Barefoot Gallery & Cafe, Colombo

Barefoot Gallery & Cafe

Coming to my 4th week in the city of Colombo, I realize that this place has its charms but also dull moments. Charms in the form of the cafes & restaurants and strangers you meet on the road or at the dining table (most probably because of the foreign face). Dull kicks in when you're in need of some retail therapy - none to be found, the best mall here barely matches to KL's worst mall. But the retail therapy part, it's ok as I am not here to spend my monies on more clothes... though grocery shopping here is a pain as well (supermarkets are small and variation is limited).

Barefoot fits into the charm part of Colombo.



"Barefoot is full of beautiful handwoven vibrantly colored fabric, toys, bags and household linen. A gallery of contemporary at frangipani gallery cafe. A bookshop and Sri Lankan made artifacts."



Unlike Paradise Road & Gallery Cafe, Barefoot does not allow photography in the gallery though the cafe is ok. Still can't understand the paranoid but anyway I managed to snap one and a very colourful one too! The layout of Barefoot in order from front entrance to the back door:

1. Fabrics and home deco - cotton colourful table runners, mats, napkins, cushion covers, ornaments, silverware, tea, aromatherapy incense etc.
2. Cotton and silk clothes - colourful sarongs, traditional Sri Lankan style clothes
3. Bookshop - Travel, architectural, and also a selection of books from local authors
4. Cotton bags, more ornaments
5. Barefoot cafe


Can you guess what animal is the metal sculpture depicting?


Trojan horse


Barefoot Cafe


The bar- there's something about gray cement bars...


Coke and colours

The menu of Barefoot Cafe is pretty small, just a couple of choices for mains, some light snacks and drinks.


Live jazz on Sundays

If you're a fan of jazz, the cafe is a great place to spend your afternoon as there is a live jazz band and it's pretty good and the location is a favourite amongst foreigners and locals... though my only grouse is that the chairs are not that comfy :(



The colourful backdoor

So if you're in Colombo, don't forget to pay Barefoot a visit!


Barefoot
706, Galle Road,
Colombo 4,
Sri Lanka.
Website: http://www.barefoot.lk/home.htm

[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 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