The Cricket Club Cafe, Colombo

Aside from the lovely cafes and wonderful beaches, the only thing that irks me is the weather- it has been raining from day 1 until day 16 (today) and it's gonna continue raining... and when it rains, it really rains for hours!



So after I walked out from Gallery Cafe, it started to rain again... I just got in time to hop over to Cricket Club Cafe which is thankfully just across the street to get away from the rain. You should know that by then I would have been stuffed and not planning to have a 2nd round of lunch! But obviously I couldn't get away from the rain, chilling at the cafe and not ordering anything!


Peekaboo!

Cricket Club Cafe is everything and anything about cricket. In a country where cricket is like a religion, the cricketers are the biggest celebrities and a sport that is known to every Sri Lankan (though I am sure you didn't know that the official sport of Sri Lanka is Volleyball), I guess it makes perfect sense that there is a cafe/ bar that is dedicated to this sport.


Signatures of cricketers

The ambience and setting is welcoming... flags, merchandise and memorabilia adorn the walls. The tv is showing cricket matches and I was stuck there for about 2 hours, I guess if a person doesn't know about cricket, it will just take 2 hours of watching these matches to roughly guess what is going on.






Bedi's Brownie with Vanilla Ice Cream- Rs. 280 (RM8)

I had a Bedi's Brownie and it is sinful.... imagine, a chocolate brownie with peanuts, vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce......... hmmmm.




Cafe Latte- Rs. 195 (RM5)

And pairing it with a Cafe Latte, I had wanted to go for the hot choc but reckon that I will be chocolate overdose at the end ;-)

Cricket Club Cafe offers the best place to watch every Sri Lankan's favourite sport- cricket and a great place to dine, and chill.


The Cricket Club Cafe
34, Queens Road,
Colombo 03,
Sri Lanka.
Tel: +94 (0) 11 250 1384
Website: http://thecricketclubcafeceylon.com/cricket_club/home.html

[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.]

The Gallery Café, Colombo

Paradise Road Galleries

Paradise Road is listed as one of the must-visit places in Colombo. Not to be mistaken as a road name- in fact it is located on Alfred House Road, Paradise Road is a concept design store - studio - gallery - cafe. For those who appreciate arts and quality dining experience, Paradise Road is the place to spend a lovely afternoon.

I'll let pictures do justice.




































Champagne Risotto with Broccoli and Mushrooms- Rs.895 (RM25)


Tomato gazpacho- Rs. 495 (RM14); Pan fried pork chops- Rs. 985 (RM27)


Lemon meringue pie- Rs. 575 (RM16); Cinnamon ice cream- Rs. 625 (RM17)











* Prices are exclusive of 10% service charge and 13% VAT


The Gallery Cafe
2, Alfred House Road,
Colombo 3,
Sri Lanka.
Tel: +942582162
Website: www.paradiseroadsl.com/cafe/Introduction.html

[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.]

Mount Lavinia, Sri Lanka

View inside the tuk tuk

Since arriving in Colombo, I have learnt to do alot of things alone- eat, sleep, watch tv, linger around, etc. And when my first weekend in Colombo came, I thought I will have to find my way around town alone... then I met a Belgian dude at the breakfast table on Saturday morning.

While I will not bore you guys with details on how the opening conversations went, it turns out Nicolas was in Colombo for the weekend and has been here some time back before the ceasefire and seems to know certain places like the back of his hand. The rest of the weekend was history but I got a one day tour guide in exchange for a bottle of coke and a couple of new friends found (which includes one film director-producer, an athlete and a radio presenter).


Mount Lavinia Hotel

Nicolas brought me to Mount Lavinia (I have to constantly tell everyone it is NOT a mountain), if you google 'places to visit in Colombo/ Sri Lanka', you will most likely find Mount Lavinia on the list of places to visit. Just about 15 mins of tuk tuk ride from Galle Road, the landmark of this seaside area is none other than the unmistakable white Mount Lavinia Hotel. Just like Malaysia and other Commonwealth countries, Sri Lanka, or Ceylon was formerly ruled by the British, hence it's not surprising that many buildings still exudes the colonial charm and architectural.


Mount Lavinia Hotel is a must visit

The hotel has its own seaside/ beach but I was warned against any swimming as the sea is pretty wild here, additionally, the beachside is steeper than the usual beaches and it's not exactly the Redang white sandy beaches type.


Mount Lavinia Hotel private beach

Though swimming is not encouraged, sunbathers are more than welcome. Since this is part of the private beach, Mount Lavinia charges a fee for non-hotel guests who would like to utilize their part of the beach. There is also a popular seafood restaurant here called 'Seafood Cove' which is recommended as one of the places to go for seafood!


The Terrace

After a visit to the beach, we headed to The Terrace for a drink, and to absorb all the fresh sea breeze, great view and enjoy the Saturday afternoon. The Terrace is a wonderful place to chill out, pool on the left and the sea just right in front of you! Cloudy blue skies thrown in for free if you're lucky too.


Lion Beer- doesn't that look like Lion King??

From my observation, the locals here predominantly love their Cokes. Here, Coke is still sold and served in the classic ol' skool glass bottles. For the foreigners, beer is always the first choice especially if it's cheaper than your own country! The 2 most popular local brews are Lion Beer and Three Coins. A big bottle like this usually cost about Rs. 400 -450 (less than RM15) in a hotel/ club/ high-end environment but I am sure it will cost only 3/4 of the price in convenience shops.


Hello- meet my new friend, Nicolas

The one day tour ended with a visit to the Colombo Swimming Club (CSC) located at Galle Road, one of the most happening streets in Colombo. The CSC also functions as a hotel and I was privileged enough to be taken on a tour to the rooms. I was told that they're as cheap as USD60/night but the rooms are fantastic especially if you love the wood furnitures from the colonial era and a simple view that overlooks the pool, railway tracks and the sea, I know my mom would love it!


Love that uniform!

At night, my colleagues brought me out to dinner and night spot visit. But that's another story for another day! Till then, I must say I'm loving it here and wish to paint a better picture of Sri Lanka to everyone back home reading this that though it's a road less traveled, it's certainly one that is WORTH traveling ;-)

Cheers.

* Updates on food (on my 3rd visit):


P.R.S. - Rs. 750 (RM21)
Crispy fried prawns dressed in creamy curry sauce


Mt. Lavinia Crab Cakes- Rs. 850 (RM23)
Spicy lump crab meat with watercress salad & chili mustard sauce


Pork Chop [350 - 400gm] - Rs. 1,700 (RM46)
Mexican spiced double pork chop, finished with chili & tomato salsa


Fried Garupa- Rs. 850 (RM23)
Whole fried garupa stuffed with coconut & avocado rice finished with sweet chili mojo


Whole Young Chicken- Rs. 950 (RM26)
Boneless roasted baby chicken marinated with balsamic, rosemary and garlic over truffle mashed potato & sauteed greens

Food was not too bad, not cheap definitely especially when factoring in another extra 25% worth of taxes, but dining ambiance more than makes up for it in my opinion.



Mount Lavinia Hotel
100, Hotel Road,
Mount Lavinia,
Sri Lanka.
Website: http://www.mountlaviniahotel.com/front/index.php

Hello from COLOMBO!

World Trade Centre, the Cargills building and tuk tuks

Hi guys, I am currently on a 3-month work secondment to Colombo, Sri Lanka. More updates and insights to this Paradise Isle soon!

Cheers.

Fat Spoon @ Damansara Uptown

Fried Ulam Rice- RM11.90; Nasi Goreng Kampung

Fat Spoon is another one of the latest offering in D'sara Uptown (it's about 4 mths old now). Besides being notorious for the parking, Uptown is also a food hub in PJ. There are dozens of food outlets out there which I have not tried, but Fat Spoon was one of the few which I have tried from a friend's tipoff that they serve good coffee. These days, either food has be to really really good or the ambience have to be really fantastic to attract people to your outlet... Fat Spoon has the quality of the latter, though the food didn't hit the highest note, it was comforting to say the least.

I love the deco here- old rustic charm, mish & mash, dangling kitchen ware, antique wood cabinets, stained glasses, classic classroom blackboard, chinese teacups... does it sound like your grandma's home? But that's exactly the point! We all want to feel like we are eating at our grandma's home once in a while... it's nostalgic! And it's like being in a scrapbook that came to live!

I had the Fried Ulam Rice and I love it! The fried rice was infused with the flavours of ulam. Ulam is the Malay style of salad usually eaten raw or with sambal belacan, cencaluk, budu or sometimes with rice. While the fried chicken was on the dry side, the flavour was good. It's an excellent value for money lunch meal. My lunch friends enjoyed their meals too...


Fresh Orange Juice- RM7.90; Fat Spoon Hot Choc

Ironically, I didn't have any coffee here but was distracted to have The Fat Spoon Hot Chocolate instead... very rich in cocoa taste. I also had the Fresh Orange Juice which is by far the freshest (so good, I think they squeeze it with hands!) no-added ice or sugar.

The only 'miss' about here is the long waiting time for food to arrive... unless you work nearby, or have all the time in the world for lunch, Fat Spoon is most recommended.

Oh did I mention about Peter & Jane books as menu?


Fat Spoon
73, Jalan SS21/1A,
Damansara Uptown,
Petaling Jaya.
Tel: 03-7728 3323
(same row as Hon Kee Porridge and +Wondermilk)
Check out their Facebook page here

[disclaimer: the opinions expressed here are based on my personal views, tastebuds and preference and may vary for others. please dont sue me, i dont have money. kthxbye.]