Artemis was in the mood for dim sum but we couldn't think of any place other than the Wok at the Hilton that served it. Since we didn't want to head that way, we went to the next closest thing which was Japanese food at Sakura. Ok I know they are really countries a part, but it was a good experience anyway! :)
We chose one of those short tables where you sit on the floor on thin cushions. The place really needs a good paint job and looked like it was going to fall apart. We hoped the food would be better!
We ordered a mix of stuff mainly to try out little bits of what was on offer and of course we had to have something raw in there too. While waiting for the food we were trying to get Helga to use the chops sticks but she never really got the hang of it and finally gave up and opted for a spoon.
We started out with some vegetarian sushi followed by a platter of tempura which came with a soup and rice. The soup was tasteless but the rest of the dish was fine. We also got some noodle thingy that came with a raw egg yolk floating in it which kinda irked me out and I was very careful for it to not break! Finally some raw fish which came with a side dish of fresh veges. The fish was good with the sauces they gave but overall the food was just alright. I think you really need to acquire a taste for it to enjoy.
If you want something totally out of the ordinary then I would suggest you try Sakura out. Its relatively inexpensive too and If nothing else, it would at least make you appreciate your regular lunch a little bit more ;)
A Mixed Platter of Feelings at The Sizzle
Hey Hey Hey... it's me Helga. This time we visited one of the happening eating joints in Colombo - The Sizzle. This was not our first visit, but was our first after we created this blog :) I was accompanied by Yzma and another mutual friend. Artemis was out of the country at that time.
First of all, like the usual tradition we ordered a starter and this time we asked for the Shrimp Cocktail, followed by liquids - Iced Coffee, Layla's Daiquiri & a Mixed Fruit Juice for yours truly ;)
As for the main meals, we ordered Nigel's Shashlik, A Bruised Mixed Up Lee & Miguel Cotto's Platter for Yzma, myself & our friend respectively.
The Shrimp cocktail was fab! We all loved it, so were the drinks - nothing special about them, but nothing wrong with them either.
I got my meal first - as usual it was sizzling hot and smelled nice. I couldn't be bothered being polite as I was so hungry, I started to whack before the meals for the others arrived. It was so darn good - oh I forgot..... I don't know whether anyone of you have tried this dish before or not, but if you are a vegetarian this is your dish!!! the cottage cheese cubes ( my favourite) and the ample amount of vegetables with my choice of add ons (pasta/baked potato/satellite sauce) was perfect.
One thing I like about The Sizzle is that even if you are a vegetarian, you won't feel bored with the food choices at this place, there are plenty of meal options for non meat eaters like us (yeh, im not a pure vegetarian - I just don't eat meat).
Now! Yzma got her dish - boy she was mad :) :) I'll tell you why - her dish "Nigel's Shashlik" should have had chicken cubes on skewers, instead she got chicken pieces minus the skewers. If this was the first time, she would have just kept her mouth shut, but during one of her previous visits, they have served her sister with mashed potato when she had asked for baked potatoes or something.
So we decided to ask for the Manager. On his defense he said that they serve pieces instead of cubes after taking in to consideration of the complaints from the customers that the chicken cubes were not being cooked well.
Well what we have to say is that, the menu should have been changed or at the time of the order the waiter should have told us about this.
There was no complaint from our friend on her dish "Miguel Cotto's Platter", she enjoyed it quiet nicely and told me the next day that she was still full of previous day's lunch.
In the end we got a complimentary dessert " Laura's Favourite Sizzle" (basically chocolate browny & vanilla ice cream in chocolate sauce) for the little mishap :)
All I can say is, I would still continue to go to this place as I love the food and the service, oh yeh... I forgot to mention - im a proud owner of the Sizzle discount card ;) Also I like the way they treat the customers after the service has been rendered - they sent a birthday card with a discount coupon for my birthday (and I can hear some of you calling me a sucker ;) ) , still! I liked the gesture.
First of all, like the usual tradition we ordered a starter and this time we asked for the Shrimp Cocktail, followed by liquids - Iced Coffee, Layla's Daiquiri & a Mixed Fruit Juice for yours truly ;)
As for the main meals, we ordered Nigel's Shashlik, A Bruised Mixed Up Lee & Miguel Cotto's Platter for Yzma, myself & our friend respectively.
The Shrimp cocktail was fab! We all loved it, so were the drinks - nothing special about them, but nothing wrong with them either.
I got my meal first - as usual it was sizzling hot and smelled nice. I couldn't be bothered being polite as I was so hungry, I started to whack before the meals for the others arrived. It was so darn good - oh I forgot..... I don't know whether anyone of you have tried this dish before or not, but if you are a vegetarian this is your dish!!! the cottage cheese cubes ( my favourite) and the ample amount of vegetables with my choice of add ons (pasta/baked potato/satellite sauce) was perfect.
One thing I like about The Sizzle is that even if you are a vegetarian, you won't feel bored with the food choices at this place, there are plenty of meal options for non meat eaters like us (yeh, im not a pure vegetarian - I just don't eat meat).
Now! Yzma got her dish - boy she was mad :) :) I'll tell you why - her dish "Nigel's Shashlik" should have had chicken cubes on skewers, instead she got chicken pieces minus the skewers. If this was the first time, she would have just kept her mouth shut, but during one of her previous visits, they have served her sister with mashed potato when she had asked for baked potatoes or something.
So we decided to ask for the Manager. On his defense he said that they serve pieces instead of cubes after taking in to consideration of the complaints from the customers that the chicken cubes were not being cooked well.
Well what we have to say is that, the menu should have been changed or at the time of the order the waiter should have told us about this.
There was no complaint from our friend on her dish "Miguel Cotto's Platter", she enjoyed it quiet nicely and told me the next day that she was still full of previous day's lunch.
In the end we got a complimentary dessert " Laura's Favourite Sizzle" (basically chocolate browny & vanilla ice cream in chocolate sauce) for the little mishap :)
All I can say is, I would still continue to go to this place as I love the food and the service, oh yeh... I forgot to mention - im a proud owner of the Sizzle discount card ;) Also I like the way they treat the customers after the service has been rendered - they sent a birthday card with a discount coupon for my birthday (and I can hear some of you calling me a sucker ;) ) , still! I liked the gesture.
Tantalizing Taste Buds at Tintagel
The old Bandaranayake mansion on Rosmead Place was converted in to a luxurious boutique hotel not too long ago. Tintegal (Pronounced tin-ta-jel) is nothing but beautiful and quite breathtaking not only on the first visit. The rooms are decorated in a very contemporary style and its like walking in to a page off a Paradise Road catalog. Not very surprising considering that it is run by the same owners who also manage the Gallery Cafe.
The place is very quiet during lunch time and seems to be a well kept secret. But a taste of their Mediterranean and fusion food will keep you coming back for more! For starters we tried out a mozzarella salad which was well garnished with different herbs and balsamic vinegar. For the main meal I had the grill Baramondi fish which comes in a bed of green peas and chickpeas. It had a very interesting flavor and I quite liked it. My fellow lunchers both had the fish and fat chips which they thoroughly enjoyed too!
For dessert I highly recommend the creme bru le or the fresh strawberries and cream. the last time I came to this place with a larger party, we managed to try out more of their deserts and these two still stand out as the best for me.
Ok so to sum up, I've really enjoyed both my visits for lunch here. I must say that it is not a place you would come to too often as it is very pricey (a meal can cost upto Rs.2000 per person) and it is one of those places that are best saved for special occasions.
Considering the very friendly staff, nice and cosy atmosphere along with great food, Tintagel gets a 9 out of 10 from me.
The place is very quiet during lunch time and seems to be a well kept secret. But a taste of their Mediterranean and fusion food will keep you coming back for more! For starters we tried out a mozzarella salad which was well garnished with different herbs and balsamic vinegar. For the main meal I had the grill Baramondi fish which comes in a bed of green peas and chickpeas. It had a very interesting flavor and I quite liked it. My fellow lunchers both had the fish and fat chips which they thoroughly enjoyed too!
For dessert I highly recommend the creme bru le or the fresh strawberries and cream. the last time I came to this place with a larger party, we managed to try out more of their deserts and these two still stand out as the best for me.
Ok so to sum up, I've really enjoyed both my visits for lunch here. I must say that it is not a place you would come to too often as it is very pricey (a meal can cost upto Rs.2000 per person) and it is one of those places that are best saved for special occasions.
Considering the very friendly staff, nice and cosy atmosphere along with great food, Tintagel gets a 9 out of 10 from me.
The Jack Tree by Helga
Let me start off by saying i'm not at all a thai food fan, unlike Yzma who always brags about thai food and especially about Royal Thai. My first encounter with thai food was at Siam House, i went with my fellow mate Artemis and another mutual friend. I can't remember the name of the dishes we ordered (pok/puk/pook-whateva!), all i liked was the soup :) The mixed vegetable fried rice was horrible, too many spices if you ask me. Hey! this is coming out of a person who doesn't like thai food, so don't take me seriously :)
Hence I think it is not fair to all me commenting on the food at Jack Tree, rather i thought of commenting on other factors that make diners notice when they are at an eating joint.
As we entered the restaurant, the smell in the room made the whole place feel exotic (later i was told my Artemis & Yzma, that it was the lemon grass that was giving such a wonderful smell). We read the menu , and placed our first order. Alas! guess what, they did not have it :-P That really irritated me, if you don't have, why have it on the menu then! Anyways, they seemed to have all the others, so im cool :)
Overall the restaurant had a friendly environment. Nice decor. Good choice of colours (bright yellow/Green/Red). Good lighting. Here i should comment on their visiting cards.... they were cute, representing the colours Jack Tree has used in its internal decor.
One thing that was noticed the day we went was that, the majority of the diners were ladies! this should be further investigated ........hehe im kidding! just an observation :)
I'll leave my mates to comment on the food. In summary i liked the place and we all have to wait & see how Jack Tree will fair as it had just started and let's hope it will turn out to be the hit of the town, like its name predecessor, "The Mango Tree"!
Hence I think it is not fair to all me commenting on the food at Jack Tree, rather i thought of commenting on other factors that make diners notice when they are at an eating joint.
As we entered the restaurant, the smell in the room made the whole place feel exotic (later i was told my Artemis & Yzma, that it was the lemon grass that was giving such a wonderful smell). We read the menu , and placed our first order. Alas! guess what, they did not have it :-P That really irritated me, if you don't have, why have it on the menu then! Anyways, they seemed to have all the others, so im cool :)
Overall the restaurant had a friendly environment. Nice decor. Good choice of colours (bright yellow/Green/Red). Good lighting. Here i should comment on their visiting cards.... they were cute, representing the colours Jack Tree has used in its internal decor.
One thing that was noticed the day we went was that, the majority of the diners were ladies! this should be further investigated ........hehe im kidding! just an observation :)
I'll leave my mates to comment on the food. In summary i liked the place and we all have to wait & see how Jack Tree will fair as it had just started and let's hope it will turn out to be the hit of the town, like its name predecessor, "The Mango Tree"!
Under the Jack Fruit Tree (aplogies to Carl Muller!)
When you hear the name Jack Tree the last thing that you would think of is Thai Food. But the latest Thai restaurant to open up on Park Road calls itself just that!
Inspired by an article in the Daily News , NUSC headed out to check the place out.
The smell of lemon grass instantly wraps around you when you walk through the door and we were led upstairs to a very tastefully decorated restaurant area which had big green and red bulls eye like drawings on the wall. The seating is comfy and there are interesting trellis work screens that divide the tables.
We first started off with soup which kinda filled us up as we ordered three separate bowls. Since it was a starter, two people could easily have shared one. At least we got to try out three different kinds; Tom Yam Gai, Tom Kha Gai and Tom Yam Pak. Not sure which one was which but Helga and I had the red spicy ones while Artemis had a a coconut milk based one. All were pretty good but like I said the potions were little too much for one person.
For the main meal we went for Pad Thai which wasn't all that great ( too many bean sprouts) along with Gang Keaw Wam Pla which was a fish green curry and Mock Duck Phad Med. The Mock Duck was interesting to try out as it was the first time I had heard of it and was the perfect thing for the vegetarian Helga. You would easily pass it off as mushrooms though...perhaps they are mushrooms!
Overall the food was just alright and not too expensive. The decor and atmosphere however bring up the overall rating to about 6 1/2.
Of course if ever I'm in the mood for Thai food, my first choice would be Royal Thai at Trans Asia...mmm now that is really good thai food!
Inspired by an article in the Daily News , NUSC headed out to check the place out.
The smell of lemon grass instantly wraps around you when you walk through the door and we were led upstairs to a very tastefully decorated restaurant area which had big green and red bulls eye like drawings on the wall. The seating is comfy and there are interesting trellis work screens that divide the tables.
We first started off with soup which kinda filled us up as we ordered three separate bowls. Since it was a starter, two people could easily have shared one. At least we got to try out three different kinds; Tom Yam Gai, Tom Kha Gai and Tom Yam Pak. Not sure which one was which but Helga and I had the red spicy ones while Artemis had a a coconut milk based one. All were pretty good but like I said the potions were little too much for one person.
For the main meal we went for Pad Thai which wasn't all that great ( too many bean sprouts) along with Gang Keaw Wam Pla which was a fish green curry and Mock Duck Phad Med. The Mock Duck was interesting to try out as it was the first time I had heard of it and was the perfect thing for the vegetarian Helga. You would easily pass it off as mushrooms though...perhaps they are mushrooms!
Overall the food was just alright and not too expensive. The decor and atmosphere however bring up the overall rating to about 6 1/2.
Of course if ever I'm in the mood for Thai food, my first choice would be Royal Thai at Trans Asia...mmm now that is really good thai food!
Munch Out at the Palmyrah
Ok ya’ll here goes, my first attempt at blogging, id always wanted to attempt but never quite got around to it until now, maybe a bit cowardly of me, however armed with another two fellow soldiers under the guise of a Greek goddess here I am…
The Palmyrah situated at Hotel Renuka, Colombo - Let me start at the very beginning now, the hotel it self isn’t one of the greatest in Colombo probable a 2 star hotel maybe 1?!!, small reception area, I doubt they have a pool and if they do I don’t think you should get in there, now don’t get me wrong the place is clean not bad, but rumor has it that its been regularly used for clandestine activities.. ;D
Anyway the entrance to the restaurant itself gave me slight jitters, you have to go down a not too wide staircase which was dimly lit… However the restaurant it self although situated at a slightly lower level than the entrance area is well outfitted with windows on either side, place is clean, attentive staff, quick service, slightly cramped seating maybe but then again its no biggiee!
The food was good, we started with a traditional Jaffna Tamil soup dish called Kool , it’s a seafood soup with a strong tomato-ishhh flavor, it’s a thick soup and quite filling, I would recommend that you get one soup in two bowls, its adequate…after all this is not your main course.. jst a titillation of your palette!!!
So for main meal I ordered Chicken Biriyani and Prawn Curry and onion sambol (raw onions and green chili sliced with lime and salt), for me the meal was quite good, my only issue is with the quantity of the prawns and the onion sambol, trust me this is only adequate for one person who is on a diet, luckily Helga is only in to any seafood when she is fasting and she wasn’t fasting that day and I was on a diet!!.
Helga had Dosai which claimed to have egg they should say dosai with some lightly brushed egg white instead (YES IT WAS JST THE WHITE), you cant taste it nor can one hardly see it.. I mean come on you get options from chicken, seafood and egg and you choose egg and one would expect some egg in it…sigh….anyway the paneer masala was good, once again I think they really need to have bigger servings so that at least two people could enjoy without thinking twice, or state on the menu (per person serving).
Overall I would say food is good, place is aight, service is good, quantity sucks, so its not value for money. Would I go there again, definitely not, its not that I’m stingy.. maybe just a little but I want some value for money… Its just too bad really cause I’ve heard good stuff about this place and it is good but one doesn’t get what one pays for .. after all its just not a good meal one looks for but some sort of mental satisfaction too..!
The Palmyrah by Helga
I would say Artemis & I started the new year with a Bang! (at least for our pockets;-) ) I celebrated my birthday on the 3rd and my friend told me that she would buy me shoes. So here we were on our way to Crescat and planned to have our lunch at their food court. But while we were on the Galle Road (Colombo) , we got a glimpse of the "The Palmyrah" restaurant at Renuka City Hotels.
Soon after, both of us found our selves ordering food at Palmyrah! The food smell in the room was very inviting, though the room itself seemed compact and we got a feeling as if we are in a dungeon or something.
The menu looked great and the price seemed "ok" @ that time :) I ordered the Masala Dosa with Egg+Onions+Chillies and Paneer Butter Masala curry. Artemis ordered the Chicken Buriyani and the prawn curry. Oh yes, forgot! we ordered "Odiyal Kool" (seafood soup) , as well.
First came the "Odiyal Kool" - it was perfect! hot and spicy. Then came the utter dissappointment. My Masala Dosa came, till today, I can't figure out where the egg filling went :( it was full of potatoes. The Paneer curry was really tasty but the portion was too small. My friend got the shock of her life when she saw the Prawn curry. The dish, i mean the size of it was as if it was taken out of a kiddies menu. Tiny prawns were floating here and there (about 10 may be) and the dish was filled up with water-thin gravy :( Luckily for my friend, I am not a prawn fan, so she was able to quench her prawn hunger by 20% :-P. Only the chicken buriyani looked reasonable. The portion was big and there were actual chicken pieces :)
We decided not to have dessert since we thought of having ice cream at Crescat.The bill came. For both of us the bill was around LKR 2,380 and our tummy was quarter full :(
On our way out.... both of us were happy with one decision we made that day - not to have dessert @ Palmyrah!
Rating : 2 stars on my book
Food : Very tasty
Price : No value for money
Ambiance : Clean but felt like the roof was going to fall on us (the tables and chairs should have been arranged in such a manner, to give the diners some breathing space)
See you people next time...... after we have tried out yet another place!
Soon after, both of us found our selves ordering food at Palmyrah! The food smell in the room was very inviting, though the room itself seemed compact and we got a feeling as if we are in a dungeon or something.
The menu looked great and the price seemed "ok" @ that time :) I ordered the Masala Dosa with Egg+Onions+Chillies and Paneer Butter Masala curry. Artemis ordered the Chicken Buriyani and the prawn curry. Oh yes, forgot! we ordered "Odiyal Kool" (seafood soup) , as well.
First came the "Odiyal Kool" - it was perfect! hot and spicy. Then came the utter dissappointment. My Masala Dosa came, till today, I can't figure out where the egg filling went :( it was full of potatoes. The Paneer curry was really tasty but the portion was too small. My friend got the shock of her life when she saw the Prawn curry. The dish, i mean the size of it was as if it was taken out of a kiddies menu. Tiny prawns were floating here and there (about 10 may be) and the dish was filled up with water-thin gravy :( Luckily for my friend, I am not a prawn fan, so she was able to quench her prawn hunger by 20% :-P. Only the chicken buriyani looked reasonable. The portion was big and there were actual chicken pieces :)
We decided not to have dessert since we thought of having ice cream at Crescat.The bill came. For both of us the bill was around LKR 2,380 and our tummy was quarter full :(
On our way out.... both of us were happy with one decision we made that day - not to have dessert @ Palmyrah!
Rating : 2 stars on my book
Food : Very tasty
Price : No value for money
Ambiance : Clean but felt like the roof was going to fall on us (the tables and chairs should have been arranged in such a manner, to give the diners some breathing space)
See you people next time...... after we have tried out yet another place!
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