The vibe was electric at Samba Square over the weekend, as people came in droves to the Municipal Gardens on 18 June Road in Panjim to eat, drink, make merry and have a good time. There were visitors from all over the world who attended. For some, it was the great music provided by the three bands in the evenings. Complementing that was the culinary experience on offer. All in all, a
heady mix.
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Ashwin Philips came all the way from Kochi along with his friends to be at the Samba Square. He said, “ I love the mood, there is nothing like this in Kerala. I love the music and the facilities. This is the first time I have come here. We are leaving tomorrow. It is just fantastic.” His friend Ebin Chacko said, “ I just love music. The lead singer’s voice is just fantastic, they are singing songs that are old but his control is fantastic. I will remember his voice for a very long time. There is something similar in Kochi but this is streets ahead in terms of the vibe. ”
The food on offer was from different parts of the world. Chef Vasco Alvares who has a stall serving Mexican food and grilled pork chops Mexican style said business was decent this year even though the number of stalls had been increased to 40 and this meant business was spread around. “The Mexican pork chops sold out yesterday and I am happy with the business. A lot of the business is coming from locals. My food is not very spicy even though it had a Mexican flavour,” he said.
For Tania however, who had a stall selling vegetarian fare, business was not good. She said, “ We are doing decently when compared to the others in our vicinity. We are selling pure vegetarian fare and we have our stall here for the first time. It is a learning experience for us. We are keeping our fingers crossed.”
The food was certainly eclectic. Saurav Parashar had a stall promoting food from the north east. Business, he said, was very good. He said, “ It is very well organised and the locals are coming in large numbers. We are selling pork ribs and chorizo momos which are very popular. We first created chorizo momos in 2015 and it has certainly caught on. Our pork ribs were sold out. Business has been decent. The first day was excellent. The second day was good and on Monday we got a lot of repeat orders. We hope the final day will be a grand success.”
Seafood is a staple diet in Goa. Vardhan has an outlet selling seafood and business has been good, according to him. Mussels have been very popular, he said. He also had tikkas and a big barbeque along with finger foods like lollipops and finger fries. They were fast selling items. He has been coming to the garden for ten years and he said that this year he liked the new setup. He said, “ It is convenient for the visitors. Now they can go to the garden and sit and listen to the music. This time it is better. It is good for business. I am happy.”
Karlmark D’Silva had a foodstall serving Jamaican style Jerk Chicken, Lebanese Shish Tawook and burgers and sliders. He said, “This is the first time we participated in Samba Square and we wanted to offer different cuisines. Business was good and people are open to trying new flavours. I’m happy with the response over the three days. The music has been great and the food and music has been a crowdpullers to the event that will end the season before Lent,” said Karlmark.
