Rice & Curry at Green Cabin @ Colombo

Rice and Curry is the de facto food for any Sri Lankan. Ask what my sister eats everyday at the canteen at her company and you'll either squeal in delight because you enjoy curries or you'll squirm like her because she doesn't like spicy food. Yes, I am in Colombo to visit my youngest sister whom is on a short term overseas posting. You can follow her food trail in Colombo here.

Did you know that there are more than 15 rice varieties grown in Sri Lanka? During my week's stay here, I have already tried no lesser than 4 varieties of rice from the Basmati long grain white rice to the red Kakukuhaal (in short, I called it the kuku rice). Food here does evolve very much around rice as you get your surf & turf dish served with rice instead of chips. Today I had the chance of trying one of the very authentic Sri Lankan curry & rice at Green Cabin which is located on Galle Road in Colombo.

Ranked at No.2 out of the 143 things to do in Colombo by Lonely Planet, this restaurant should be on anyone's list if you're here. This place is known for its inexpensive food and also the baked section which serves pies and vegetarian dishes. The menu is really simple with a few types of fried rice, a few types of curries and some specialty dishes. It shouldn't take you more than 5 minutes to make up your mind.

There are some recommended dishes here. I especially liked the Cuttlefish under the Devilled Dishes section which means dry curry. For curry with sauce, I like the Seer Fish Curry because the sauce makes a very good accompaniment to my white rice and it is not too spicy. The curries here are mostly cooked with coconut and if you hate the fruit or the fat, then Sri Lankan cuisine is not your cup of tea.

Vegetable Fried Rice, Omelette & White Rice

Seer Fish Curry, Curry Chicken & Cuttlefish

I find the Chicken Curry a bit too spicy for my liking. If I have to choose, I still prefer our Malaysian curry chicken with potatoes! These portions are meant for single person and the dishes are priced reasonably from Rs200-500 a dish. There is also buffet available but the varieties is very limited (4 dishes) and it's meat free for only Rs 270 per person.

One of the dishes that I see most of the patrons ordering was the Lamprice. It is actually rice and curry wrapped in a banana leaf - very much like our version of Malaysian "nasi lemak" except for the missing sambal and ikan bilis. It is wrapped up like a cylinder dumpling and it made me so curious but sadly I had only one stomach and I cannot eat everything on the menu.


To go down with all the curries, sis ordered a Ginger Beer (Rs 80) which is very popular here in Sri Lanka I guess. The Elephant House Ginger Beer (EGB) is made up of ginger and it is not a beer, it's just another soft drink. Most of the places here does not serve alcohol as a license is needed.




This is definitely a recommended affordable Sri Lankan "no frill" restaurant with acceptable ambiance and cleanliness. It feels very much like one of our "nasi kandar restaurants" in KL. The bill came up to about Rs 2000 + (USD 15) which is quite reasonable considering our meals have been exceeding Rs 10000 (USD100-150) every dinner.

Guess what, sis didn't touch the curries as she is already sick of it by now! haha...
Sorry this is no fine food in a fine blog but I have to at least try a true blue Sri Lankan meal for once!

Green Cabin

453, Galle Road,Colombo 3,
Colombo,
Sri Lanka

Phone: +942588811 or +942591841