SauceandNosh.com - Filed under 'Sri Lanka'

Dinner chez the Samarakkody Family, Sri Lanka
- 30 Jan 2010
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A truly delicious, wonderful last meal in Sri Lanka, courtesy of the incredibly warm, kind and accommodating Samarakkody family, who we met on election day in Kataragama.

They'd invited us to visit if we could before leaving Sri Lanka, but until our plans changed last minute yesterday when Rory, our host at Samakanda, was caught in the UK, we didn't think we'd find the time. Once we discovered we did, we immediately called Aravindi and family and were invited for dinner.

After frantic lastminute shopping, a 3pm late checkout from Galle Face Hotel, and a dash to the GPO to post our pressie parcels to Oz and Blighty, we arrived by hotel taxi. Lines must have been crossed somewhere, because the Samarakkody's thought we were staying the night and had prepared a bedroom accordingly. They'd also struggled to find food for our evening meal (every market being closed on Friday for Poli holy day).

Anyway, we were greeted with delicious cakes, watermelon juice and tea, and spent hours swapping stories and showing each other family pictures.

Eventually, we sat down to eat Chandani's feast: and what a feast!

After dinner the Samarakkody's drove us to the airport: THANK-YOU!!
Bill for two: priceless

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Breakfast at the Galle Face Hotel, Colombo
- 30 Jan 2010
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Like a creaking old ocean liner on her last legs, the Galle Face Hotel is one of Asia's Grand Old Ladies. For $120 a night we have a room big enough to play tennis in, overlooking the Indian Ocean. There are three weddings on today. Last night it sounded like all the bridesmaids had got together in the room above ours and were trying out their high heels on the wooden floorboards above our heads. Rachelle slept through it all blissfully.
I didn't, so rather enjoyed my restorative breakfast on the terrace this morning, where we had around 100 hot and cold options to choose from. My breakfast matched Sri Lankan and Western favourites, and was delicious. I'm too tired to describe it!

Bill for two: breakfast included in our $120 a night room
Galle Face Hotel, Colombo, Sri Lanka. 0112541010

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Tasty street snack, Galle, Sri Lanka
- 29 Jan 2010
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How good does this look? How good did it tasty? YUMMY
Spicy chick peas, Sri Lankan-stylee

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Smak: Sri Lanka's most amusingly named brand
- 28 Jan 2010
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Nope, they're not selling brown sugar in handy soft drink size bottles, Smak is a fruity beverage found everywhere.

Tasty juices, though the readily available pure coconut is better for you...
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No booze at Ramparts View, Galle, Sri Lanka
- 28 Jan 2010
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Staying at the wonderfully clean, delightfully well appointed Rampart View hotel in Galle. No prizes for guessing what we can see from our balcony. Yep, 400-year-old Dutch ramparts.

The perfect place for a sundowner one might think. Actually, the hotel is owned by the custodian of Galle's mosque, and thus there is no booze. Though he has told us this sign is mostly to deter boozy locals, we're enjoying our beers elsewhere.
Excellent hotel, highly recommended if you're happy off the sauce.

Lighthouse Street, Galle, Sri Lanka, +91 2226767.gallefortrampartview.com‎

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Dinner at Mamas, Galle Fort, Sri Lanka
- 27 Jan 2010
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Knock out multi-option Rice & Curry, with stunning views of Galle Fort's lighthouse
76 Leyn Baan Street, Galle, Sri Lanka. (091 222 6415).

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Sri Lanka's national brew: Lion Beer
- 26 Jan 2010
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Not sure what annoys me most about Lion beer, it's flat, insipid flavourless, its ubiquitousness (where's the competition?) or the inappropriate name: Gujurat is the only place outside of Africa with lions, and Sri Lanka's biggest cat is the leopard.
A beer at the end of a hard day on the road should be a real pleasure, here I've actually been avoiding them and sticking to the softs or overpriced imports.
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Dinner at Mangrove Cabanas, Tangalla
- 23 Jan 2010
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A rather large Mullet freshly line caught and grilled to perfection, writes Rachelle.

I don't think I've ever tasted a fish so meaty and sweet? And so simple. Served with tasty relishes of sliced red onion, wedges of lime and mango chutney. I'm not sure if we were meant to practise the Sri Lankan way of eating, by mooshing everything together, but it definitely worked. Salty,sweet, fishy goodness.

Accompanied by the standard coleslaw and french fries (really not sure why this is offered with every meal), it's quite boring but also fits the bill for this meal in particular. Did I mention that it was only one side of the fish? Washed down with a shared Lion lager and a Ginger Beer to burn your nose hairs, a lovely meal in general.

Bill for two, including sauce: 1600LKR (£8.70, AU16, US14)

Seven days in and we're a little unsure about Sri Lankan cuisine. All words written suggest a unique and exciting cuisine but it's been quite bland and rather Westernised (even though we're not really on the tourist trail).

The Rice and Curries have been delicious, although pared back on the heat for us westerners, I fear some of the taste has also been reduced. We're determined to search out the quick eats which are generally roadside snacks - and I need that Chai!

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Breakfast at Rathna's, Wijaya Beach, Sri Lanka
- 21 Jan 2010
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Or Pushpa's as it were, writes Rachelle. Where she cooked up what I'd like to think is the local equivalent of a weekend fry-up, or perhaps simply a typical Sri Lankan breakfast. Either way, it was absolutely delicious and slightly unnerving tantalising our tastebuds with that amount of fresh chilli at nine in the morning.

A spread of Hoppers (both string and plain) which are made from Rice Flour and Coconut milk. The plain hoppers are similar to mini dosas and the string hoppers are a small patty of vermicelli-like strings compounded together. Both act as a base to mop up the delicious light Dal and Coconut Sambal.

Again, all whipped up in Pushpa's kitchen before we opened our eyes that morning.
The plate of fresh fruit with a squeeze of Lime finishes the meal and neutralises the palette. I enjoyed a pot of Sri Lankan coffee, which I likened to a pot of sweet mud (did the trick though) and Simon used the freshly squeezed Papaya juice to wash down the Chilli overtaking his mouth.
A wonderfully perfect start to the day. Thank you Pushpa.
Bill for two, including sauce: 1750 rupees (GB£9.50, AU$17.00)

Rathna Guest House & Restaurant, Dalawella, Unawatuna, Galle +94 914933405

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Dinner at Rathna Restaurant: Unawatuna, Sri Lanka
- 20 Jan 2010
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The Ying to Wijaya's Yang, Rathna is wholesome and unpretentious. Matriarchal cook Pushpa has a welcome as big as her smile.

Her tiny, beach shack restaurant is almost in the Indian Ocean. On this coast locals fish on stilts in the surf: no surprises what's the favourite dish in local restaurants.

Pushpa's prawn and fish curries are superb: you must order at lunchtime to give her enough time to prepare (nothing is rushed on Sri Lanka's south coast). Did the fish come from the stilt fishermen, or from the trawlers on the horizon every evening? Pushpa's son claims all their fish comes from local fishermen, so we hope it was sustainable.

Depending on which day you order, your curry will come accompanied by brown rice still in its red husks, thick green bean curry, pumpkin curry and heavily seasoned tomato layered on top of cucumber. All curry powders here are made by Pushpa from scratch using cinnamon, cardamon and other local spices. Wonderful.

Go for the traditional fish curries, eaten so close to the sea you can smell the surf, watching cannibal crabs devour their younger brethren.

Bill for two, including soft drinks and gorgeous banana fritter: 1500 rupees (£8, AU$14)

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"Tell me what you eat, and I'll tell you what you are" - Anthelme Brillat-Savarin
For the first five months of 2010 we blogged our culinary adventure on the road in Asia and the Americas. We are now settled in Far North Queensland - and still eating!

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