Waiters in Black and Orange ‘off beat’ uniforms added to the charm.
We leaf through the bar menu….you see Joe Dias…I am specifying the surname as I do not want you to get mixed up with my Joe…but with a similar mindset it seemed to my Joe. Boy am I getting fuzzy? And we had not even ordered the drinks..he had a Halle Berry listed there…Joe’s eyes began to glow with a strange orange glow…was he imagining that Bond girl arising from the sea…I give him a stern…perhaps desperate look….‘I’ll have a desperate housewife,’ he chuckles throwing me a glance of merriment. I ignore it looking firmly at Asheen who was sharing tit bits about the menu he had planned….their USP is Goan and Continental.
‘Try the Roast pigling jiree miree,’ he suggests, ‘the masalas of all our Goan food is done on the grinding stone…mum’s recipes,’ he smiles. And so we ordered the pigling and the batter fried mushrooms, no they are not battered in the kitchen, they are just batter fried. You see with this ‘Desperate Housewives’ theme playing around my head, the song ‘Mrs Robinson’ being played by the Road Trippers (they are the Monday Night trio)…my imagination was going ga-ga. Good old Mrs Robinson in the movie – ‘The Graduate’ was another ‘Desperate Housewife.’ ‘Its good,’ hubby Joe slurps beaming at me as the Road Trippers crooned ‘Baby you can light my fire’, I was ready for the appetisers to follow.
The jiree miree suckling pig was finger-licking good. ‘People come over for a ‘chilled out experience’ order some snacks with drinks and spend the evening here,’ Joe Dias comments. Aha! Now that’s the ticket - for Monday, Wednesday and Friday Nights, entertainment galore. Wednesday is Retro, while Friday is Salsa and Rock and Roll, the place is rocking nearly round the clock.
But let me come back to Asheen’s preparations. His meat ball curry in that mild green gravy is definitely a home recipe…good. And so is the beef chilly fry. Another hot favourite is the filet of fish wrapped in a banana leaf and marinated in Goan spices. Among the continental ones Spanish Bakers chicken or even the chicken breast stuffed with cheese and jalapenos.
Well the two guitarists and the person on the bongo was cooking up the tempo while Joe at the bar had packed a punch with his Halle Berry cocktail, what do you expect with a combo of pineapple, melon, green apple, peach, lime - he had every conceivable fruit juice except for the orange. But perhaps there could be a twist in the tale. Hubby Joe’s mood was getting progressively better hitting a rapid beat on the table to the accompaniment of the bongos.
But the orange did make its appearance in the desserts. Warm peaches flavoured with orange and cinnamon served with ice-cream. ‘I scream, you scream…we all scream for….’ I look at my better half expectantly. ‘Halle Berry’ was his response. I ignore him because that dessert was mind blowing and the one that followed chocolate brownie with vanilla ice-cream - two wedges of brown encompassing the white frozen milk cream like a sandwich. What a presentation.
We sat there long after the plates were cleared, no this was not a dine only type of place, it is one where you can savour an experience, perhaps form a circle with friends and sing out loud…oranges and lemon…. Or try it with the French accent…. ‘l’Orange et le lemon.’ What a lovely ‘chilled out’ experience.