Perth :

The WACA is undoubtedly the chief cricket destination in the major city of Western Australia. If you want to combine dining with cricket, Gogo’s Madras Curry House should be the destination. While the name reveals what the place specialises in, one has to be in to find out who some of the illustrious patrons have been.

From Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar to Aussie legends of the last few years to Viv Richards, Wasim Akram, Alastair Cook and Kumar Sangakkara all have been here. If words of praise about the experience and autographed gear gifted by players — some of them framed and on display — are something to go by, it seems all would be happy to be back again.

Proprietor Govinda Rajulu Govardhan aka Gogo was born in Tiruchy and grew up at Perambur in Chennai. After abandoning a degree in engineering, he took up hotel management. On finding the administrative and hospitality front not challenging enough, he trained to become a chef. Following stints with Sheraton in different countries, he came to Perth in 1995. Since taking over this place about four years later, he has become a household in the cricket fraternity.

After running the show across cricket centres in Australia, which included supervising catering during international fixtures for over a decade, he owns three more restaurants in Perth. “Cricket memorabilia is fine, but people come here for food. The challenge is to ensure my product is good and going by what people say, it seems we’re doing a good job,” he says.

Contrary to what the name might suggest, this is no typical Indian restaurant serving traditional fare. “This is not an Udupi joint. Notice the word ‘curry’ in the name. We’re surrounded by pubs and serve wine. So the food has to go with it,” he says. Instead of sambar-rice or rava dosa, this place is known for its lamb shank and raan. Chilli paneer, egg plant dishes and mixed poriyal with coconut are what vegetarians can sample.

While Rohit Sharma, Ravichandran Ashiwn and Umesh Yadav dropped in during the World Cup, Gogo’s memorable moment came in 2008 when Anil Kumble hosted a dinner after winning the Perth Test.

Today Gogo employs 45-50 people including Asians and Australians.

There are plans to start something in India, although things are not final. Until that happens, one has to be here to find out what attracts cricketers of different hues other than a historic ground.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cricket> News / by Atreyo Mukhopadhyay / Mar 08th, 2015