A pilgrimage to the new Bomras

The legendary Bomra’s reopened last week in a new venue in Anjuna. It is in a much larger space than its previous home in Candolim so I drove down from Bangalore to eat there, a pilgrimage by a devotee of Bawmra Jap.

Let me say this straight up. I loved the old Bomras and said it was one of the greatest restaurants in India. The new Bomras is better. Much better. 

We focused on the newer dishes and we were just three dishes in when our table broke into a debate on whether it was as good as Masque and Indian Accent. The idea of best is subjective, but when a restaurant is in the conversation for India’s best restaurant in its first week you know it’s something special. 

These Scotch Eggs with pork sausage and Manipuri black rice will be imitated by hundreds of chefs 

I think of the food in Bomras as Burmese inspired rather than Burmese because it is eclectic and riffs on so many different influences. Not just Burmese but Japanese, Thai, Singapore (both Chinese and Malay) and even Goan. Part of the brilliance of the restaurant is the opportunity to eat world class food, made with great produce, cooked with creativity and care and consideration, and still have a meal that is fun and playful. It’s fine dining food in a casual environment that you could eat every single day. Very few restaurants in India can pull that off (O Pedro, Americano and Comorin come to mind) and Bawmra does it with a skill that doesn’t border on genius but exemplifies it. 

The famous crispy pork salad 

We did try the crispy pork salad with pomelo and pomegranate because that’s an old favourite but almost everything else was new and everything was exceptional including a cocktail menu that now has serious game. I had a fabulous meal and I came away feeling a sense of happiness because Bawmra is one of the nicest people I know, warm and generous and kind, and it’s good to see good things happen to good people. I know how much Bawmra struggled to put this dream together, a creative genius trying to understand construction and logistics and money and launch a new restaurant in the middle of a pandemic. I wished and hoped that his dreams would come true and I went to wish him luck. But he doesn’t need luck. Because the new Bomras is spectacular and when genius meets hard work, dreams do come true. 

We ate...

Starters: 

• - Grilled Aubergine / Toasted coconut / cashewnuts / Thai basil / Crispy Garlic. Dishes like this make me wonder (only fleetingly) if I could actually turn vegetarian

• - Tiger Prawn Ceviche / Mango Ginger / Goan Lime / Cherry Tomato.
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• - Crispy pork belly / Pomelo / Pomegranate / Citrus dressing. It may sound blasphemous since this is one of the most loved dishes in the country, one I adore. But the newer dishes were even better.
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• - Black Scotch egg. This is THE dish. The one that will become an instant classic that is imitated by lesser restaurants across the country. It’s a slightly runny egg encased in a layer of black Manipuri rice with a crispy crust with pork sausage blended in the rice. Served with a tamarind chilli dip. It is worth traveling to Goa just to eat this one dish. I’ve never eaten such an imaginative and comforting version of a Scotch Egg before this.
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• - Spicy Beef Tataki. Seared beef tenderloin / Mango Ginger / Cherry Tomato. Beautifully cooked beef, a little more rare than medium, just how I love it.

• - Lemon Chilli Squid / Lemongrass / Toasted Garlic / Brown Butter. Tangy and umami in perfect balance

Mains:

• - Banana leaf wrapped fish. Sea perch with lime chilli coriander sauce

• - Kachin beef. Hand chopped beef with bone marrow and garden herbs grown on the property. I had the good fortune to have Bawmra cook this for me many years ago when he decided to cook a pure Kachin meal for me so I could eat the food from the hills his family comes from. I am so glad to see it on a restaurant menu so people can finally get to taste it.

• - Coconut rice to eat with these two dishes
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• - Smoked pork fried rice. House smoked pork / Sunny side up egg / chilli oil. The other instant classic. Like no fried rice you have ever had in your life, one that you could have every single day of your life and die a happy man!

Dessert (for this we stuck to the classic Bomras favourites)

• - Tender coconut panacotta with passion fruit coulis

• - Lemongrass and ginger Creme brûlée

I drank:

- Gin / Asian Herb and Chilli Tincture / Coconut Water 

• - White rum / dark rum / Brandy / Sundried mango / Sumac