Independence Day/Weekend Galore!!

 Best Jaffna Crabs in Wellawatta- Yarl Restaurant

Jaffna Crabs

Yarl Restaurant- wellawatta

Jaffna Crab with Vege. Meal

Thai Meal by Chef Nilanka 

Authentic Thai  Meal

Fried Fish with Mango Salsa for Appetizer

Slow cooked Sweet infused Pork belly

Crab Omellete

Kangkung

Chicken Green Curry

Butterscotch Souffle

Oh what a weekend it was where we celebrated 64years of Independence as an Independent Nation!! It was my first time after 3 years not organizing any event for the High Commission in KL.. i actually missed the stressing part of organizing such events!!

while everyone made it an excuse to go out of Colombo for the long weekend i stayed back to relax and celebrate our Independence day with family and friends...

Started the day off having the buffet at the Taj in Colombo and then had a Picnic at my friends place with everyone bringing a dish of their own.. well at least i took the famous pineapple gateaux from green cabin.. but we had home baked butter cake, asparagus sandwiches and much more but i must say i was too full to try anything out....

the day continued to my friends penthouse which is on the 38th floor and the view is to die for drinks and chit chat! i kept thinking of KL while sipping my wine!

all the talk made us hungry and at midnight we left to cinnamon lakeside for the midnight breakfast which is a must try by all!!  the milk rice, chicken buriyani, stir fried noodles, kotthu, chicken curry, dhal and fish curry with the accompaniments such as lunu miris ( spicy onion sambol) and pol sambol ( coconut sambol) and seeni sambol ( sweet onion sambol) was a few thing available and all for just rs1100 or so... all worth it!!

but we added 2 fried eggs and mutton curry as extra to our palates!!   this gives you the feeling of been home and its a good example of how Milk rice is not necessarily for the mornings!!

my weekend continued when i left to Galle on Sunday morning with  my 2 aunts and cousin on our new southern highway.. we left in the afternoon and reached Galle around 2 and by that time my aunts were impatient to have lunch so we missed out on the good rice and curry place called "mama's" in the fort and instead had lunch at the Sea liners in Galle town. But i must say  the seafood rice had  plenty of cuttlefish and prawns and it was good or i guess at that time any food would have been good as we were too hungry... the Pork curry was a disappointment bu the Prawn deviled was full of spices.

we left to Galle fort to walk around and  then to Unawatuna but didn't stay on for long as we went on to Fortress to have evening tea/ cocktails! met our friends who were there for the weekend..  the cocktails are known to be good at the fortress and i wanted to try it myself.. ordered a strawberry daiquiri and it was delicious.. had bit sized pieces of strawberry and enough of alcohol to make it a perfect cocktail...

my cousin's "Burnt Almond" is a definite try for people who like Baileys, Amerreto and ice cream... and then we tried out a dessert which was not on the menu and they made it specially for us.. it was banana's wrapped in a pancake and almond flakes used as garnish and chocolate sauce with home made almond/coffee ice cream! it was good but they should have added more chocolate sauce.. which they kindly brought separately for me when i suggested and poured over my pancakes!!

Monday was a day of experiencing new dishes!! one of my friends and i always makes plans to go for evening walks after work as we need to cut down on our weight but it never happens.. and on Monday we decided to go eat "Jaffna Crabs" from the famous Yarl Hotel in station road in Wellawatta. and for my luck my cousin and her husband was also making dinner - Thai!!

So i had to balance it out.. went for crabs in the evening.. they opened at 6pm for dinner.. we were the first.. actually we had to wait for an hour at the Bombay sweet house as we were early... the place is a small decent place serving non-veg Indian food. I would recommend to get take away. however, i enjoyed my experience having jaffna crabs on my banana leaf! had paratha, dhal curry, spicy sambol and brinjal curry and the signature dish "crabs".

One portion equals one crab. these crabs are sea crabs not large in size but enough for one person. maybe 2 portions for a crab enthusiast. I limited myself to one as i had another dinner to attend.
i must say the spices of the crab curry was unique and rich and full of flavour. I loved the curry as you can eat it with plain white rice. the crab itself was full with crab meat and the garlic and ground spices were rich.
Its the best Jaffna crabs i have tasted so far and its all worth it... very reasonable just Rs.250per portion. A must try for everyone and anyone who loves Crabs!! and very friendly atmosphere as well... i was so impressed i had to take 2 potions take away for my cousin to try out too!!

I headed to Akki's house (my cousin) where her husband was busy preparing for our Authentic Thai meal. An WOW!! it was an amazing meal with an appetizer which was fried fish with mango salsa, and mains were steamed rice, Thai flavoured kang kungomelette. and all of it was prepared by Chef Nilanka! my cousin's husband.. the presentation of the food was excellent.. although i have stuffed myself with Jaffna crabs i couldn't resist the amazing Thai food!! 

The green curry chicken and sweet infused slow cooked pork belly was my favourite 2 dishes for the night with each dish bringing out its exquisite flavours of the night. Well done Nilanka!

the night ended with my cousins's "Butterscotch Souffle" with fresh cream which was rich in flavour but a perfect end to our Amazingly Thai meal!! :)

As the long weekend ended with food adventures and new experiences i must say  it was good to be free and Independent to savour the best in the culinary world!

Pancake Dessert at the Fortress - Galle

The Best time of the Year!!!

Happy Face!!

Unawatuna

Reunion aft 10 years!!

My favourite month of the year is December and early Jan and the most exciting!!!

well right after the races i was just worn out and tired but this was just the beginning of the events to come... The season is the time we all get together with good friends,family and good Food and the High Spirits!!

My Cousin is known for her entertainment and hosting good parties, so she had a party for all the kids!! All my nieces and nephews!! Kiddies Christmas Party with all the yummy short-eats and sweets!! Her kids were playing Santa and made the cutest Santa!! We had crackers and whole heaps of fun. 


We had our High School Reunion - Celebrating 10 years!! Well it was a night to remember with all the  girls laughing at old jokes, playing games, Dancing and enjoying the food and drinks!! It was just good to meet up with all our old friends...

December just gets better by the day and i had B'day parties, Christmas Eve Dinner, Christmas Day was packed with breakfast,lunch and dinner at friends houses!! The best thing about Christmas in Sri Lanka is that the food is amazing and all home cooked!!

Christmas Eve was a nice meal at the Inter-Continental with a friend of mine and i really enjoyed the night! However the service could improve!


Christmas Lunch has always been at a Family Friends place since i was a tiny tot and every year i look forward for it as its the best lunch you can find on Christmas Day! It has an extensive menu which is executed very well. I had 3 types of differently cooked pork with 2 different types of crabs, prawns, roast turkey and the list goes on..

As most of my family members celebrate Christmas i had Dinner at my Cousin's In-Laws and the yummy home made Ham and the Stuffing was just Yummy!! I must say My Cousins Mother-in-law makes the best Christmas Pudding with Brandy Butter!!and i tasted the M&S Christmas Pudding the day before that and its nothing compared to the home made Christmas Pudding!!


I clearly put on a good few pounds this Christmas!!

So the next day which was Boxing Day the 26th of Dec. and many in Sri Lanka remembers it as the day Tsunami hit our little island!! However, this day was the most exciting day for me as i went to Unawatuna for the first time in our first highway! So it was a very nice drive to Unawatuna just 1hr and we were in paradise!!



we went to this place called Happy Banana and yep i was a happy banana too!! It was so calm and relaxing we started off with a yummy Breakfast with 2 sunny side up eggs and spicy chicken curry with bread! and yummy fresh pineapple juice. We later switched to Lion Larger beer with sprite and a slice of lime!! just heavenly!! What else can we ask for??? Well the beach got crowded by afternoon but still we were in Happy Banana, happy as ever.. swimming, drinking, eating and just having a very good time!! The drive to Unawatuna which was going to be for the day turned out to be for the night and the next day!! But it was all worth it!! I'm just waiting to get back to Unawatuna and sit by the beach sipping an ice cold beer!


The year 2011 has been an adventurous one for me with many changes and i have come across various obstacles with high's and low's but all in all its been good to me and  I'm thankful for been alive and been able to savor the best things in life!! And been a great year for the foodie in me!!

Christmas party for the Kiddies!!

Colombo Night Races!!

Colombo is becoming the place to be this December!! I experienced the first road race in Sri Lanka in the heart of the city Colombo where the streets were lit up and roads were barricaded and it seemed a different country all together!!

Atmosphere was amazing and it was a carnival atmosphere all together!! i was in a special invitee tent where all the food, drinks and entertainment was taken care of.. and great place to watch the race too... i was more excited as a family member, best friend's husband and one of my closest friends were taking part and i was so excited and thrilled about it!!

They all did very well too... all the hotels and restaurants had a big event to cater to and the races went on till the next day morning where i ended up coming home at 7.00am on Sunday!!! but it was all worth it as i had a very good time!!

Food could have been better but this time it was more of the place and the event which i was more interested in for once :)

anyways i must mention we were at the Galadari and the in house service was not good at all.. i just hope other hotels were better.. and our service in the hotel industry needs to improve as Sri Lanka is moving forward and looking at more events in the future with alot of attention from Tourists!!

Anyways i just hope The organizers of these events would take more efforts to cut down the shortcomings of this time races and host much more in the future!! But for a first time in Colombo it was a great effort and very exciting!!!

Dutch Hospital Shopping Precinct!!!

Wow... that was my exact expression when i entered the former Dutch Hospital in Fort. It has been converted into a Shopping Precinct with Restaurants and few stores too...

I'm so impressed and thrilled as i get the feeling I'm in Singapore or Malaysia.... I had to blog about it and express my happiness... I went with my Aunts and cousin to check it out and we entered WIP ( work-in -progress) managed by the Hilton Colombo.. pub like feeling and chilled out atmosphere.. the menu could do better with more of a variety however its a good start... The drink menu had good choices and the Cosmo i had was excellent!! the only thing missing was music but when i suggested it they promptly adhered to my request!!

Anyways when i walked around the dutch hospital it has tables all around the courtyard where most of the people were just sitting and ordering few drinks and bites.. they could order from any of the restaurants around.. which is a good thing...

I cant wait to try out all the restaurants at this place.. Mainly the Ministry of Crab which will be opened to public after the 12th of Dec. run by Dharshan Munidasa and the famous 2 cricketers been Mahela Jayawardena and my hot favourite Kumar Sangakkara. The main reason for me to try it out :)

Harpos has also opened up a restaurant called the Colombo Fort Cafe... so all these places are a must try..

At least Colombo is getting exciting for the season and my choice to move back to Sri Lanka is becoming a good choice...

However i hope a lounge bar opens up as well in this precinct and music is essential even in the courtyard..

i totally recommend everyone to try out the latest addition to Colombo and enjoy the Foodie in you!!

Almost 6 months in SL!!

Almost 6 months in Sri Lanka and still missing my KL food!! However i know its been awhile but these past 6 months have been adventurous with me cooking up at home and eating all over!!

entertained few friends for my famous waffells and another time for my Moussaka!! I even tried out a new Mediterranean chicken... luvd cooking it.. and the tasters loved it too... i had my closest and dearest come and taste it...

been making few rocky roads and chocolate mousse too... and the most recent was my Pork Spare ribs!!!

i think i should give up eating and start cooking!!

whilst staying at home for the past 6 months taking a break from the working world.. i have also been trying to loose a few extra calories which i put on by cooking, tasting my own food ;) and also trying out all the new places in Sri Lanka.

i must say i tried the new coco cetrine and i like the Greek Pizza which was fresh and light!

Travelled a bit to Kandy, Bentota, Galle, and the last trip was to Trinco...

Trinco food was awesome cooked by a local at the army bungalow i was staying at.. the crabs were to die for... the Beaches are the best!!

Anyways Sri Lanka is coming up few places for me to go enjoy my love for food.. However im sad to say i do miss my KL!! the best yet for a foodie!!

I still couldn't finish up trying out the places in KL as they had so many and the mamak's were endless...

KL i miss u and i hope to see and greet u!! Specially eat all ur best food!! ;)

till i try out something new keep eating and keep enjoying the foodie in you!!

Jalan Alor- Chu Cha - Street Food Haven!

My first exposure to street food in KL was to Jalan Alor in June 2008 when a friend from Singapore visited me... He actually is the one who introduced me to the flavours of the street food... He himself a chef loved to eat the street food rather than the conventional restaurant cuisine...

We just walked around for awhile until we came across Restoran Chu Cha!! well i never turned back after that and for the past 3 years i have been going there regularly and taking all my visitors from Sri Lanka to this place from time to time.. its become a tourist destination where i recommend everyone to visit!!

I must say the Sting ray with the blechan is fabulous and the Kailan with garlic is a must try actually all the vegetable dishes including the asparagus with prawns is very good....

Few top favourites :-

* BBQ Pork Ribs
*Sting Ray
*Seafood Fried rice
*Hot & Spicy Cuttlefish
*Famous Prawns
*Black pepper Crabs

Well i can recommend anything in this menu.. Seafood and pork dishes are the best...

However this restaurant works with a few more hawkers so whenever you order for drinks you must pay separately and then each dish such as noodles or satay when orders also must be paid separately... and even before you start on your meal you must pay... so this could be a bit annoying as you will have to keep taking your purse/wallet out to pay for each and every dish...

However, if you are a regular you could speak to them and say bring the bill at the end all together please.. they would obliged...

Anyways this is more like a night market atmosphere.. its only open after 6pm till wee hours of t he morning.. good place for all the clubbers to go after a heavy night of party to have some chicken wings!!

This place is one of my favourite places and a place i will miss the most when i leave Malaysia!! and this will be one of the reasons for me to keep coming back to Malaysia!!

Last month in KL!

I can't believe that i have already come to the end of my 3 years in Malaysia. Although i haven't done any travelling within Malaysia.. I'm well aware of all my food joints in KL!!

When i think of going back to Sri Lanka the thing I'm going to miss the most is the Malaysian Cuisine available 24/7. I mean Jalan Alor will be missed and all the Kopitians and Suzi's corner etc....

My favourite words in Malay has become "Makan Makan"... I'm truly going to miss KL and all what it has to offer.. However, i will keep becoming a regular visitor... i might just make KL my 2nd home!

Well i hope to enjoy every day in kl and write about all my eating experience and the best places to visit...