one of the giants at Ministry of Crab Since ending a brutal 27-year conflict in 2009, Sri Lanka is writing a new chapter in her history, which is seeing the country growing and changing in leaps and bounds. One of the first things I noticed on my latest trip there, after the absence of about a year, was how clean ...
The elusive but grand Isso wade Arrived in Sri Lanka a couple days ago for a quick trip to handle some business before the release of my cookbook in a couple weeks. After 23 hours of travelling, my first craving off the plane was for lampreis, a luxurious rice & curry meal wrapped and steamed in a banana leaf, that ...
Embassy of Sri Lanka Washington DC Press Release SRI LANKAN EMBASSY PROMOTES COOKBOOK – ‘RICE AND CURRY’ –IN THE UNITED STATES New volume is honored As “Notable” by The New York Times WASHINGTON – Ambassador Jaliya Wickramasuriya joined Washington-area guests last week to celebrate the release of Rice and Curry, a new cookbook by Sarath Fernando, a Sri Lankan-American author who has ...
Just came off back to back nights in DC doing two Dinner Labs events that served a total of 220 people. Dinner Lab is a company that regularly stages supper clubs across the country, allowing emerging chefs a chance to shine, and this was my first time working with them. After a hectic 2 days of prep in their DC ...
When I got into this cooking game some 8 years ago, I never dreamed I would be an executive chef at a restaurant, or write a cookbook, or even have my own line of spices. But a lot of hard work, and a passion for food has got me to where I am today. At my recent supper club in ...
Sometimes these blog posts don’t work out as planned. I had planned, for example, to do a post on string hoppers, the rice noodle “nests” popular in Sri Lanka for breakfast and dinner. Problem is, I wanted to buck tradition, or conditioning, or whatever you want to call it, and have string hoppers for lunch. Not such a big ...
I only discovered these Summer rolls when I visited Vietnam a few years ago, but go to any Vietnamese restaurant, and you’ll find the exact same thing on the menu–usually as an appetizer. Stuffed with fresh vegetables and herbs, rice noodles, and pork and shrimp, I consider this Vietnamese fast food, a whole meal to go (of course, you’ll ...
Pure Perfection in a banana leaf packet! Although I did a much earlier post about the “Battle of Lampreis” in Sri Lanka, I realized today after lunch that there really is no competition: The lampreis at The Dutch Burgher Union is hands down THE BEST and only lampreis worth eating. For all you novices out there, here’s a little refresher ...
If you’re like me, and you like fish, you’ve probably had a dish like this many times before at an Asian restaurant (Thai, Malaysian or Chinese), where they serve the whole fish (with head and tail intact), usually fried, and then covered in a delicious sauce. Well, here, I present to you the simple and healthy version–a whole steamed ...
Eggplant or brinjals (Vambotu in Sinhalese) was never a favorite of mine growing up. That is, until I tasted this dish at a dinner party given by some Sri Lankan friends. Ever since then, when we’ve gone to their house, I have to have it, and the hostess Aunty Manel always indulges my request. This [...]
I love walking down some dingy alley and stumbling into a hole in the wall like Yarl Hotel. This is the real deal folks, not something you’ll find in a guidebook. You won’t find Foodies here either, but real people looking for real food to fill them up for a day of hard work. My cousin Sam and his ...
ped muan, roasted duck, fresh herbs & vegetables wrapped in rice paper with Sriracha sauce In case you didn’t know, ASEAN stands for the “Association of South East Asian Nations,” and true to its name, Cafe ASEAN in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village, a restaurant I literally stumbled upon, is a place where you ...
Japanese Salmon & Noodle Salad Leave it to the Japanese to come up with a dish so quick, easy, healthy, delicious, and aesthetically pleasing that it was tailor made for Pan Asian. While it’s still scorching outside and you don’t feel like turning up the heat in the kitchen, this is the ...
I’m a huge fan of Caribbean food. Give me some jerk chicken, curry goat, oxtails, escoveitch fish, or roti any day, and I’ll be happy. I love caribbean spices such as allspice, thyme, and scotch bonnet (habanero) peppers, and I love the bold flavors. There’s a great snack from Trinidad called “Doubles,” which is two pieces of fried dough ...
Just another lunch at my Aunty Dora's flat on Park Street I didn’t title my cookbook Rice & Curry: Sri Lankan Home Cooking for nothing. The best Sri Lankan food your are likely to get in country or abroad, for that matter, is not in a restaurant, but rather at someone’s home. Don’t get me wrong: I love to eat ...
By Indi Samarajiva The annual (well it will be annual) YAMU lamprais taste-off took place this week. For the good of all Colombars a crack team – A Cause Untrue author David Blacker, Cassandra Mascarenhas (Daily FT), Indi Samarajiva and Savan Wijewardene – engaged in a thorough degustation of six of the city’s most popular lamprais. This was no frivolous endeavor, lamprais is the ...
specialty of the house at Juchunyuan Colombo has no shortage of Chinese restaurants, most of which serve food with its own particular character, shaped, of course, by local tastes (meaning, it’s much spicier than the run of the mill storefront Chinese in New York or any western city for that matter). It’s also probably nothing like the ‘authentic’ Chinese food ...
Oh San Francisco! How I love Thee! In addition to being one of the coolest and most beautiful cities in the country, you are probably tied neck and neck with NYC as the best FOOD city in America. I’ve had so many great meals in you (not to mention all the great wine and beer), and I would even ...
The nation’s capital played host to this year’s National Association for the Specialty Food Trade Summer Fancy Food Show showcasing a staggering 180,000 new products, which help account for the $60 billion in sales this industry pulls in annually. Wrapping your head (or in this case your mouth) around
I’m lucky to live in a town with a truly incredible Afghan restaurant, The Helmand (which, incidentally, is owned by Afghan President Hamid Kharzi’s elder brother Qayum). It’s white tableclothes and attentive service conjure a high-end feel, but the food itself is simple, unassuming, delicious, and downright affordable. Since I’ve eaten here countless times, I kind of take for ...
