La Trattoria is an Italian restaurant in Battaramulla replacing Coco Citrine. It’s very expensive, but the food is decent. The sprawling restaurant is a tad kitschy in pockets (stucco walls, black and white photographs of celebs slurping spaghetti) but the overall effect isn’t unpleasant. Settling into our seats in the rear garden it almost felt like this wasn’t Sri Lanka: ...
The Weerawila Lake is located along the A2, the Galle Road, but well past Galle and Hambantota, as the road begins to head up to the hills. It’s notable because the road cuts right through the lake, giving you stunning views and a quite pleasant drive. It’s near the Saraii Village hotel, which we reviewed, but besides you may not ...
If you noticed a sudden burst of pink around the city, Tabebuia Rosea is the culprit.A tree in full bloom looks quite similar to a cherry blossom tree (perhaps we
The Colombo sign at the Pettah museum Why does no one stay at Pilawoos Hotel? Why are there so many different Bombay Sweet Houses? YAMU breaks down some of the nomenclature of Sri Lankan eateries. It’s a difficult business this eating out in Colombo. Not only do you need to contend with a ton of mediocrity, ever inflating prices and ...
A film that attempts to tell the story of most Colombians, Maria Full of Grace‘s triple entendre title lays bare the key plot lines of the film. The protagonist Maria accepts an offer to be a mule transporting heroin (grace) to New York and ends up facing life threatening situations that leave her changed. If you enjoyed this film, Miss ...
The opening ceremony for this year’s Colombo Music Festival is Thursday the 23rd at 6:30 PM. Then, at 8:30 PM, the four days of concerts kicks off with a performance by the Gypsy All Stars. The Gypsy Kings are a popular international band with families of members. Some of the members are here for the festival. Tickets cost Rs. 2,500 or ...
The Tamil Union Club may seem an unlikely choice of venue for evening drinks. For one, it’s in deepest Borella – far – and two, you either need to know or be a member to get in. However, we’d recommend wheedling a card holding friend or relative into a visit. It’s an old club with an old history, and provides ...
This evening of hopefully self-explanatory music will be held at the Water’s Edge Grand Ballroom from 3-4:30 PM on Friday the 24th. Tickets cost Rs. 1,000, Rs. 2,000 and Rs. 2,500 Featured Artists Sulara Nanayakkara Sureka Amerasinghe Thivanthi Perera Tilanka Jayamanne Louis Perera Sachiththa Fernando Guests Dinali David Shenelle Fernando Ricky Bahar Safra Deen Warren Lee
Although YAMU has been covering Colombo and the wider city, a place we’ve neglected a little is Battaramulla, apart from when we wrote about the hidden kingdom of Kotte. Battaramulla’s not a bad place. And all that open space near the Diyawanna Lake has been done up beautifully – the roads are paved, there’s good ambient lighting and you get ...
This is quite possibly the nicest park space in Colombo, if you can get past the sometimes defensive security guards. The Mount Lavinia Children’s Park is quite expressly for children, at least until four. Even then, certain activities (playing cricket or football for example) are banned. These rules, however, are part of what makes the space so peaceful. That plus ...
The ancient progenitor of all Colombo’s seafood restaurants emerged out of the Indian Ocean perfectly formed and clambered onto its curve of Wellawatte sand at some point in the 70s. There it has remained, basically unchanged for 40 years. Wadiya features the same thatched shack, the same slightly surly waiters and Olwyn, the now ancient manager, always sitting at the ...
You know what I mean? At some point in December and often through to mid January there’s this little window where the air suddenly feels cooler. The humidity drops and the lack of moisture seems to change the quality of the light. Colors are more intense, the sky appears a sharper shade of blue and cloudless. While the days ...
The Coffee Bean on Maitland Crescent always has customers in it. Always. We’ve never seen that place empty, and it’s a little baffling because it’s really quite expensive. The poor Barista across the street, however, never seems to have customers – but more on the sad decline of this once popular coffee shop later. The food and drinks at Coffee ...
This classic 1982 animation by Don Bluth will be screening at the American Center today at 3.30 PM. Bluth’s directorial debut, The Secret of NIMH centers around a family of field mice that have to move home to escape the impending destruction of a farmer’s plower & the events that are set in motion therewith.. The American Center screens films every week or so, entrance is free but ...
Today is not, as you may have noticed, the end of the world. The date that the Mayan Calendar runs out is actually December 21st, a date when everyone needs to get new Mayan Calendars. We hear the one from Suman Motor Works in Maradana is excellent. Today is 12/12/12, or 12.12.12, the last repeating date of this century. ...
Video International is the gold (or blue) standard for DVDs in Colombo. And yes it has branches, the main one is near Barefoot at 700 Galle Road, there are others in Battaramulla and Nawala. Here we’re reviewing the shop on Thimbirigasaya Road, at the corner of Fife. Piracy Disclaimer First, the piracy issue. There is no place to get ‘legal’ ...
