D. DOMINIC, the suave and affable general manager of Manjarun Hotel, is the face of the Taj in Mangalore. He presides over the modest but comfortable hotel that stands on the edge of the Old Port Road and overlooks the Netravati River that flows through the city. The hotel, which gets its name from Goddess Manjarun of Mangalore, was an ITC Limited property until 1993. Then Taj took it over on a 30-year lease and brought in its experts in management and F&B. Dominic is one of them. Chef Mallikarjun M.C. is another.

The hotel is a 40-minute drive from Mangalore Airport by a road that rises and falls and twists its way through some picturesque coffee and cashew countryside. By and by, it enters Mangalore city and a short while later it rushes down towards the old seaport where Manjarun Hotel is located. Since Mangalore has not developed as a leisure destination, the occupancy of the hotel is driven by corporate projects coming up in the city, and you are not likely to be ever turned away for want of a room. Of rooms, the Manjarun Hotel has 101 standard and five suites. Dominic says that since this is a business hotel, there is no specific peak season for occupancy. "Eighty per cent of the clientele is corporate, a lot of petroleum companies are coming up in Mangalore, and there are the headquarters of several banks here as well. Plus, parents who come to get admissions for their children to the six medical colleges of Manipal nearby also stay here."

A sizeable amount of the other 20 per cent of clientele is made up by pilgrims who take up the Hotel Manjarun's package to visit Udupi and Kolur to worship Goddess Mookambika, and Dharamsthala which is 80 km away and is famous for its Jain temples and statue of Lord Mahavir. "Mangalore is also developing as an IT town after Bangalore," says Dominic. "Bangalore is overcrowded and land is cheaper here. Infosys and Wipro have come in already. More IT companies are on the way. Commuting between Bangalore and Mangalore is easy. We are connected by flights and trains. And there are at least 60 super-luxury buses that make the run at night. It takes just seven hours."

The hotel strongly recommends the sights around Mangalore and is happy to make arrangements for visitors to see them. However, these are few and include the Aloysius Chapel, the Gokarnantha Temple and the Panambur Beach. In fair weather, a boat ride on the Netravati River can also be organised. But it is far more exciting to take a stroll down Old Port Road and visit the fishing harbour nearby. Local trawlers come and dock here with their catch of the day every morning. The main port was shifted to the Mangalore Port Trust area 27 years ago and all that remains of it now here are faded memories and ghostly cries of ships' fog-horns in the distance.

Now for the food! Hotel Manjarun has two restaurants and a bar, they are called Galley (a multi-cuisine restaurant), Le Bistro (the coffee shop) and High Tide respectively. I will not attempt to describe these outlets to you, but straightaway introduce Chef Mallikarjun M. C., the genius of Hotel Manjarun's kitchen. He is a simple and shy man with an amazing repertoire of Mangalorean food. At his Galley restaurant, Chef Mallikarjun offers the local cuisine on a lunch and dinner buffet. And he also serves it a la carte and by special order. Make his acquaintance in the hotel after you have made Dominic's, and your stay at Hotel Manjarun will be happy, I can assure you.

The mainstay of Mangalorean cooking is of course the fish. "Everybody eats fish daily," says the beaming chef. There is the local speciality, Kane, and also mackerel, seer, sardine and shark. Chef Mallikarjun recommends the gassi preparation for fish, Mangalore's special gravy. It is a thick coconut gravy, for which, coriander seeds, whole red chillies, cumin, mustard and peppercorns are dry roasted then ground into a fine paste with onions and garlic. The fish is cooked in a little coconut oil which has been given a tadka of onion, fenugreek seeds and curry leaves. The masala is added and the fish is sauted in it for sometime. Then the coconut milk is introduced to give it the volume of gravy. "Otherwise go in for rawa-fried and masala-fried fish with little curry and chilli," the chef says helpfully.

There is a lot of country chicken consumed in Mangalore and the Hotel Manjarun, which gets its poultry from local farmers, makes an exciting Mangalorean chicken curry. Alternatively, there is the chicken sukkha, roast and stew. The sukkha is the South Kanara Bunt preparation with dry coconut, the stew is Moplah, again a coconut curry, but watery thin, and the roast is Christian. Chef Mallikarjun does all. Don't ask him for mutton, there is little of it consumed in Manga-lore, though if put to the test he can produce a Mutton Pepper Fry and a Konkan Condapur Mutton Stew that the Muslim population in Manga- lore would die for, he says. I think it is best to give Dominic and Chef Mallikarjun eight hours' notice if you want a multi-course Manga-lorean meal, and then leave your taste-buds in their hands. I did, and for that itself I would travel to Hotel Manjarun again.

Manjarun Hotel
Old Port Road, Mangalore 575 001.
Tel: (0824) 420420.
Fax: (0824) 420585
E-mail:
[email protected]