Going out is out of the question, foodies across Goa are ordering in with gusto

While the supply chain in Goa is still affected, there is some good news as deliveries have started limping back to normal. As restaurants cautiously open doors only for home orders, there has been a rush — especially for items like pizza, which seem to have been missed the most.
Non-veg and gourmet orders go up
Those like Jigyasa from Porvorim, Pranav Haldonkar from Mapusa and

Kuheli Bhattacharya

from Dona Paula gave in to their cravings as soon as they got to know that deliveries were back. And guess what they ordered in common? Pizza! Saleem Khan from Prime Rose and Tylden D’souza from Tio Tilly’s and Uncle Tilly’s say that pizzas are their top orders. Ryan D’costa from

Rumi

in Taleigao says, “We’re getting a lot of orders for non-veg food like pork spare ribs, prawn curry, chicken wings, Thai curry bowl and so on. Most people prefer the gourmet food that they won’t get or can’t make at home.”
Smaller menu, reduced staff
Many items have been cut, considering there is limited supply of ingredients. Kapil Bharadwaj from Pizzaronne and Alibi says, “Price of ingredients has increased and buying meat has become difficult. But today, even if we don’t have an item a customer wants to order, they opt for a different dish. Earlier they would just cancel.” Navtara started deliveries from six of their outlets on March 29. Aditya Tavora from the chain tells us, “The idea is to serve maximum people with limited staff. The number of deliveries has gone up. We are serving limited items, as supply of groceries and vegetables has just started stabilising.”
However, a few restaurants have kept their menu unchanged and try to deliver as much as they can. David Pinto from Palms and Sands in

Candolim

says, “We are serving dishes from our entire menu, though it is difficult to source ingredients.” Many like David are also working with fewer staff.
Restaurants are ensuring additional safety precautions. Tylden says, “ Staff have been provided with masks; after every order is delivered they sanitise their hands. I’m there at the outlet to ensure this. Soon it’ll become a habit.” David has told his boys not to leave the premises. “No one enters my place now, and we maintain proper social distancing. Even my delivery boys wear

masks

and use sanitisers,” he adds.