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| Crab xec xec neer dosa |
Our friend Manisha is a big fan of Fresh Catch. We made plans to go to this restaurant in Mahim but it never worked out. The owner Francis Fernandes passed away this year unfortunately & the building where the restaurant is housed has gone for redevelopment. A new branch has opened at Bandra in the same building & floor as Seefah. I am told that the kitchen staff of both have become chums.
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| With Adit Mili Fernandes beside me and Pritam facing me |
I went to Fresh Catch, Bandra, with my friend Pritam for lunch last week. Loved the crab xec xec & the sweet meat of the crab in the curry which was zestful and not high on chilli heat.
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| Prawn curry and Goan red rice |
The prawn kodi (curry) with bhenda (ladies finger) had a very homelike Goan feel which touched a familiar note thanks to our Goan friends Gia Fernandes and Erika Badami who cooked and fed us the same from their kitchens. The sol kadi had no sugar added & was refreshing and addictive.
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| Bombay Duck. More fish. Less rava please. |
I would have liked a better bite of the fish in the Bombay duck fry which was more about the semolina coating and slightly less overpowering spice in the squid chilli. I am told by its many loyalists that I had not ordered some of the most popular dishes at Fresh Catch.
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| Rather red and smoky squid chilli |
I plan to go back again for I loved the stories I got to hear from Adit Mili Fernandes who happened to be there and want to explore more of the menu. Adit is an ex ad copywriter who quit his job to join the family business after his father, Francis Fernandes, passed away. Adit told me that his sister, Ankita Francis Fernandes, had studied hospitality management in Switzerland, worked in hotels such as the Oberoi in India and in luxury hotels abroad, before joining the family biz. The two are doing their best to carry their father’s legacy ahead. Ankita heads the kitchen and knows dad’s recipes better, says Adit with a proud smile and further adds ‘you could call the food coastal food but to be honest, it is the way that the dishes are cooked in our family and not necessarily what one would call ‘authentic’.
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| Busy Bee on Fresh Catch |
I loved the stories of the late Francis, who worked as a cost controller at a luxury hotel & was obsessed with cooking fresh seafood. This obsession came from his growing up with at Karvar, very close to the sea, and with a mother who was passionate about cooking too. When Fernandes quit his job, his wife Mili who is a hair specialist in ad shoots, financed him to start the restaurant in Mahim (yay for women power). Adit says that his interest in advertising came from attending shoots with his mother as a child. He knew he would join the family business but wanted to spend some time in advertising first. Francis’ unfortunate demise hastened the process.
Francis Fernandes had apparently named the restaurant Fresh Catch as he tried to source and offer the freshest fish in the market. Adit said that they buy seafood based on what’s available in the market on a given day and what they expect to sell in a day. The Fernandes siblings rented the space in Bandra and are focusing on setting up as the Mahim space is shut for renovation. They have used their own money for this. Spending the way young folks would while setting up home. Using what they can from the old place. Buying what’s still needed through trips to chor bazar. The liquor license can wait as they have to prioritise spends, said Adit with a shrug. They have done a ‘Francis Wall’ in the Bandra restaurant as a tribute to their dad.
In other words, new biz old values!
