Be a Rebel @ Cafe Che in Colombo

Who wouldn't recognise this icon? This is the infamous Che Guevara, an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, guerilla leader, a diplomat and military theorist. A major figure in the Cuban Revolution, today, his style and his image has become an uniquitous symbol of rebellion.

Welcome to Cafe Che, the place where rebels would enjoy the revolutionary of food. This is one of the 5 restaurants/cafes of the Harpo's group founded by Harpo Gooneratne, a former entertainer to now restaurant(s) proprietor. Under the Harpo's Restaurants & Cafes are 5 different F&B concepts- The Bay Leaf which is said to be one of the places to go for Italian, The Commons is a coffee house, The Park Street Mews is a fusion concept, Harpo's Pizza creating a local branding for pizzas, and last but not least this rebellious Cafe Che.



The Café Che menu combines the best of Harpo’s Pizza and authentic Italian pastas with an electrifying lineup of Cuban, Mexican and Continental delights along with the famous The Commons Rotti selection with fillings, and Shawarma’s , that go well with their inspirational theme.

There is soup, pastas and pizzas available for day and night. and since we were there for tea time, I didn't get to try the heavier dishes.


The deco is very simple. It's a very bright restaurant due to the glass windows and the walls are adorned with pictures of Che and the Cuban posters. We ordered a papaya juice and hot chocolate to ease our thirstiness after so much of walking around the furniture and home deco boutiques. That was after we purchased 2 antique cupboards at Gandhara.

Chocolate brownie with vanilla ice cream and rich chocolate sauce.
Rs. 325 (RM9)

Then we ordered one of the supposedly signature dishes of the cafe which is a plain rotti with filling. My sister chose the tandoori chicken filling and it was a great choice. Just like our roti canai here in Malaysia, this rotti is actually thinner and more crispy. The filling was very good and it didn't feel too overwhelming as well. We finished it in a jiffy.

Plain Rotti with Tandoori Chicken Filling Rs265
Available from 3pm - 7pm

The prices here are quite reasonable. And if you like desserts, they do have quite an array to choose from. Yiling had tried more dishes than me as this is her second time here. You can hop over to her post on Cafe Che here.

And there's also time for some camwhoring. When you're here, don't forget to check out the few antique and home decor boutiques here as they carry an impressive collection of furnitures and paraphernalia. Well, we did ended up buying 2 antique cupboards and a painting from Gandhara!

Yeah my rich sister is now the proud owner of this painting costing RM2500!
And I'm lending the wall of my new house to her.. lol

Café Che
60, Stratford Avenue,
Kirulapone, Colombo 6,
Sri Lanka.
Website: http://www.cafechecolombo.com/

Nihonbashi Japanese Restaurant @ Colombo

When Yiling told me that her favourite restaurant in Colombo is a Japanese restaurant, my jaw dropped so wide that you can practically fit your fist inside my mouth, metaphorically that is! This sister of mine is really a foodie. She's always on a constant trail looking for new cuisines, new places and new experiences. When compared against her, I am just an old boring lady who goes to the same ol' places that she feels comfortable with.

Nihonbashi @ Galle Face Terrace

Nihonbashi is the place she's been raving about since the first day I arrived. Nihonbashi is translated into "Japan Bridge" and it represents the bridging of Japanese Cuisine and Sri Lanka. This is because the founder & owner, Dharshan Munidasa is comes from a mix parentage of Japanese and Sri Lankan. A Computer Engineer and International Relations graduate, Dharshan started the Nihonbashi journey straight out of John Hopkins University, USA in 1995. His flagship restaurant at Galle Face Terrace has the best in ambience and cuisine.

Me & the iPad menu, Yiling & Dharshan and family dinner.

Maybe due to the computer engineering background, Dharshan provides an iPad to the customer to flip instead of a normal menu. However, they do still have the paper menu for less tech-savy people like my mom! haha... Don't try to steal that iPad because his staff definitely remembers who took the iPad menu! This is also the 1st restaurant to utilise the iPad as a menu 9 days after the iPad is launched in the US.

The Gyu no Tataki (slightly grilled beef) goes with the sauce very well.

We ordered a ten course menu Rs 4900 called "take" (bamboo) which includes these - edamame, yakitori, namaharumaki, kaki age tempura, agedashi tofu, teppan grilled vegetables and gyu no tataki, garlic rice maki, salmon sushi and miso soup.

Ten Sabi Temaki

The Ten Sabi Temaki might looked a little bit under-dressed or simple but it's excellent in taste. How can a simple roll with just cold vinegared rice, some julienne cucumber and a hot prawn tempura rolled in a seaweed be so good? Although it was done without the fish roe, I still think it rocks.

Garlic Rice Maki

Another dish worth mentioning is the Garlic Rice Maki and it was served on a hot stone layered with an inch of salt! The hot stone kept the garlic rice warm but don't leave them there too long or else it'll be slightly burnt at the bottom. But then, if you like burnt rice, it's the best thing to do!

The complimentary dish, Yosenabe, Yakitori & salmon sushi.

In addition to that, we added a yosenabe Rs 2480 for four people. It comes with fresh seafood like crabs, fish and prawns and a ponzu dipping sauce. The salmon slices are blow-torched before serving them on the sushi rice and it tasted very good like it's semi-cooked.




After we were halfway through, Dharshan came into the room and asked us if we would like to try some crabs. The crabs were fresh and it's been just delivered to the restaurant. We didn't hesitate as we haven't had any crabs in Colombo despite hearing about the wonderful crabs from Sri Lanka. The crabs were done in the simplest was possible which is steaming so that we could enjoy the freshness of the meat and it was true. The flesh was juicy and the roe made me so happy!

All in all, the dinner has been satisfying and this Japanese restaurant is indeed a gem in Sri Lanka. I was feeling generous and thus I foot the bill which came up to about Rs 14,000 which is around RM450. Nihonbashi which started off in Galle Face Terrace now has branches at ODEL and the Hilton Colombo Residencies. If you happen to be in Colombo, do drop by and give this place a try although you do feel skeptical about having Japanese cuisine in this part of the country where curry is the de facto cuisine.

Nihonbashi Honten
11, Galle Face Terrace,
Colombo 3
Tel: +94112323847
website
map

The Gallery Cafe @ Colombo

Listed as one of the must-visit place in Colombo is the Paradise Road Galleries. Not to be mistaken as a road name, Paradise Road is actually an art gallery, house furnishing studio, and also cafe. There are actually many Paradise Road studios in Colombo but the one located on Alfred Road is the one with The Gallery Cafe.




This place is located behind white walls down a paved road lined with temple trees and large clay urns. Behind these white walls, one walks through some exhibits of art and paintings. Also present is the rectangular-shaped pond with pots of purple nil manel, Sri Lanka's national flower. The hall continues on the latticed floor to the Gallery Cafe and on the other side of the courtyard lies The Gallery Shop. This is the very 1st shop that I spent RM500 on a set of gold plated espresso cups. I don't even drink espresso for a start and I have no bloody idea how I got myself to buy them!



The Gallery Cafe is very inviting. Situated within the former office of Sri Lanka's renowned architect, Geoffrey Bawa, this restaurant has attracted some of the world's top designers, artists and many heads of state.

There is a choice of indoor dining and also alfresco. We prefer the latter. I like how they decorate the whole place. It makes me feel that I am enveloped in some secret garden with mossy walls and cast-ironed chairs. The indoor has nice, rustic tanned director chairs made from leather which I find them very rare and unique. I felt so tempted to sink my butt into one of those chairs.



There are some signature cakes served here - Double Chocolate Cheesecake, Lemon Meringue pie and the Paradise Road Chocolate Cake and also a menu which features fusion cuisine - Lemongrass and Ginger Chicken with spinach and potato mash, Mediterranean Prawns with saffron risotto, Black pork Curry with rice and accompaniments and Grilled Seer with coconut risotto.

I had a cup of Prince of Kandy tea which is a high grown Ceylon tea. This is a perfect afternoon tea paired with scones and pastries. When in Colombo, all I ever drank was tea, tea and more tea. Everyone seems to be in a tea mood here.

all... except my alcoholic sister

Candy is dandy but liquor is quicker... The Lion Lager is a pale lager brewed by Lion Brewery (Ceylon) in Nuwara Eliya & Biyagama, Sri Lanka. It's always interesting to try beers brewed locally when traveling and this Lion Lager seemed to be a very refreshing malty and light beer. And it goes very well with our thick French Fries!

Nice painting and the Purple Nil Manel

I think this is a very nice place to hang out for a meal or even a cup of tea. And just at the corner of this street, the Paradise Road Studio sells everything you'll need for your house from lamps to cushion covers and pottery. This place is a real gem and I just couldn't get enough of the knick knacks that you can get here.

Paradise Road & The Gallery Cafe

2, Alfred Road,
Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Website

Reunion + Birthday Dinner @ Tintagel Colombo

It was my first time having a CNY reunion dinner with family as well as celebrating my birthday in a foreign land. As the rumours have it that I am holidaying with my bf or rather newfound bf is totally bollocks. I wished I had either but the trip to Colombo was to visit my sister whom is on a short term overseas work posting and since the whole family hasn't been to Sri Lanka, we decided to pack our bags and go!

What's a better trip than leeching on the parents? Airfare - check! Accomodation - check! Money - check! And off we flew to Colombo on the 31st January midnight.



The dinner place selected by Yiling was a very beautiful boutique hotel called Tintagel. Tintagel (pronounced as tin-ta-jal) was completed in 1930 where it became the residence of a few influential politicians including Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga whom progressively became a Chief Minister, Prime Minister and then Sri Lanka’s first female President in 1994. Then, in 2005, Tintagel, the family home of the Bandaranaike’s was leased to Udayshanth Fernando by the family to become Paradise Road Tintagel Colombo, a unique private hotel.



The dinner was held at THE DINING ROOM where a chic indoor restaurant is offering the choice of international cuisine. It has a very dimmed setting with leather upholstered chairs paired with black lacquered tables, white linen napery and plum-coloured glassware. It is created for a fine-dining experience.



As starters, we had a Spicy Sri Lankan Crab Soup (Rs 645) where Sri Lankan mud crabs are cooked with curry flavoured broth infused with coconut milk and drumstick leaves. It was a very nice creamy soup that is unique and rarely found in our country. The Avocado, Lobster and Prawn salad (Rs 835) is dressed in a spicy sauce too. I guess everything is spicy in Sri Lanka even when it comes to continental cuisine!



We wanted to try as many dishes as possible. This includes the Crispy Duck with Apricot and Plum sauce, stir fried beans and roasted pistachios (Rs 2145), Fettucine with Lobster, prawns , crabs and spicy sauce (Rs 1485), Braised Pork Belly top with poached egg (Rs 1585) and the Rosemary Roasted Chicken with bacon and pumpkin (Rs 1285) were all commendable.



The Pan fried Red Snapper with rocket pesto risotto and roasted cashew nut (Rs 1795) was a very interesting dish with contrasting tastes and textures due to the tender fish paired with risotto and crunchy pistachio bits.

One thing about this place is that Tintagel doesn't have the alcohol license. Thus, we can't order any alcohol that night with our food. But their mocktails are quite good too as I sampled their Mojito and it's fine with me even without the infusion of alcohol.



We all had a good reunion dinner and it was fun exploring the hotel. It was funny having western food during this time of the year but at least it was something new. The last time the whole family went on a holiday together was more than 8 years ago! The dinner came up to about Rs 18000 which is about USD$180 where there is a 25% tax in Sri Lanka. Note that the prices displayed are all before taxes.

TINTAGEL COLOMBO

65 ROSMEAD PLACE,
COLOMBO 7 SRI LANKA.
T (94) 4602121 / 4602060
F (94) 11 4602168
reservations@tintagelcolombo.com

In Colombo? How can?!!

When overseas, one tends to be more patriotic than usual. Surprisingly, but I indeed find it very true because we tend to compare the country we are visiting with the one we live in. For example, when I was in Colombo the 1st day, I had already experienced the way locals drive over there. I tell you ah, I almost had a heart attack when I sat in one of those tuk tuks. The way they weave through the traffic, I guarantee you that you can get the same thrill riding that roller coaster in Genting Highlands (which I have not rode before) except with the inclusion of the oncoming opposite traffic. haha...

Besides the weaving of traffic, creating a lane that is entirely non-existent, the drivers can't drive without a hand off the car horn. All the drivers in regardless of tuk tuks or sedan car drivers are driving with one hand on the steering wheel and the other on the car horn. Oklah, we admit that in Malaysia also we drive with one hand and the other hand busy texting on the mobile or holding our partner's hand (in which I have been guilty of once upon a time). But then ah, do you know that I hardly see any accidents even when they drive like a mad man on a one-lane-trunk-road compared to our supposedly sofistikated (sophisticated) four-lane-expressways.

See, got proof one!

Like a true blue Malaysian, I am still trying to find fault with the country. I mean, how can? How can Colombo be better than KL right? Then I look on the streets, trying to spot for rubbish, tissues and plastic wrappers and then I can proudly claim that in KL we have less rubbish than you na..na..na..nana... But then again, I was disappointed. Amazingly the Singhalese are quite clean and so far, I have not seen a single person throwing out their tissues from car windows or even the windowless tuk tuks. How can?!! Then, I think to myself - maybe they don't use tissues, they use their sleeves! Hmmph...



You can also see that even the public area, the beach near the Galle Face Hotel was spotless and clean. Try looking at our very own Batu Feringghi beach and you'll be surprise to find that Malaysians in general like to litter. This is one thing we all should learn from people in Colombo. Apart from dirty beaches, we are also quite famous about our filthy toilets. I mean, who would have not realise it by now? Even the ones at our KL International Airports still smell and some of the cubicles are out of order but I find the toilets in the Colombo Airport dry and clean. So embarrassing I tell you.. Doesn't this makes you wonder why?

People there are quite nice too. Most of them can speak English one ok?!!! Even the tuk tuk drivers can have conversations with us when he was busy honking and weaving traffic. Unlike some of our rude cabbies driving an air-conditioned-four-wheeler here, they don't even understand England!

So in the end, I give up lah. Don't want to compare already! How can? How can?!!! To make us Malaysians feel better, our food is indeed still the best lah! Even their String Hoppers a.k.a Putu Mayam cannot fight with ours lah! And they also don't have Bak Kut Teh and Char Koay Teow! I feel so much better already.

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

27th Birthday in Colombo

Can't remember if this is my first time celebrating my birthday in a foreign land but hell sure this is my first time having a birthday and Chinese New Year Eve reunion dinner away from home. The funniest thing is - I am in Colombo, a place that I wouldn't imagine I would be going in my life. There's a always a first for everything and surely being the fairest of them all here is an experience.

The people here are quite nice in general when it comes to the hotel staff and taxi/tuk-tuk drivers. The hotel staff are ever so helpful and always asking if I need them to help me snap some pictures. This is just awesome.

Before dinner, I went to check out the shopping scene in Colombo. Ok, for a start the only shopping centre here worth checking out is called Odel. It is dubbed as Sri Lanka's top fashion retailer and the one I went to was located at Alexandra Road. The shopping complex is actually a colonial residence turned into a retail shop and it certainly didn't take me more than an hour to finish browsing the store. It was very small and if I were to compare, it would probably take up the space of one floor of Isetan in KLCC? They sell some souvenirs from T-Shirts, magnets and keychains which are reasonably priced. So, you can cross out shopping as one of the activities in Colombo.

Tintagel Hotel

For my birthday/reunion dinner, I was brought to this place called Tintagel. It's a former residence of influential politicians and then the Lady President of Sri Lanka but now it's a private hotel with 10 rooms.

It's a very unique and tasteful hotel. I shall blog more about this place and the food in my coming posts. Right now I am going to have my lunch and head out to explore other places. It's funny to be celebrating CNY in a land where there is no Chinatown. haha...



On the 1st day of Chinese New Year, I would like to wish everyone a very Happy Chinese New Year. Wishing you lots of happiness, health and success in this year ahead. I am also looking forward to visiting the beach at Negombo tomorrow. What I missed this year is the "extortion of double ang pows" since my birthday also falls on the 1st day of CNY in the lunar calendar!