Breakfast with a view - Culinary adventures on the island of Ceylon
The delicacies of Sri Lankan cuisine with hotel recommendation
Sri Lanka is also known as the pearl of the Indian Ocean, but it is not only famous for its stunning landscapes and rich cultural heritage, but also for its delicious cuisine. When we can combine the beautiful panorama with the fabulous delicacies, then it is priceless. You have your MasterCard for everything else! I like to discover new places, and I enjoy experimenting with the local cuisine from fried insects in Thailand to a spicy curry for breakfast in Sri Lanka. In this article I'm writing about what you should try out, if you travel here. Besides that I'm also giving you some tips regarding hotels where you can book accommodation with a magnificent view at a very friendly price.
The distances on the island are quite big even by car. If you want to explore several regions, such as the Cultural Triangle or Galle and its surroundings, then definitely plan to stay in several places. It is not really an option here to be able to discover all from one base. In addition, you can get an insight into the local cuisine on the way by stopping somewhere for lunch or dinner. If you book accommodation with breakfast, then you can almost always choose Sri Lankan instead of English breakfast. We combined the two approaches and we had the chance to taste many delicacies.
Our first accommodation the Arangala Forest Lodge was in Naula. The design of the hotel puts huge emphasis on being close to the natrue, which offers guests a very special experience. It is in a secluded place in a forest area, which is accessed by a narrow road. We booked a huge detached villa here, hidden among the trees on the hillside. Its design was also unusual, because the top of the bathroom was partly open. So, for example, the evening rain watered the plants planted next to the shower, and we also had small frogs as regular guests. It may cause problems for those who don't like them, but it didn't bother me. Thanks to the huge glass windows, we were woken up by the rays of the sunshine peeping through the trees. Attractions near the hotel such as Sigiriya and Dambulla are all within easy reach. We booked one night for 2 people with breakfast for about $ 68, which of course can vary from time to time. It's in a bit remote area, but the view from the restaurant's terrace and the magnificent breakfast make it all worth it. The staff was extremely nice, polite and amazingly attentive.
This is where we started getting to know the Sri Lankan cuisine. Ádi also remarked, that I was brave to chose the traditional, local breakfast the first morning. It was spicy, but my stomach is quite strong. It can't handle a virus or Turkish tap water though, but whose could? On a more serious note, those who don't like or can't stand such dishes, should be cautious, because spices such as chili, ginger, turmeric and curry are strongly dominant. The formation and development of the local cuisine is closely connected to the historical background of the country. In the old days, Sri Lanka also functioned as a trade center, so Indians, Arabs and Chinese also visited here. They brought the tea here, as well as their spices and curry ingredients. The national cuisine is based on rice and curry. The most popular of the latter is dhal curry made from lentils (one of my personal favourite). One of its well-known ingredients is coconut milk, so even those with lactose intolerance can easily find delicacies for themselves. I'm a big meat lover, but the vegetarian dishes here exceeded all my expectations and I became a true fan. For breakfast, I tried kiribat, which is rice cooked in coconut milk. In my case it was served with dhal curry and kukul mas curry (chicken and vegetables with coconut milk). On the other day, I chose string hoppers with a variety of curries and pol sambol, which is a chili-lime flavoured topping made from grated coconut. I finished all this with a cup or two of Ceylon tea and admired the sun rising behind the mountains through the windows of the restaurant. The combination of these resulted in a relaxed, peaceful feeling in contrast to my ordinary, quick breakfast consisting mostly of coffee and granola. After this I could easily handle the heat, the stairs and hikes, or a long journey. Here I also tried one of the famous Sri Lankan sweets, watalappam, which is a spicy pudding made from coconut milk and egg.
At our other accommodation, the focus was clearly on the view, as we only spent one night there. We chose the Ceylon Panorama Resort in the city of Kandy, which promised a magnificent overview of a river valley nearby. We were not disappointed in this. As dawn broke, the next day began with the sun peeking shyly from behind the drowsy mountains. Its rays danced upon the misty patches of the valley, gradually awakening the entire river. We couldn't get enough of it. Sipping our tea and eating our breakfast, we just admired the scenery on the restaurant's terrace. Unfortunately, that's all I can say about the place. The hotel itself was a disappointment. We got a shabby room, which was very small and not the cleanest one. It made the situation worse that the staff wasn't on top of the situation either. We also booked this accomodation with breakfast, which was about $ 47 for one night for two people. Based on the reviews we read online, we guessed that our room wouldn't be the most extravagant. It was ok for one night, but if you can, find something else.
Our adventure in Sri Lanka's gastronomy is far from over here, as we continued our journey and went to a restaurant in Nuwara Eliya before the planned train ride. It was nothing special, we chose the food court of a shopping center based on the advice of our tour guide. Here you can buy a main course for $ 4.5-6.5, depending on what you choose. It is important to mention here that in general we can buy food at a cheaper price compared to most of Europe. In this place I chose Lamprais, which is a dish introduced by the Dutch colonizers. The rice was served with steamed rice meatballs, eggplant curry, fried chicken drumstick, belacan (fermented crab paste), and Seeni sambol (onion and fish balls) on a banana leaf. Ádi chose chicken kottu, which consisted of roasted, torn roti bread mixed with vegetables and eggs. Both were hearty and we liked them. The sauce for the kottu and the different toppings for the lamprais were quite spicy individually, but overall I didn't find it as heavy or intense as traditional curries.
My absolute favourite among the accommodations was the last one, the Lavendra Paradise in Ella. We spent only one night here, which we booked for $ 61 for 2 people with breakfast. Our room was clean, spacious and the staff/owners exceeded all our expectations with their hospitality. We got there on a narrow, steep road, where it was not so easy to drive by car, so they came down to pick us and our luggage up. To this day, I don't know how our 2 suitcases, the 2 backpacks, the two of us plus the driver fit into a single tuktuk. Upon arrival, they greeted us with Ceylon tea, bananas and some biscuits. Our terrace again looked out over mountains and - wait for it- a distant waterfall. It was an incredible sight! When we sat outside watching the sunset and listening to the chirping of the birds, the same peace and tranquility came over us as on the first morning after our arrival. If you're looking for accommodation in Ella, I wholeheartedly recommend this. The building itself is not finished yet, the upper level is under construction, but that does not take anything away from the experience. Our breakfast was fabulous, fruits, yogurt, toast, jam, Ceylon tea and of course the essential local dishes on our own terrace. I was very happy that we could taste something new here as well, which was the freshly made hopper, also known as appam. This is a pancake made from coconut milk, which is usually served for breakfast and complements curries well.
If you are in Ella, I recommend to try out the Café Chill also. It is a very cozy and popular place. We had dinner here, arrived with empty stomach and left with good experiences. The restaurant itself is quite big, but also popular, so either make a reservation in advance or don't come during the busiest period. It's a modern, relaxed place where the servers were constantly on the move. We didn't specifically choose traditional, local dishes here, but we drank a glass of arrack. This is the local spirit and is made from sugar cane or coconut sugar.
Although we didn't try out many restaurants and we didn't go to any, truly authentic, local establishments, I still think that we could try a lot of culinary delights. I hope you feel inspired to try it out too!
Thanks for reading! Have I piqued your interest? Check out the related articles and if you have any questions, don't hesitate to write to me or to leave a comment below!
Comments