The Havelock Place Bungalow @ Colombo, Sri Lanka

Welcome to The Havelock Place Bungalow

I stumbled upon The Havelock Place Bungalow during one of those many google searches when I was in the apartment alone. Unable to find any further write ups or google images of what to expect (environment, food menu and prices, etc) except its own website, the best thing to do is pop by the place and check it out yourself.


A boutique hotel doubling up as a restaurant

The Havelock road was a little further from the place I stayed, I remembered calling for a cab instead of tuk-tuk. The main public transportation in Colombo is the tuk-tuk, and trust me taxis are so hard to come by, it's pretty impossible to flag for any without calling for a booking through the taxi company. I had imagine The Havelock Place to be exactly what was pictured in its website gallery... lush greenery, tranquil garden setting, warm wood furnitures that exudes colonial charm. The gallery pictures did not disappoint me.


Curled up butter & balsamic vinegar


Asparagus cappuccino with chargrilled garlic prawns - Rs 350


Caramelized onion and mushroom tart with garden salad - Rs 850

I chose to sit at the garden area, not a wise choice if you don't want to be bitten by mozzies. But if a little insect bite is the least of your worry, enjoy the sunshine and indulge in the warm weather. The menu is simple and straightforward, clearly written on a blackboard display (not too sure if things have changed since then). My choices of entree, mains and desserts were flawless, though nothing mind blowing but it was simple comfort food in a very peaceful and serene environment.

 
Papaya lime sorbet

If you are not a hotel guest, feel free to walk around and check out the bungalow. It has 7 bedrooms - 3 suites and 4 standards and comes available with what a luxury hotel would offer (and maybe more).

The Havelock Place Bungalow is in my Top 10 list of places to visit & dine in Colombo!



The Havelock Place Bungalow
No. 6-8, Havelock Place,
Colombo 5,
Sri Lanka.
Tel: +9411258191 / +94112506153 / +94112506154
Website: http://www.havelockbungalow.com/


* Visuals by Sony T series

[Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here are based on my personal views, tastebuds and preference and may vary for others. Please don't sue me, I don't have money. Kthxbye.]

Malé, Maldives

Malé - the capital of Maldives

Sorry for my long spell of silence. After returning from Sri Lanka (3 weeks ago), there's some adjustments at work (new role, greater responsibilities, and stress). I wouldn't use the 'no time' excuse as there are always time for anything and everything, it's only whether one is lazy or not. In this case, I won't deny I am (abit of) the former heehee.

Anyway, I shall move on to my next travel posting on Maldives. SL posts will be resumed when I feel like writing them.


Every. Single. Maldivian. has a cool pair of shades. Seriously.

Let's face it - unless you and I are rich & famous, Maldives remains as a dream for a holiday destination. Bali would be the cheaper and preferred destination instead (which reminds me... I've got long overdue Bali & Bandung travels to blog about too!) However, once you've been to Maldives, you'll have a different definition of what 'paradise on earth' means.

It is jaw droppingly BEAUTIFUL.


Jumhooree Maidan - the republic square of Maldives, a popular spot for social gatherings

For the unknown, Maldives was one of the affected regions when the 2004 Tsunami hit, although said to be less badly damaged than Sri Lanka and Andaman, but bad enough to alter the map of the paradise cluster. Words have since spread that one must visit Maldives at least once in their life as some of the smaller islands could possibly sink in 50-100 years time. I am not in the position to tell whether it's true or not but with the current changing climate and natural disasters happening globally, it is better to believe than living in denial.

I'll leave the googling to you on the city of Malé (pronounced as Ma-leh) and the paradise nation of Maldives... while I bring you some images of the little city with just over 100,000 Maldivians.


People's Majlis - Maldives Parliament


The Presidential Palace of current Maldives President, Mr. Mohammed Nasheed


Hukuru Miskiiy - The oldest mosque in Maldives, it's architecture is entirely made out of coral stones


Mausoleum for the very important people, tombstones entirely made out of coral stones too


Grand Friday Mosque (Masjid-al-Sultan Mohammed Thakurufaanu-al-A "z" zam) is the biggest mosque in Maldives where majority of Maldivians are Muslims


Sultan Park


Fishing boats lining the shore of Malé, all ready to unload the day's catch at the fish market


This is a tuna fish


Maldivians filling up water in these striking yellow plastic containers at the fish market

... and of course the obligatory food picture:


The BEST Tuna Fried Rice ever (and expensive too) at Food Bank Restaurant

Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic (Sri Dalada Maligawa), Sri Lanka

Kandy Town

Kandy is a countryside city located in the central region of Sri Lanka. Less commonly known as Maha Nuvara, its Sinhalese name, Kandy is the 2nd busiest city in Sri Lanka, with 1st being Colombo. The city lies on top of hills (unfortunately it doesn't have the cooling temperature like Nuwara Eliya) and is home to tea plantations and the world famous Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic or Sri Dalada Maligawa, one of the most venerable places for the Buddhist community.


Plumeria and Purple Nil Manel flowers for praying

The Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic is a very holy place rich in religion and national history. Legend has it that the Sacred Tooth (which if you have not figured out by now, it belongs to Siddharta Gautama a.k.a. Buddha) is safeguarded by the monarchs and over time it became a symbol that 'whoever has the tooth, he shall be in power' (just like TVB Chinese dramas in the emperor era). According to Wiki, the precious Tooth relic is encased in seven caskets engraved with precious gemstones making it undoubtedly a national treasure.


Sri Dalada Maligawa

The temple was partially destroyed in the 1998 bomb blast attack when Sri Lanka was still in the midst of a civil war with the LTTE (Tamil Tigers). However, the architecturals has since been restored. Legend has it again that the Tooth is so powerful that the people will take it out when they face draught and there will be rain pour soon after.


Cooling holy water


The sacred tooth is kept behind the gold doors




One can read the story of the Tooth Relic presented in the form of paintings and English and Sinhalese captions




Rajah, the world's only stuffed elephant



There is an admission fee for foreigners at Rs. 1,000 (RM28) which also comes along with a mini CD that (I have yet to check out what's in it) but I would suspect some pictures, and descriptions of the temple lah. One has to go in the temple barefooted as well. Photos are allowed. Make sure you put Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic on your visit list the next time you're in Kandy!

After all, you've not been to Kandy if you've not seen the temple!

Paradise Road and Green Path Art Gallery

Paradise Road Studio @ Alfred House Garden

Paradise Road (trademark) is the brainchild of Udashanth Fernando and is also famous because all the galleries/ cafe/ studio are located in buildings designed by famous European-Ceylonese architect Geoffrey Bawa. A google search brought me to a Wikipedia page dedicated to him and these words "among the most influential architects in southeast Asia in the last decades of the 20th century, he is the principal force behind what is today known globally as ‘tropical modernism’" says alot about his works and contribution to Sri Lanka. Unfortunately he has passed away in 2003, but there's no doubt his designs and works still lives on and I'm glad Paradise Road has brought a new lease of life to the premises.



Before I went to Sri Lanka, I had a colleague who kept insisting I have to visit Paradise Road. He told me that in a state of drunkness and I actually thought he was fooling around (Me thinking: Paradise... Road? Is it a road where drug addicts gather to 'feel' like they're on paradise? Or where magic mushrooms are available?) Of course I didn't pay much attention to him and brushed aside the drunken 'tip'.



When I touched down in Colombo, I was whisked to Cinammon Lakeside Hotel where I spent a month there. Everytime I passed by the lobby or waiting for my vehicle I could see hoards of European tourists carrying paperbags with the two words printed on it: Paradise Road. That was when I learnt, those are not magic mushrooms and neither it is a road name. Google came to the rescue again and I then found out about Gallery Cafe (own & managed by Paradise Road group), subsequently Paradise Road Galleries (Design Warehouse and Studio), and Tintagel.



I love Paradise Road. There's always so much to see, and I never get bored of it. There's always something that I want to buy and I'm looking forward to have my own house one day and decorate it with home decors from Paradise Road!

Paradise Road Studio
12, Alfred House Gardens,
Colombo 03,
Sri Lanka.
Tel: +94112506844
Website: www.paradiseroadsl.com/studio/Index.htm


Paradise Road @ Dharmapala Mawatha; Unmistakable black & white

Just another 10 minutes away from my apartment, there is another Paradise Road Studio which sits in a huge white bungalow opposite the Viharamahadevi Park. While selection of goods are almost the same with the one at Alfred Garden, I find this studio has a little bit more of extra stuff like kids wooden toys and food stuff (hand bottled chutneys, jams, spices, olive oil, etc).


Paradise Road Cafe; Have a slice of cake and rest your feet


Pretty hand bottled food stuff available; The White Room- you can't go wrong with white ceramics

Gift wrapping service is also available here free of charge and wrapping papers come in a myriad of colors with thin manila ropes for ribbons.

Paradise Road
213, Dharmapala Mawatha,
Colombo 07,
Sri Lanka.
Tel: +94112686043


Paradise Road Design Warehouse @ Ward Place; Ayubowan book stopper

Paradise Road Design Warehouse opened its doors in December 2010. It is more spacious and houses more antique furnitures rather than knick knacks and ornaments. Most of the furnitures showcased are of Chinese influence and there are also modern leather furnitures on the upper level.

Prices of things in Paradise Road ranges from about Rs. 50 for the smallest little thing like tealight candle to Rs. 100,000++ for antique furniture pieces. There's always something for everyone!

Paradise Road Design Warehouse
61/3, Ward Place,
Colombo 07,
Sri Lanka.
Tel: +94112691056
Website: www.paradiseroadsl.com


Green Path Art Gallery on weekends

My colleagues knew I like arts after knowing that I bought a painting at Gandhara Crafts. They recommended me to pay a visit to Green Path where there is a painting exhibition every weekend by independent artists. Coincidentally, Green Path is just 10 mins walk away from where I stayed so it was really convenient. While not all paintings caught my fancy but there were a few good ones too...


An Aliya painting sold for Rs. 6,500 to me!

... like this water color painting on an aliya (elephant in sinhalese) which was again love at first sight just like the buddhist monk painting I bought earlier. Fortunately this costs only a fraction of the first painting!

Now.......... I need to buy a house to put my paintings!

Green Path Art Gallery
Ananda Coomaraswamy Mawatha,
Colombo 07,
Sri Lanka.
(within the Viharamahadevi Park)


If you like this, you may also be interested in:
Yiling - The Gallery Cafe
Yiling - Tintagel
Yiling - Gandhara Crafts
Eiling - The Gallery Cafe
Eiling - Tintagel

The Famous Beach Wadiya, Colombo

The famous Beach Wadiya- you have to cross the railway track to eat your meal!

I read somewhere that if you have not eaten at Beach Wadiya, then you have not been to Sri Lanka! Beach Wadiya is a very well known cheap thrills-no frills seafood place where it has managed to attract many rich, famous, powerful personalities (it's most notable being Princess Anne from England and Richard Branson of Virgin Group) and also the low rung, middle class, average Joes, tourists, travellers, expatriates, and locals alike.


Guestbook index by country; Richard 'Virgin Galactica' Branson was here!

Beach Wadiya has been in operations for over 3 decades where it was founded by owner Olwyn Weerasekara who is now in his 70s! This humble little joint with no decorations, fancy atmosphere (it's next to the beach shore, you can't see anything but you certainly hear the beating of the waves), smartly dressed waiters or even a physical food menu! The best way to describe it will be a 'scrapped off to its bare minimum seafood hut'.


Devilled crabs- Rs.850 (RM24); Garlic grilled prawns- Rs, 525 (RM15); Kangkung for fibres- Rs. 155 (RM4); Kah Yee and I with bibs ready to chomp them crabs down!

There were no menus shown, once seated the waiter brings a plate of raw seafood which the kitchen has for the day (prawns, kangkung, crabs, fish) and suggests cooking method. We opted for the famous devilled crab- everyone raves about it so we obviously had to try!, garlic grilled prawns and kangkung for fibers. The crab was delicious with the not-too-spicy sauce though I wish the crabs are bigger and meatier, the prawns were amazingly fresh so much so you can feel them bouncing in your mouth, while the kangkung is so much thinner and seemed different from Malaysia's version.


Loads of pictures of famous patrons adorning the walls; Beach Wadiya and its raw-rity; With owner Olwyn Weerasekara

Be sure to spend some time looking at the gazillions of photos adorning the walls, you may even spot your favourite cricketer/ corporate figure/ celebrity amongst the Hall of Fame crowd. If you're lucky, you may even get to meet the legendary Olwyn Weerasekara in person having tea. We managed to spend some 5 minutes chatting with him where he gave us some life advice and also a Beach Wadiya t-shirt each as souvenirs! Must be our lucky day :-)


Stamping our marks down too- Kah Yee and Yiling were here!

Be sure to ask if you could pen your thoughts in their guestbook too. We were told that when the tsunami hit, 5 guestbooks were washed away... but what is really amazing is how Olwyn manages to remember who, where and which books that some comments were penned down (he's got a few favourites) and some people even wrote stories, attached currencies and even religious items in these thick books!

I've finally got all the places I want to eat at covered, so now I can leave Sri Lanka with joy and satisfaction. See ya'll at the other side of the globe soon.


* Prices are excluding 10% service charge and 12% VAT


Beach Wadiya
2, Station Avenue,
Colombo 06 (Wellawatta),
Sri Lanka.
Tel: +94112588568
Website: http://beachwadiya.com/

[Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here are based on my personal views, tastebuds and preference and may vary for others. Please don't sue me, I don't have money. Kthxbye.]

Tintagel, Colombo

Tintagel

Tintagel (Tin-ta-jel) is one of my favourite places to be in Colombo. If it is any coincidence, this historical mansion turned boutique hotel is also associated with my favourite gallery/ art brand 'Paradise Road' and (again, my favourite) The Gallery Cafe. If you can have 3 favourites in one sentence, I think hell yeah this deserves a little bit more photos than the usual posting!


Dining at The Courtyard; Paradise Road Hot Chocolate- Rs. 450 (RM12)

Located at Rosmead Place within the Cinnamon Gardens postcode which is regarded as the elite neighbourhood where embassies, government offices, and big colonial mansions scatters around, Tintagel stands tall and beautiful among all. With a history dating back to 1930 where it was the residence of Dr. Lucien de Zilwa, an eminent Sri Lankan physician, gynaecologist and writer. In the following decade, it was made the British military quarters, and later sold to Sir Solomon Dias Bandaranaike for his son Solomon West Ridgeway (S.W.R.D.). It is this point that the mansion became known as the Bandaranaike's Residence where S.W.R.D. became Prime Minister in 1956 and assassinated at the verandah of the mansion. His widow, Srimavo Bandaranaike became the world's first female Prime Minister and longest serving PM in Sri Lanka. She lived in the mansion till her demise in 2000. Subsequently, the following generations of Bandaranaike also became political leaders in the island.


A touch of 'dark' luxury in private dining

In 2005, Tintagel is leased to Udashanth Fernando, designer and proprietor of the Paradise Road group and it has since been turned into a luxurious, unique historical boutique hotel. Every little item put into Tintagel can be traceable to the items sold at the Paradise Road galleries but in a very subtle way... you will almost think that it is a coincidence. The mansion is huge, housing a beautiful courtyard for dining, a dark luxurious 'The Private Dining Room', a flawless glass-like swimming pool, a tastefully decorated library, the distinct Red Bar, the lobby which smells of fresh beautiful small white flowers, and above all 10 exclusive suites.


The scent of fresh flowers everywhere!


A room for the bookworms, The Library


Beautiful glass-like flawless long narrow pool

My favourite part of the house would be the swimming pool. It was love at first sight when I saw it during my maiden visit and I knew I have to show this to my visitors from Malaysia! It is too beautiful to even dip your foot in, just so that the glass-like illusion is not spoilt!


Tintagel Executive and Superior Suites from USD200+ onwards

I had the privilege to be shown some rooms and they are amazing- tastefully decorated with a special view for every room. I was told that rates starts at USD200 onwards and you can do the reservation here. If you're willing to splurge USD200 for a room, I would strongly suggest Tintagel as it is more private yet warm than the big hotel chains.


Inside 'The Red Bar'

Unfortunately, Tintagel does not have a lliquor license due to historical importance and status of the building, however you can BYOB and pay for the corkage. A friend of mine asked me, "I wonder what they serve in the bar if they don't have alcohol?" Virgin pina colada, virgin bloody mary, virgin cosmopolitan, virgin margarita, virgin mojito.... maybe??!


Fresh strawberries and cream- Rs. 625 (RM17); Roast pork on a bed of potato mash with sauteed vegetables, apple mousse and mustard sauce- Rs. 995 (RM27); King Coconut- Rs. 90 (RM2)

I was actually pretty happy with the food on my first visit as I wasn't expecting much (hotel food usually looks better than taste). I did not hesitate to bring my family here for our CNY reunion dinner + Eiling's birthday, I'm sure they will love it too!


Complimentary bread; Spicy Sri Lankan crab soup- Rs. 645 (RM18); Avocado, Prawn and Lobster salad- Rs. 835 (RM23); Fettuccine with lobster, prawns, crabs and spicy sauce- Rs. 1,485 (RM41)


Sri Lankan pork curry and rice; Pan fried red snapper with rocket pesto risotto and roasted cashew nut- Rs. 1,795 (RM49); Crispy duck with apricot and plum sauce, stir fried beans and roasted pistachios- Rs. 2,145 (RM59); Steamed fish; Braised pork belly topped with poached egg- Rs. 1,585 (RM44)

That said, we had a very different and western dinner this year and perhaps also very memorable as we have not sat together as a family for a meal at least in the past year!


The Tintagel High Tea- Rs. 1,750/person (RM48): Finger sandwiches; Selection of savoury and sweet pastries; Plain and fruit scones with strawberry preserve and fresh cream; Slice of 'cake of the day'; Tea/Coffee


Ceylon Tea- Have your cup and drink it too

When my friend came down for a week-long visit, this warrants a 3rd visit to Tintagel in a month! We had the high tea menu where it came in 3-tiers of pastries, cakes and sandwiches. I like the scones but felt slightly below average for the finger sandwiches and just so-so for the cakes. But I suppose the ambiance more than makes up for it if not for the super annoying and deadly mosquitoes in the evening!


Happy Chinese New Year from the Lims!

I hope everyone had a very good Chinese New Year, I'm finally coming home this Friday. But before that, I will be flying to Maldives tonight to enjoy my well deserved ho-ho-holiday (the beginning of ticking off my 2011 Travel Resolutions).

* Prices are excluding 10% service charge and 13% VAT.

If you like this, you may also be interested in:
Yiling - The Gallery Cafe
Eiling - The Gallery Cafe
Eiling - Tintagel


Tintagel
65, Rosmead Place,
Colombo 07,
Sri Lanka.
Tel: +944602121 or +944602060
Website: www.paradiseroadhotels.com/tintagel/index.php

[Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here are based on my personal views, tastebuds and preference and may vary for others. Please don't sue me, I don't have money. Kthxbye.]