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FREE Peanut-butter cookie brownie from Skrumptious. OCTOBER/ 2015 WWW.YAMU.LK 4 We Hope It’s Not Raining Right Now October is smack in the middle of rainy season (which usu- EDITORIAL ally goes till late November), but that doesn’t mean that you Indi Samarajiva can’t go out. There are more places than ever opening in and Vidya Balachander around Colombo. This issue we cover Thalis and Che Che, Bhagya Goonewardhane Aisha Nazim among others. Note, however, that Che Che got so much Imaad Majeed business after our online review that they had to shut down for a while, so be gentle. ADVERTISING Dinesh Hirdaramani If you’re wondering how the YAMU sausage is made, we 779 776 445 / [email protected] now welcome Imaad Majeed to our writing team. He also did the layout for this issue. CONTACT 11 454 4230 (9 AM - 5 PM) [email protected] Finally, we are also a website, and Janith and Malinthe are hard at work improving our app and creating new ones. PRINTED BY Imashi Printers Anyways, don’t forget your umbrella. ©2015 YAMU (Pvt) Ltd 14/15A Duplication Road, Col 4 indi 8 THALIS 155, Park Road, Colombo 5 | 777 686 192 BY VIDYA nod to Chindian (or Indian Chinese), mum’s sambar), while the tama- Indian cuisine can present a prob- the menu at Thalis is an ambitious rind-laden kuzhambu, a spicy-sour lem of plenty — with so many dif- and expansive one. But displaying a dish with lady fingers and karawila, ferent states, it’s nearly impossible rare decisiveness when confronted was the sleeper hit of the meal. With to represent India on a plate. But with multiple options, I zeroed in on unlimited refills available for each of the thali is a pretty good primer. the south Indian thali (Rs. 400). the individual elements, Thalis’ thali Quite literally a plate laden with is fantastic value for money. several small cups bearing up to a A neat freak’s delight, the thali held dozen dishes, the thali is a compact ten individual cups arranged around You’d imagine that a thali with mul- introduction to the dizzying vari- the plate, with a larger vessel of rice tiple refills of payasam (just per- ety of regional Indian cuisine. That’s in the middle. I was delighted to find fectly sweet, creamy and decadent) precisely what you get at Thalis, a both rasam (a tangy and usually would have been plenty, but we had brand new vegetarian addition to fiery soup made of dal) and sam- brought our A game to this lunch. Park Road. Serving both north and bar; a coconutty snake gourd curry So we also ordered puliodhare (Rs. south Indian thalis in addition to a as well as a dry bean one; fresh curd 350) or tamarind rice, along with a la carte dishes and snacks, this all- to wash it all down and payasam to cucumber raita (Rs. 200). Usually a vegetarian eatery is authentic and sweeten the deal. tangy and spicy preparation, Thalis’ affordable — two adjectives we love version was a tad off-balance. Al- more than others. The rasam was much too watered though generously speckled with down to have any real punch, and fried peanuts for crunch, the rice THE FOOD the beans poriyal was run-of-the- was underseasoned and didn’t Spanning the whole range from do- mill. But the thick sambar laden have the characteristic pucker of sas, vadais and other light bites to with pearl onions was perfectly tamarind. The raita with cucumber north Indian dishes, with a cursory balanced (and reminded me of my cubes in watery curd was similarly LAUNCHED! brand new attire, same bold cheese 71 587 8878 | fb.com/eyriecheese under-salted and generally under- and asafoetida, and garnished with below). whelming. green chillies and coriander stems, was pretty damn perfect. Neither The comfortable wooden chairs On the other hand, the melt-in-the- thick nor diluted, and chilled just and gleaming table tops arranged mouth paneer butter masala (Rs. so, it was the perfect antidote for a in a brightly-lit dining area aren’t de- 600) positively took us by surprise. sunny day. signed for you to dawdle over a long Usually a combination of rub- meal. This is the sort of place where bery pieces of cottage cheese in But it was the frothy filter coffee you eat with your full attention and a sweetened gravy, a good paneer served in a petite tumbler that I then get on with it. Although the dish is rare to find in Colombo. How- enjoyed the most. From the pres- speedy service keeps pace with the ever, Thalis’ iteration of this classic entation down to the sweet, frothy general air of briskness, we found north Indian preparation gave us brew, everything reminded me of all the wait staff to be polite, hos- little reason to nitpick. The soft and the afternoon coffee rituals that pitable and attentive, urging us to crumbly pieces of paneer added were such an important part of my have more refills of the thali. richness to the tangy and perfectly growing-up years. Just for the joy balanced tomato gravy. Scooped of the filter coffee alone, I’m sure I’ll CONCLUSION up with pieces of the fresh and soft return to Thalis soon. Authentic Indian food is still not naan (Rs. 225) studded with fat abundant in Colombo. Thalis cloves of garlic, it was one of the AMBIENCE & SERVICE makes for an exciting addition to highlights of our meal. Thalis bears the simple and func- the local culinary scene. At just over tional air of a restaurant where the Rs. 2,000 for a substantial meal The beverages also held up their focus is on food over frills (although that also included a full thali, it is a end of the bargain. The savoury but- we appreciate the colourful little wallet-friendly and generally happy- termilk (Rs. 150) seasoned with salt touches at the entrance, pictured making option. 10 GIOVAnni’s 145, Thimbirigasyaya Road, Colombo 5 | 770 335 366 BY BHAGYA Giovanni’s keeps things relatively the bacon half, which really helped Since they first opened their doors one simple with a 20-item menu that emphasize the fatty flavour of the year ago, Giovanni’s has been our go- revolves around classic italian meat. to spot for wood-fired pizzas. This time preparations. You’ll find the entire One thing we really appreciate around, despite Dimuthu’s absence on menu written out on a blackboard about Giovanni’s is the fact that they the day we visited, they still dished out at the entrance. Prices range from absolutely pile on the toppings. One the quality pies we’ve come to expect the mid-to-high end, but the pizzas slice of the pollo cacciatore had the from them. are large and more than sufficient equivalent of half the topping you’d for one hungry person. They also top get at a mainstream pizza chain. The THE PIZZAS their pizzas more generously than chicken, while well-cooked, was also In the course of the year, the folks at any other pizzeria in Colombo (even moist. The flavour of the tomato came YAMU have made numerous stops compared with the likes of Harpo’s through well, further complemented at Giovanni’s. I happened to be one of and Domenico’s), so the value for by the basil leaves added on top. the only people in the office to not have money is unbeatable. The other pizza consisted of one tried their pizzas, so I was excited to Since the option was available, we salami half and the other half, all-meat see if all the hype was for real. went for two half-and-half pizzas. (Rs. 1,700 for a full pizza of either). On our previous visits, it had been The first of these had bacon and pollo With a fermented tang that comes Dimuthu manning the clay oven, cacciatore (Rs. 1,400 and Rs. 1,500 through in the flavour of the pizza, so we were a bit surprised to find a respectively for full pizzas). While the salami may not be for everyone. The different gent working the dough this latter is essentially chicken doused pizza nails the brief in terms of flavour, time around. From what I’ve heard, in a tomato sauce with added herbs, but it may taste funny to those who Dimuthu trusts very few people with the bacon pizza is quite simply that aren’t too familiar with the distinct making pizzas, so I was definitely — unadulterated bacony goodness flavour of salami. curious to see how well the chef with warm, stringy mozzarella. The all-meat was also legit, with plenty deemed worthy of the task would fare. There wasn’t much else going on in of bacon, chicken and beef, topped 11 off with sliced capsicum despite the simple wooden furniture, and basil leaves. This chequered table cloth and balconies also had a spicy kick that overlook the street. They’ve got to it, with a bit of dried seating for around 15 upstairs, but chilli added into the mix. don’t be surprised if you see them Despite the abundance set up tables on the side walk to of ingredients, they still accommodate the hungry hordes. managed to maintain Clay oven pizzas require very little that balance of flavours, cooking time, so you can expect the so the savouriness and service to be quite fast. That being spice is evened out by said, it is still quite a small operation, the creaminess of the so the service time does get slower mozzarella.