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The Sushi Bento at Naniyori

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We’ve got some great stuff in this issue. We did our first ever quiz, where you can gauge your competency as a Colombar. If you feel inadequate after that, we’ve hooked you up with a guide to 24 hours in Colombo to impress your visiting friends! We’ve also done lots of chill travels around the island, from Batti to Koggala Lake to Little Adam’s Peak. There’s going to be plenty more coming up as we go exploring during the April holidays, so check the site yamu.lk for more.

With the Ides of March around the corner, just remember that any salad is a Caesar Salad if you stab it enough.

kinita

EDITORIALIndi Samarajiva

Bhagya GoonewardhaneAisha Nazim

Imaad MajeedShifani ReffaiKinita Shenoy

ADVERTISINGDinesh Hirdaramani

779 776 445 / ads@yamu.lk

CONTACT11 454 4230 (9 AM - 5 PM)

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Flagship Store# 19 , First Floor, Auditor General’s Department Building

Arcade Independance SquareColombo 07

0112 675670

KIITO Bespoke & Workshop# 27, Rosmead PlaceColombo 07 0112 690740

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Manchester Metropolitan University, UK

BY BHAGYA

The Scarlet Room is Colombo Courtyard’s Italian restaurant. Their all-red theme may not ap-peal to some, but we found the food to be surprisingly afford-able. Execution was a mixed bag, with a few dishes missing the mark and others doing quite well.

THE FOODThe Scarlet Room has been around since Colombo Court-yard’s inception, but it never quite sparked the public’s inter-est, perhaps because it’s only open for dinner. Their menu is predominantly Italian with a few fusion dishes as well. With Co-lombo Courtyard being a bou-tique hotel, no one would blame you for expecting the prices to be steep. The thing is, most of

their dishes with the exception of a few mains are quite reason-ably priced between Rs. 800 and Rs. 1500.

We started out by splitting a Sea-food Salad (Rs. 750) which was actually quite a hefty portion. This was a mix of lettuce, cu-cumber, green apple, calamari, shrimp and scallops (which are quite a rarity here in Colombo). Both the veggies and the sea-food were very fresh, with the apple adding a bit of acidity, but most impressive of all was the fact that the scallops were cooked perfectly. All in all, con-sidering the portion size and all the seafood that was in it, this is a pretty good deal. Buuut, it did need quite a bit of salt to really bring out the flavor of the sea-food.The first of our mains was the

Risotto Paella (Rs. 950), which sounded quite interesting on pa-per. Scarlet Room being an Ital-ian restaurant, we were looking for a risotto with the flavour of a Spanish paella. The prepara-tion and texture of the rice is the most important factor of a risot-to and this one came across as a tad bit undercooked, just shy of that perfect al dente texture. The flavour, however, was mostly on point with the flavour of the sea-food coming through well, along with the light crunch from the peas. They had opted to go with chicken bockwurst with this one, which was fine, though we would have much preferred chorizo - or at least a pork sausage.

For an Italian restaurant, the Scarlet Room offers surpris-ingly few pork options, so we ended up going choosing the

scarlet room32, Alfred House Avenue, Colombo 03 | 11 4645333

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grilled pork chop with green ap-ple and balsamic sauce (Rs. 1200). This one is actually not really an Italian preparation at all, but for what it’s worth the pork chop was cooked perfectly with the sauce adding both sweet-ness and acidity. The presenta-tion, however, could definitely use work, and restaurants really need to stop cutting veggies with zigzag cutters (or whatever the tool is called). Using this just makes the veggies look incred-ibly unappealing, and shows a lack of attention to detail.

The Tiramisu (Rs. 650), while not the most authentic, was still pretty satisfying. This was more of a cross between tiramisu and cake with multiple layers. While classic tiramisu is made us-ing ladyfingers (the biscuit, not okra) and mascarpone, this one

had what tasted like sponge and cream cheese (though we aren’t too sure about the latter). In any case, the flavour of the coffee was quite distinct and the substi-tutes got the job done in terms of texture.

AMBIENCE & SERVICEAs the name implies, the Scarlet Room has a red theme running across the restaurant. But be-sides the walls, the rest is pretty standard with white table cloths, comfy cane chairs, and some artsy black-framed photos. The restaurant itself quite dimly lit, which works well with the red walls, but if you’re not a fan of the red theme in general, this probably isn’t the place for you. The one thing that tends to ruin the dining experience is the fact that customers from both Cloud Cafe and Loft come down to SR

to use the washroom, which can get pretty annoying if you came for a private meal.

We didn’t run into any issues as far as service was concerned, though only two other tables were occupied on the night we dropped in. All of our dishes were prepared in under fifteen minutes and the waiters were friendly, attentive and just pleas-ant to interact with.

CONCLUSIONThe Scarlet Room isn’t really the most authentic Italian restaurant in the city, but it makes for a has-sle free, semi-fine dining experi-ence. Considering that the total tab for a salad, two mains and two desserts came in at under Rs. 4500, we think it’s a pretty good deal.

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BY BHAGYA

Arabian Knights, along with the likes of Hazari’s, has long been one of Colombo’s Middle Eastern staples. It’s tough be-ing an Arabic restaurant here, but AK has held strong and we’ve become progressively bigger fans over the years.

THE FOODIf you’ve been following our re-views of Arabian Knights, you’d see that we weren’t exactly blown away when we first re-viewed their (at the time) new restaurant in Colpetty, though we loved their former branch on Marine Drive. That being said, over the past two years they’ve been constantly im-proving and have become one of our go-to delivery options. Middle Eastern restaurants in

Colombo have had some un-fortunately short stints, but AK has managed to anchor it-self quite well. Their prices are comparable to that of Hazari’s, which is to say that it’s fairly reasonable considering the portion sizes so managing un-der Rs. 1200 is easily possible.

We started with the Vegetable Soup (Rs. 410) which was ba-sically the most boring option on the menu (blame Kinita for picking it). I was actually ex-pecting a light soup, but we were pleasantly surprised by what we got. This soup was super thick, close to a curry in terms of consistency and with a bunch of veges like car-rots, potatoes, tomatoes and onions roughly chopped and thrown in. It was also packed with spices which gave it a

very distinct flavour, with a undertone of what tasted like aniseed.The Cheese Sambosek (Rs. 660) is a sort of melted cheese-filled patty. If you’re into gooey cheese-filled food, this will be right up your alley. It’s a pretty straightforward dish, though the patty itself was a bit on the sweet side, which we found a bit odd. This comes with a garlic mayo dip which really enhances the flavour along with their light spicy and sweet tomato sauce.

So the Hummus with Pine Nuts and Meat (Rs. 480) is technically a cold starter, but in reality it’s a main since it’s so filling. This, along with the beef fatteh at Hazari’s are probably my two favourite

arabian knights379, Galle Road, Kollupitiya, Colombo 03 | 112 301032

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hummus dishes in Colombo. The crunch of pine nuts off-set the smooth and creamy texture of hummus brilliantly, while also adding that earthy flavour. I’ve had this around three times now, and the beef has been on point every single time. They also add a bit of sumac to the hummus which adds a very light tartness, all of it coming together beauti-fully.

The Chicken Tagine with Rice (Rs. 640) is probably one of their more modest rice op-tions. The rice is more or less just steamed basmati with a sprinkling of sumac on top. This dish is all about the chick-en, and while it didn’t blow our socks off, it was still flavour-some.

The chicken tagine had a lot going on with carrots, capsi-cums, onions and tomatoes. While those did add variety to the dish, we felt that there just wasn’t enough chicken in there which was a bummer since it was actually cooked well.

AMBIENCE & SERVICEThe restaurant’s got a slightly weird orange-yellow theme with blue cushioned furniture, along with hanging metallic ceiling lamps, which make for a rather incongruous look. This would usually bother me, but it oddly wasn’t the case here. It’s certainly not main-stream.

The service at AK has general-ly been very solid, and except for a few minor lapses, they

were pretty good this time as well. We dropped in for lunch during a time they were hav-ing a discount going, but few of the waiters were actually aware of it. Our second waiter was a lot more prepared and knew the menu by heart, so we didn’t have issues there onwards. It was a pretty busy lunch service so our food took around fifteen minutes to get to the table, which was fine.

CONCLUSIONArabian Knights have ironed out a lot of the kinks, and man-aged to maintain a good level of consistency over the past two years. The food is quite authentic and affordable with some real winners like their shawarma platter and hum-mus, which make for great de-livery options.

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BY AISHASri Lanka is home to some pretty amazing food, be it rice and curry, kottu, or anything else sweet or packed with spices. While we have things that are uniquely Sri Lankan as a whole, we also have a few dishes which are kind of exclusive to each ethnic community within the country — and I say ‘exclusive’, because that’s what each community is known and loved for. For example Christmas, when Catholics break out the Christmas Cake, or Eid that brings about hot pots of biryani and watalappam. You get the idea - that’s how you know who to approach when each festive season rolls around.

KAVILIAvurudu, nuff said. Deep fried delicacies like kevum, kokis, and aasmi are seasonal favourites, especially among the non-Sinhala community. Yes, kokis is something we got from one of our colonial ancestors, but it’s so built in to our culture today that it’s a big part of local celebrations.

THE SINHALESE

AMBUL THIYALBest made with thalapath or tuna, ambul thiyal was originally a method of prepara-tion to preserve fish. It’s intensely flavourful, with a ton of spices thrown in and the fish is slow cooked for a while. It’s apparently best prepped in a clay pot.

PONGALMade traditionally on Pongal (as the name sug-gests), this includes predominantly a variety of pulses and rice. It’s also sweet, with jaggery and raisins in the mixture, and texture-wise is almost comparable to kiribath. Temples make vats full of this, so if you wander into one during Thai Pongal, you’d be able to get a portion or two.

THE TAMILS

DOSAIOther popular favourites are dosais, especially masala, and ghee dosais. We’re rather biased towards the ghee dosai at this joint in Fort, because of how crisp, aromatic, and perfectly flavoursome it is. Combined with chutney and sambar, the ghee dosai makes for a light and filling meal. The best part is that you can get it at any time of the year.

Sr i Lankan Culinary Communities12

NASI GORENGContributions into the food scene include what our local foodcourts make a mess of — the Ma-lay dish, Nasi Goreng — and meatier items like satays and beef rendang. That beef rendang is something, tbh. You can get it at Sentosa, or the Good Market.

BREUDHERThis baked little goody. We’re not sure of homebakers who specialize in Breudher, but we’ve seen it at Perera and Sons during fes-tive seasons.

BIRIYANIThe Moors have biryani. Despite also being an Indian dish, this is insanely popular especially during Muslim weddings and festivals in the country. It’s popular with beef and/or mutton, but chicken’s a decent substitute too.

THE MUSLIMS

LAMPRAISLamprais and wine, with wines more specifically focused on milk wine and king coconut wine. Lamprais is like biryani’s brother in terms of rice popularity; we’ve even had a grand lamprais taste-off which you can read about (tl;dr: best over the counter lamprais is at Fab and the DBU). I just realized that I’ve never actually had homemade lamprais despite having Burgher friends (I’m looking at you, Crystal).

THE BURGHERS

There are plenty of things which are common to all Sri Lankans, regardless of which community they’re from — like rice and curry, haal-masso, pol sambol, but there are also dishes which are special to each ethnic community on our little island. If you haven’t had any of these while living here, it’s high time you befriend someone who could bring a dish over, come Vesak, Pongal, Eid, or Christmas. Happy eating!

Sr i Lankan Culinary Communities13

BY AISHA

Little Adam’s Peak in Ella is best experienced at day break. What’s even better is one of the second-ary viewing points a little way off, but more on that later.

Getting there from Colombo can be quite a trip in itself. If you’re taking buses, you’ll have to take about two or three to get there in the first place. Or you can get the Superline coach to Badulla, and then tuk or bus it to Ella.

We caught the Nightmail from Fort and reached there at about 6AM, so we recommend you spend the night somewhere close to the Ella Junction (you can check out the Grand Ella Motel), and then proceed to reach Little Adam’s at around 4.30 AM.

THE NIGHTMAILLeaving Fort at 8PM and reaching Ella at 6 AM, get ready for a very bumpy ride in the middle of the night. Tickets are Rs. 600 for sec-ond class. While it’s still supreme-ly rickety, it isn’t half bad.

Despite missing out on the roll-ing expanse of beautiful land-scape along the way during the day, there’s an implicit beauty in the sights (or lack of thereof) of nature as it’s bathed in shadows and silhouettes in the middle of the night. You’d get a lone human cutting through all this - the dark-ness is in some places suddenly sliced by a beam of yellow light as you see a nocturnal motorcyclist make his way through the desert-ed country roads which some-times runs parallel to the track.

The nightmail itself is also rickety

- you bounce, sway, and are rolled around (reminding you of the baila ‘piti halapan noney / piti ko-tapan noney’ as you end up feel-ing like the aforementioned piti in a sieve) as the carriages them-selves bounces, sway, and flies through the night. It’s somewhat exhilarating not having seatbelts in such a roller coaster of a ride. It’s also rather quaint - the sheer age of the carriages, absolute lack of renovation and refurbishment, the chipped, grimy plywood walls, injected with doors with rusty hinges. Fat cockroaches crawl at the junction where the walls and floor meets, so take care of your bags because they can creep in. Sorry we don’t have pictures,we were all rather tuckered out.

THE TREKFrom the Ella Junction (which is a short walk from the Ella Motel), it’s

little adam’s peak Off Namunukula Road, Ella

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2kms to the 98 Acres resort, from where you can access the track which will eventually lead you to the peak. Ask around the junc-tion and find a tuk beforehand, so you’re all set for the morning. You’ll be ambling about in the dark so carry a torch each.

It’s freezing out there, especially when you’re whipping around in a three wheeler at high speeds, so dress warmly! And travel light, unless you want your back to be dead numb by the end of the day.

The hike makes your blood pound, but it doesn’t really stop your teeth from chattering.

The walk up is quite spectacular. Whenever the road diverged and we weren’t sure which direction to head off into, we took whichever path seemed to lead upwards. And whichever path led to the left, for some reason. This worked for us and we were granted some beautiful pre-dawn sights.

We didn’t go straight to Little Adam’s when we reached the top, opting to turn left instead. Little Adam’s Peak is onto your right once you reach the end of the trail, but there’s a secondary al-most non-existent trail to the left which leads you to another peak

which is simply stunning. Mostly because there aren’t any people there, whereas there are a few early tourists at the former.

At some point, you’ll need to ma-neuver around on all fours, but the view at the end is worth it.

It’s secluded, with whipping winds, and a view that stretches all the way to the Ravana Falls and beyond. There’s a flat little rock/ sitting area that’s barely just enough for three people. Plus

you’re covered by tall wild grass all around as well; so complete isolation from people for several wonderful hours if you’re looking for that.

The walk back to Little Adam’s Peak takes a little over 15-20 min-utes, and is rather anticlimatic with the tourists milling about and all that, especially after its

companion peak a little way off.

You still do get stunning views though.

FIN.And that marks the end of the trek to Little Adam’s. Other things to see in the area are Ravana’s Cave and Ravana’s Falls, both which are historic sites and, rather pre-dictably, tourist attractions as well.

Ravana’s Cave is 2kms away from here, whereas the falls are another 2kms away from the cave if you’re interested. You can hop into a Wellawaya-bound bus from the Ella Junction to reach either.

If you’re getting back to Colombo, the train station is also just a hop away from the junction, or else you can get the Superline from

Badulla later that night.

Hint: the Superline (at Rs. 800) is a lot more comfortable if you want to get some shut-eye on your way back :)

Tip: This needn’t be told, but please don’t litter. Also, go before daybreak.

so you think you know

colombo?

Colombars young and old like to say that they know this city like the back of their hand, but how well do you truly know your city? Take this quiz to find out.

1. The Galle Face Hotel was founded in:

1864 1886 1860 1866 2. The World Trade Centre in Fort is located in:

Ward Square Echelon Square Dutch Hospital Square Armoury Square 3. Sri Lanka played its first Test match at which Colombo cricket ground?

SSC R. Premadasa Stadium CCC P Sara Oval 4. The planned height of the Colombo Lotus Tower is:

320m 350m 250m 370m 5. What was the earlier name for Dharmapala Mawatha?

Town Hall Ave Queens Rd Turret Rd Park Ave 6. The National Museum was founded by which British Governor?

William Gregory Arthur Havelock Edward Barnes Henry George Ward 7. Deepaduttaramaya Temple is located in:

Grandpass Modara Borella Kotahena 8. Pettah is:

Colombo 10 Colombo 1 Colombo 2 Colombo 11 9. The type of war memorial near the Public Library is known as a:

Cenotaph Crypt Gravestone Pillar

1. 1864 2. Echelon Square 3. P Sara Oval 4. 350 metres 5. Turret Road 6. William Henry Gregory 7. Kotahena 8. Colombo 11 9. Cenotaph16

For an island with an abundance of fresh fish, we have surprisingly few Japanese restaurants (less than 15). With most of them coming to around Rs. 2000 per head, it’s just not affordable or viable to have regularly. There are a few exceptions though, and the Special Bento by Naniyori at Rs. 920 has been one of our long time favourites.

So what sets the Special Bento apart from the oth-er bentos around town? A great balance of qual-ity and quantity. This bad boy comes with twelve maki sushi (kappa maki and tekka maki), five nigiri (salmon and tuna), kaisen don (sashimi rice) and pickled veges along with a few add-ons like a small sago pudding and green tea.

We like to start with the maki to sort of get the taste buds going. Kappa actually refers to a water-dwell-ing creature in Japanese mythology that loves eating cucumber (that’s where Harry Potter got it from). The kappa maki here was refreshing, good to have in between the fishy tekka maki and before switching to the kaisen don or nigiri. The rice in the maki was cooked well, with the nori adding a slight crunch and the wasabi giving it that bit of kick at the end.

However, the highlight of the bento is the nigiri.

Just to compare, a single salmon or tuna nigiri usually sells for around Rs. 200, and the special bento comes with five! We almost always get this delivered, yet the seafood has mostly been fresh. They use slightly fatty cuts of tuna, which adds just a bit of richness, further complementing the flavour of the sushi rice. These nigiri are usually milder in terms of wasabi, which is fine since the bento comes with extra wasabi if you prefer to amp it up. The construction, while not perfect, is much better than you’d expect considering the price of the sushi.

We’ve had this many times, and the consisten-cy does tend to vary a bit at times, but we’ve al-ways been happy with what we’ve gotten. It’s not the most refined sushi you’ll find in Colombo, but they’ve shown good technique and attention to de-tail that would usually cost a lot more. The best part is that this is also available for delivery, so they’ve basically got all the bases covered. You should definitely order in advance though, because it takes about an hour to an hour and a half to reach.

Read our review of them on yamu.lk or call them on 112807380.

naniyori’s special bento box

We usually review places, but in this new YAMU Loves feature we’ll highlight some of our favor-ite food around the city. BY BHAGYA

YAMUloves

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BY AISHA

Hulftsdorp wielded some pleasant gastronomic experiences the last time we dropped by. Given that we weren’t able to sample everything down the street, we decided to give it another go and check out what the comments in our last Aluthkadey arti-cle recommended. This time around, we visited Mr. Biriyani, which is appar-ently popular around the hood.

FOOD & SERVICEThe main items on the menu were biriyani, and also a couple of burgers, fried chicken, and hotdogs. Prices are super reasonable, with nearly every-thing in the range of Rs. 300, includ-ing KFC-styled chicken. In addition to our biriyani, we tried getting a plate of that as well, but were repeatedly told that it’d take a lot of time because the kitchen was busy getting a large order together. However, they said the quicker dishes (ie, biriyani) could

be had.

Our chicken biriyani (Rs. 320) came with all the usual add-ons which are wont to accompany the dish — a raita, some spicy, well flavoured chilli paste, and fragrant rice. In addition to all this, we got some chicken and an egg as well. Needless to say, it was an abso-lute steal for the price. I loved that they actually used basmati, and that the spices were incorporated so well into it, giving it an authentic North-Indian touch. The chicken wasn’t outstand-ing, being regular fried chicken. The dish came piping hot though, and the meal in itself was very pleasant.

AMBIENCE & SERVICEBelting out biriyanis within ten or fif-teen minutes, the service is fast and the staff behind the counter polite and capable, despite being slightly surprised at seeing a couple of girls walk in alone at night. He told us that though they had the stuff we

wanted, it’d take way longer than usual because the kitchen staff were busy with other, more larger orders. I’m assuming this doesn’t happen all the time, and that they’ll be happy to go make you some chicken at any other time. There are two or three ta-bles inside the tiny space, and though it looks rather run down, it wasn’t unclean or gross. Meaning that we could basically eat in there without worrying too much about hygiene. There aren’t any sinks or washrooms, so you get a large jug of water and an empty bowl to wash into instead.

CONCLUSIONGood biriyani for great prices. It’s nice eaten hot-hot, but if you want nicer en-virons, you could get take out. Parking could be difficult because that road’s jam-packed with tuktuks and motor-cycles. Also, they only have aerated drinks (coke, sprite etc) for thirst, and table water. We’d recommend giving it a try!

mr. biriyani82A, Abdul Hameed Street, Colombo 12

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BY AISHA

Set atop Grand Gourmet, Sentosa Cafe is perched right next to Stam-ford Bar and completes this tril-ogy that combines weird bar scenes, French fine dining, and Singapo-rean cuisine. We know this sounds strange, but that’s just what it is; three different restaurants/ a bar under the same compact building, run by the same management.

Despite this, the food at Sentosa is unexpectedly good, they even have a Malaysian chef. (Yes, for a Singa-porean restaurant, half the dishes were Indonesian and Malaysian. As Imaad pointed out, they’re more Pan-Asian than purely Singaporean).

THE FOODFor starters, we went for an Nyonya Mango Salad (Rs. 450) which was hands down one of the best salads

we’ve had.

A bit like achcharu if I’m to compare it to anything we’re familiar with, this had thinly sliced raw mangoes mixed with other thinly sliced and commonly found greens, includ-ing karapincha. Throw in a bit of dried and fried sprats, plenty of lime squeezed in, mix it up nicely and you’re done. We were both surprised at how well this was executed given that most salads we’ve come across here are boring affairs. Add to that, everything was super fresh, so that was pretty amazing as well.

For mains, we went for the Laksa Noodles (Rs. 760) and the Malay-sian Beef Rendang (Rs. 880), both which were generous portions large enough to bring the left overs back to office. With rice noodles swimming in a bowl of spiced and fragrant co-conut milk, I was surprised at how

well the chicken, tofu, and shrimps blended well together. The taste of lemon grass could have been stronger, but we still enjoyed the dish. The spices came out nicely, so we recommend this. However, if you’re expecting the typical rice noodles which usually accompanies a Laksa, you won’t get that because the noo-dle here is a bit denser.

Their beef rendang comes with a bowl of steaming rice, and enough beef to feed about three hungry adults.

Whilst this definitely packed in fla-vour and punch which we don’t get in most of our local beef dishes, the meat itself didn’t fall apart too easily and was of a much chewier texture than what slow-cooked beef should ideally be. The best rendang we’ve had to date is at this stall at the Good Market.

sentosa caFe39A, Horton Place, Colombo 07 | 112 689111

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Moving onto dessert, we tried their Mango Mousse with Coconut Hon-ey (Rs. 490), which was fabulous. They’ve somehow managed to get an authentic karuthakolomban fla-vour going on, and the tartness of the mango flavour went really well with the sweetened cream.

SERVICE & AMBIENCEService is super friendly, and the steward we got went beyond his

duty to find out how the mousse was made (because I was curious), and to introduce their new chef to us.Ambience-wise, the dining area is a splash of reds and oranges, and fin-like motifs on the walls. There’s also some purple going on; the col-our scheme is rather confusing and garish.

It’s spacious (or it seemed so be-cause we were literally the only din-ers there), and could perhaps seat

about 25 people comfortably. One really weird factor is that this is a fam-ily restaurant, but it opens up into the bar next door. As in, when one of our friends vis-ited the bar earlier in the month they heard kids running around and having fun at

Sentosa, and had a random kid (or two) wander into the bar as well. So we’re not sure how the ambience is at night.

CONCLUSIONSentosa’s got some really decent food, and their chef seems to be do-ing a good job. When speaking to us, he mentioned that the restaurant had a few complaints regarding the food when they started up, but that was when they had local chefs mak-ing a mess of the food. So he’s come down from Indonesia and is cur-rently revamping the menu and train-ing the local chefs on how to make authentic Singaporean/ Indonesian/ Malaysian cuisine. From what we sampled, they’ve got their food game going strong.

Tip: Try the mango salad. We were also told that their beef salad is good.

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BY KINITA

The temperature was in its early 30s, the sky was this Gatorade blue, and the road was a tiny strip of uneven gravel. What we really needed was a shower and an iced drink, what we got was Tri.

DESIGN & AMBIENCEBravely shying away from Lanka’s usual affinity for beach resorts, Tri is perched on a natural hill by the Koggala Lake. If you’re automati-cally turned off by the idea of a hotel down south not featuring the Laccadive Sea, have a little faith. With stark nautiladae patterns, a sparkling infinity pool, and clean cement lines, the eco-resort is a testament to sleek design and chic style. It’s also supposed to be completely sustainable, but more on that later.

We were just there for a quick lunch and slow drink, so didn’t get to experience the rooms or the in-vitingly azure pool. Stay tuned for our accommodation review, which should be up in the next couple of months. We’re pysched to try out their yoga shala and water tower.

SERVICEWe entered through the parking lot, and saw what appears to be the entrance to a maze almost reminiscent of the stelai of Berlin’s Holocaust Memorial. We milled about until a friendly waiter res-cued us and ushered us upstairs. It was all smooth sailing from there. The waitstaff was efficient, settling us at the spot with argu-ably the best view, the lounge/re-ception area overlooking the vast Koggala Lake.

The only slight glitch came up as

we ordered a bottle of the house white, a Las Moras Viognier (Rs. 5150), which wasn’t available. We asked for something along those lines and they offered us a crisp Riesling at the same price, which we were more than happy to set-tle for.

The food took about 35 minutes to come, which we neither noticed or minded as we had our wine and view to keep us company.

THE FOODThe food predominantly reflects local flavours, while catering to Western palates. The menu is also pretty limited for lunch, which I per-sonally prefer because it generally means the chef and kitchen staff have carefully curated and perfect-ed what they’ve put on offer. We were informed that dinners feature a 6 course menu usually showcas-

tri lankaAladuwa Watte, Pelassa, Thitthagalle, Ahangama | 777 708177

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ing the day’s catch from the lake.

We attempted a Tuna Burger (Rs. 1700), which had a fresh, lightly spiced tuna patty topped with a crispy quail egg and accented with wasabi sauce, beetroot, bilimbi, and hathawariya. It came served with triple cooked chips, which had that perfect crispy on the outside/fluffy on the inside action going on. Despite all the interesting flavour additions, the star of this was the fresh tuna itself (apparently locally sourced yellowfin).

We also tried the Short Eat Platter (Rs. 1150), a little selection of lo-cal snack time heroes like prawn vadey, curried potato patty, kottu roti, fish roll, and pork cutlet (from Galle’s Labuduwa Farm). If you’re Sri Lankan, you may have already exclaimed “ammatasiri” and rolled your eyes at the pricing, but this

platter is really just meant for tour-ists to get a feel of local cuisine without having to brave the indig-enous saronged kade uncle.

The kottu was strangely superb, with a light crispiness to it that you usually don’t get in your usual cheesy-greasy Hotel de Pilawoo’s kottu. It featured some fresh veg-etables that weren’t tossed and grilled within an inch of oblivion too. The patties were alright, and slightly spiced down so as to not cause heart burn in unsuspect-ing honeymooning tourists. Our favourite was the pork cutlet, but there was only one of it, which made for some awkward sharing. This platter is really just meant for one person who can’t commit to a full meal.

The Hopper Trio (Rs. 750) was next, a beautifully presented se-

lection of hoppers with three toppings - quail egg, prawn, and beetroot curry. While these were probably the most chic hoppers I’ve ever encountered, the consist-ency leant more toward crêpes than that crispy aerated texture of local aappa. Either way, they were well flavoured and surprisingly fill-ing.

CONCLUSIONTri’s opened in style, and they’re clearly doing quite well for a new spot. With just 11 rooms and a vast lakeside property, it’s a se-cluded and serene getaway. We’d really suggest you go there for a couple’s holiday or else just boozy lunch if you’re in the area. It’s pricey, but you’re paying for that view and the luxe.

Tip: Take a boat/sea plane there if you don’t have a sturdy car.

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24 hours in colomboBY KINITA Lacing Sri Lanka’s Western coastline, the city is small enough to explore in a short time (600,000 inhabitants, 37km²), but vibrant enough to keep you entertained. Co-lombars are a diverse lot, with a mélange of cultures, ethnicities, and architectural styles, all of which get along well. Most of the time. Colombo’s probably best expe-rienced over a lifetime, but if you’ve got slightly less time, here’s a guide to 24 hours in the city.

9AMRise and Shine, Sleepy Head

Head over to Whight & Co on Marine Drive and wake up with some locally grown and home-roasted cof-fee. Watch the Laccadive Sea sparkle at you, and breathe in the lightly salted air. You can also try a Sri Lankan breakfast if you’re feeling adventurous - ask for curry and string hoppers with the works.

10AMWelcome to the Jungle

Pettah is busy, it’s messy, it’s loud. It’s also a lovely bubbling melting pot of local culture, language, and business. If you’re looking to just walk about and take in the eclectic charm that life in South Asia affords, or just do a bit of shopping on the cheap, this is the spot. You’ll find everything from trinkets to leather to coconuts. Pick up some thambili (king coconut) to sip on, and check out the Red Mosque, the Kathisaran Temple, or St Philip Neri’s Church, all old religious edifices dating back a century or so. If you find creepy life-size dolls and political history in-teresting, you could also explore the Old Town Hall.11.30AM

Fort’s FortePlaying neighbour to Pettah, the Fort area is home to some of the city’s oldest and grandest buildings. Boasting colonial façades and bustling financial spots, Fort is a great area to walk about and envi-sion what the city would have looked like in the co-lonial heyday. A lot of the façades still retain the old name plaques and balustrades too. Our personal favourites include the Cargills Miller building, the Old Parliament Building, and the General Post Office. The Grand Oriental Hotel is also in the area and features a stunning view of the port lit up at night.

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12.30 PM A Barefoot Lunch

A favourite amongst locals, expats, and tourists alike, Barefoot Garden Cafe is a quirky, leafy oasis in the city. Look forward to consistently good fare, plenty of vegetarian options, and cold beer. They also have a gallery featuring hot new local artists and a shop in-side which caters to pretty much any souvenir needs you may have.

2 PM Hibernation

Unless the prospect of searing heat, blaring traffic, and end of school day hysteria sound appealing to you, we’d recommend you hide. This is the best time for a siesta. Catch your 40 winks back at your hotel, lounging by a city hotel’s pool with a cocktail, or at a spa with a nap-inducing massage (Spa Ceylon or Nail Anatomy).

4 PM Spiritual Decadence

Gangarama Temple is one of the most eclectically engaging spots on the island. Despite Buddhism’s reputation for austerity, the Gangarama is an actual smorgasbord of history, clutter and randomness. The premises is so absolutely stuffed with gifts, do-nations, and collections like vintage luxury cars, cur-rency, statues, antiques etc, it’s a museum in itself. In the heart of the swirling colours, gold, and ostenta-tion, you’ll find an old bo tree around which you can sit down for a moment of calm contemplation and mindfulness. Also be mindful of the dress code, no shorts,vests, or short dresses are allowed. The ticket price also gets you into the Seema Malaka temple, on neighbouring Beira Lake. Designed by Bawa in the 1970’s, it’s a serene and spiritual spot, open to the el-ements, inviting in the gentle laketop breeze.

5 PM Galle Face Lovers

The Galle Face Green has been one of the city’s old-est and most frequented promenades since 1859, when Governor Sir Henry George Ward bravely tried to set down lawns by the sea (an exercise in futility valiantly repeated numerous time since then). It’s about 500 metres of urban park, perfect for kite-flying, street food, and canoodling under umbrellas.

You must try the isso vadey, a crispy prawn and cracker concoction the colour of the setting sun. Nana’s is street vendor and a GF institution in itself, you owe it to yourself to let their incredibly knowled-gable waiters gently guide you through a streetside culinary journey.

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6 PM Sip On Some Sunset

The Galle Face Hotel precedes the Galle Face Green by a few years. Built in 1864, it is a bastion of historical elegance. It’s played host to numerous heads of state, royalty, and society weddings. The property is undeni-ably romantic and has gone through a much- needed renovation of late. We’d recommend you step down to their terrace for some al fresco drinks and watch the sun slip into the horizon. Service is slow, but so are the waves lapping on the shore. Welcome to the island life.

7.30 PM Tropical Dining

If you’re just here for one night, you may as well shell out and make it count. Both Ministry of Crab and the Gallery Cafe combine international standards and consistency with elegant, vibrant local flavours and design. As you’d expect, MoC boasts a variety of fresh seafood, and their garlic butter crab is slaveringly di-vine. The Gallery Cafe is an older institution, housed in Geoffrey Bawa’s former office, and serving up some of the city’s best dessert. We’d recommend you make reservations in advance for both. In case you’d prefer purely Sri Lankan fare at a reasonable price, we’d sug-gest Upali’s.9.30 PM

Big City Lights

Shed your bags, shed your guide map, shed your inhibitions, and settle down for an evening of stellar views and over iced drinks. If you’re looking for care-worn glamour and a lovely view of the port, head to the Harbour Room at the Grand Oriental Hotel. If your tastes are marginally classier and you actually want a good cocktail, try the Sky Lounge for possibly the best view in the city. If gazing at visages rather than vistas are your thing, try the Park Street Mews or the Dutch Hospital. They both have a popular selection of bars and lounges to libate and satiate. We’d suggest arrack-based cocktails for some local flavour: Arrack Attack or Arrack Sour.

Midnight Get Lucky

At this point, a cosy bed and shower is probably your best bet. If you’re still up and at them after this whale of a day, we’re impressed. Colombo does have a few night clubs, but they tend to get quite crowded. If you’re insistent on going out and exploring the night life, we’d recommend Clique for some slick tunes and less offensive crowd. If you prefer a solid nap time, check out our list of hotels in the country here, or our list of hostels here.

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BY AISHA

Hopping a bus from Jaffna to Point Pedro, then walking along the coastline is tiring work, especially in the Northern heat. It’s possible to get a heatstroke, die of dehydra-tion, or both; so here’s a decent, well ventilated space you could go and plonk yourself down at. They have rice and curry, tons of milo, bottled drinks, juices, ice cream, and kottu. Heaven.

KOTTUWe’re saying kottu instead of ‘food’ because that’s all I had there, along with copious amounts of Milo and Nescafe packets.

Peppered with generous amounts of fried chicken, this kottu was dif-ferent from the everyday Colombo kottu in the way the parata was

prepared — this is a much thin-ner, crispier version. It packed in a crunch, especially with the fried eggs, and fried chicken, along with pan-tossed veggies thrown into the mixture. Despite the thinness, this was enough for two people and was filling to boot. Yum.

SERVICE AND AMBIENCEThis is like a larger, more spacious family-restaurant/ saivar kade type space, with identical tables and chairs spread out symmetrically, a fridge on one end, and a ton of foodie merchandise spread out across one wall. The men running it are super friendly and service is quite fast. There’s no menu, so they stand over your table and rattle off a list of foodstuff which you could pick from. What they offered us was rice, fried rice, and kottu. They’re

a bit slack about replacing water used by previous customers, but they got around to it eventually.

CONCLUSIONGreat kottu, good place to unwind after a long excursion along the shoreline. They also have rice and curry, along with a plethora of sea-food (this may be a slight exag-geration, but they do have prawns as well as fish). Also, the whole thing (kottu, and about 3 Milos and 3 small juice bottles) cost us about Rs. 550. Super value for money!

Try their icecream sundae concoc-tion. If you’re heading towards Point Pe-dro’s beach, this is just before the junction where the shopping mall is, onto your left.

Main Street, Point Pedro, Jaffna | 776 214 224amaage restaUrant

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