Healthy living...

I just came out from a Health talk conducted by Dr. Lakmali Amarasiri. Did you know that when it comes to cooking (heating)...

1) Coconut oil is healthier than most vegetable oils.
2) Butter is healthier than margarine.

Food for thought!

Eating out : Good service is as important as good food

I was battling through mentally and physically draining peak time traffic in Colombo trying to reach home after an equally grueling day at work. As I was passing one of our favorite take away joints, it just dawned on me that I was supposed to bring home dinner tonight. I had passed the turnoff and I was in no mood to make a U turn in this heavy traffic. Briefly thought about calling for a pizza but quickly dismissed the idea after remembering that I was supposed keep fast food away from the kids as much as possible.

That meant only one thing, eating out. After a quick call to one of my good buddies in the restaurant business, I decided to take the family to Bayleaf.

We reached Gregory’s road around 8pm. There was an unusually cool breeze and a slight threat of rain. We chose the verandah to enjoy the breeze. Mercifully the place was sparsely occupied. And the diners were well behaved and didn’t talk loudly.

The kids chose pizza after all – well, at least it was gourmet. I chose the seafood ravioli and my wife, bacon spinach fettuccini. Kids finished their meals without us having to make a fuss – the pizza must have been pretty good. I haven’t had ravioli in years and quite enjoyed it. My wife loved her fresh fettuccini too. All in all, the food was good.

What really made an impression on us was the service. We ordered a few drinks. The strawberry margarita was garnished with a large fresh strawberry. Both my kids love strawberries and had to grudging share it.

Few minutes later, to our pleasant surprise, the waiter brought a couple of large strawberries for the two kids – on the house. That thoughtful gesture made our evening and will be remembered I’m sure.

We left Bayleaf quite satisfied and wanting to come back just as a light drizzle started to come down.

Treat Yourself

I never thought the humble cupcake can become the most sought after treat in town. But then again, I haven’t seen Miss Cupcake’s work until now either. They look lovely and are competitively priced too. But do they taste good? Well, try them out for yourself…

Treatz facebook page

By the way, they do contribute 20% of the profit to a well deserving cause. A socially responsible business - good on you Tina!

Sri Lankan specials!

This sign-board was seen by the side of the road on the way to Trincomalee. It translates to "Freshwater fish (from the lakes) with warm rice". Mouth-watering stuff.

An afternoon at the game

There were good points and bad.

Papare’ bands were out on force. And they were playing continuously too. Not like at school big-matches where they play for 10 minutes and break for 30. The hot-dogs were excellent and they were being cooked then and there. None of these finger-thin sausages, they were proper mega ones. There was plenty of chilled beer too. Both food and drinks were being brought right to your seats – brilliant.

On the bad side, there was only one brand of beer. And they came only in cans – the men with beer-backpacks were nowhere to be seen. And you were right Dilan, no dancing girls at all. Well, let me rephrase that – no organized dancing girls.

Oh, I almost forgot. As far as the cricket went, we got a real arse whipping hiding from the Indians. We looked like school boys - they were just playing with us.

As they say, a picture can paint a thousand words. So let this one taken from my phone cam sum-up the afternoon for you.

Simple things in life

Food, especially the Sri Lankan kind, is amazingly addictive. Sri Lankans living in foreign countries will vouch for the truth in that statement. But where there’s a void – there’s an opportunity. The more enterprising individuals among us can and do make a killing out of importing exotic Sri Lankan goodies into countries like USA, Australia and UK where large Sri Lankan expatriate communities exist. But there’s nothing like getting some poor sod to bring you a parcel from your mother. Why, just the other day I learnt that someone I know had even sent a couple of Lumpri (fresh from the oven, with the Banana leaf and all) on a Sri Lankan flight from Colombo to Birmingham – what will they think of next?

This all reminds me of some favorite local food-brands combinations. These are flavors you’d never quite experience the moment you step out of the island.

* Elephant House Fountain Cafe hot dog
* Carnival ice cream
* Pilawoos chicken and cheese kottu (Did you know that the good ol’ Pila was featured on the Time mag? Strewth!)
* Kist tomato sauce (mind you not Ketchup)
* Harischandra coffee
* Fab Lumpri (with extra coconut oil… hmmmm Yum!)
* MD woodapple jam

Then there are the all time favorites – the generic kind.

* Isso vadai
* Chinese roll
* Roast paan
* Pol sambol
* Lime soda

Of course this is by no means an exhaustive list. Infact, I’d love to know what type of Sri Lankan delicacies tickle your taste-buds. So spill the beans by all means.

Colombo goes Bananas

Suba Aluth Avruddak Wewa! It was a great time to be in Colombo last week. The days leading up to the Sinhala and Tamil New Year weekend was very exciting even to the people who didn't celebrate the occasion. City sidewalks were packed with vendors with all sorts of goodies including various exotic food items and clothing.

Here I have captured a busy Banana vendor in Battamulla. His produce covered a good 25 meters length of the sidewalk.

Some mothers do have ‘em! – Part 1

Big-match weekend! What a great excuse for getting back together with my old classmates and swig a few beers on a searing Saturday in Colombo.

Although I promised to be at the “grounds” at 11 am, I got held up at the dentist. I had to take my seven year old to the dentist y’see. It’s amazing how her teeth needs attention just as she is about to lose them for more permanent ones. I have been delaying it hoping for the toothfairy’s visit. Maybe I forgot to tip the toothfairly when I was young – for she never arrived in time. I digress...

Anyway,.. it was way past noon when I managed to haul myself up to the grounds. As I was reaching the entrance… “tweet, “tweet”... oh great! An SMS on a Saturday can only mean one thing… emergency at work! Cursing, I checked out the SMS. To my relief it was from one of the guys I was supposed to meet.. telling me they took off to lunch. They want me to come to FD for lunch. I knew better than to complain… after all I was at fault for being late.

As I was reaching FD, I could hear them blokes a mile away. Even from outside the door it was apparent that large volumes of alcohol are already in their bellies and in their bloodstreams. I pity the waiters who have to put up with such boisterous sorts in such instances.

I entered the private dining area to the obvious delight of the guys already under influence. Once the handshakes and high-fives (yes, we are still sixteen) were over, I settled down and promptly orders some drinks (soft ones… yes, they did “boo” at me for that). For some reason, seeing these guys already “blowing in the wind” and the prospects of “catching up” with a few tequilas wasn’t really attractive to me at the time. At Zanziba’s on a Friday night would have been a different case altogether.

Before long, the food came. And it was disappointingly ordinary for FD. Maybe the waiters wanted to teach us a lesson. After all it was Chinese and Confucius did say “He who is drunk will get no tasty food”. Or was it my mother-in-law who said that? Nevertheless, we were all famished and started to gobble up the grub. As the food hit our stomachs and the digestive enzymes did their thing, the conversation turned more civil and actually enjoyable (mum, if you are reading this, we didn’t speak with our mouths full). At this stage I must inform you that three out of the seven guys there were in IT industry, one in telecom, another in apparel (or in “garment” as we Sri Lankans like to put it) and the remaining two managing their own businesses. Quite predictably we started sharing stories from work (yes, we do not have a “life”... none of us are in entertainment or hospitality or fashion or advertising.. okeeeyyy??)

When we started comparing our workplaces, their personalities and their management styles (don’t you just love such talk?... they give me goosebumps), it dawned on us that there were definitely clear and identifiable groups of personalities across our workplaces. So we started to explore that over the traditional lychees. Of course being the sensible and leaner member of the group, I went for the caramel-de-cholesterol pudding.

I wanted to let them know that I might just be able to blog it... but then that would have been too geeky and would have surely received an even louder “booo”.

...to be continued!

7th Year bash!

In August, Interblocks turned 7. How best to celebrate than organizing a party… food, drinks and music,.. ahhhh Good stuff!

We all headed down to the Mt. Lavinia beach last Friday night. Invitations were extended to our customers as well. And they turned up in numbers. A four-piece calypso band was in full swing when I arrived. Drinks were flowing and all sorts of mouth watering smells were emanating from the Barbecue grill.

We were mingling with the customers and also a few former members of our staff when the music changed from live Calypso to a more night-clubby DJ type (complete with disco lights and a make-do plywood dance floor). Soon a few brave souls, doubtlessly with slightly higher levels of alcohol in their systems, started showing their moves on the plywood. As the night went on, the drinks kept coming, the food became more and more non vegetarian, and the music turned from Dance/Funk to Reggae to Baila and even to good ol’ big-match Papare.

We wound up earlier than usual – Thanks to an impatient DJ (I say, bring back “Curzon DJ”). Apart from a minor injury to our graphic designer’s left Shin, which he insists was caused by a misjudged step on the stairs onto the sandy beach, the worst damage were a few tired feet. We had a good time. Kudos to the organizing party. My only regret is me failing to capture that prized photograph of 17 empty Smirnoff bottles on the ledge behind the bar tables.

Cheers to all the participants!

Food for Thought.

Yesterday was one of those bad days where nothing seemed to go my way. So right after work, we decided what better way to drown your sorrows than some good grub at one of our favorite restaurants.

We ended up at the German Restaurant (Bavarian Barn). Located at "Galle Face Courts, Colombo 03", it is a nice and cozy little space with plenty of atmosphere and authentic German food. We haven't been there for years and pleasantly surprised to see nothing has changed all this time. Service was excellent, food was never too late and the portions were just the right size. Oh,... and the food was smashingly tasty too!

It was a bit pricy I must admit. But then again, you’ve got to spoil yourself once in a while at least.

Recommendation: Beef Stroganoff with buttered noodles and tossed salad. A glass of good full bodied Spanish Red to wash it off with.

Thanks Roman!

Some call him Roman. I never knew why he was called that and never felt the need to ask either. For the people out there who knows why, now is the time to state your comments to this post. We know him to be a professional graphic designer cum web developer. He is equally skilled in playing the guitar and a great singer too. All in all, a very pleasant and fun loving guy.

We shall miss him, for he will be bidding farewell to his friends and colleagues on his journey in sharpening is graphics skills. I am sure he will make a lasting impression on his new friends down-under.

Although hastily organized, we all met at a popular cricketing venue in the heart of Colombo on a Monday night. Usually the place attracts blokes who love to get sloshed after work. But this time members of the fairer sex were gracing the occasion and were willing to tolerate the barbaric drinking session on account of Roman - that itself speaks volumes of his likeability at the workplace.

There are always one or two who get one too many inside of them on such occasions - don't we all know that! Usually "flat-trick" takes this honor and he didn't disappoint this time either. We eventually managed to calm his nerves down. Hope he managed to ride his motor-bike back to his crib without much drama. Avoiding an earful from his missis, well that's another story.

Anyways, Roman - if you are reading this, hope this somewhat disastrous get-together didn't disappoint you too much. Although if it did, we will understand. As you rightfully said... "Let's keep in touch with Blogging". Thank you for the marvelous contribution at work and the endless tunes you played for us on numerous occasions. Next time you have a Foster's or a VB, keep in mind that we will be toasting to you too.

Have a great one mate!

Sunday afternoon Jazz

I have been meaning to check-out "Jazz Unlimited" held at a popular Rugby club every 1st Sunday of the month. But my Sundays have been pretty hectic for some time.

It was a warm Sunday afternoon in Colombo; time was around 3.30pm when I arrived at the venue. Jazz was already in full swing. The crowd pleasant and colourful. Foreign expats easily outnumbered locals. Beer was flowing and mouth watering Bar-B-Q aroma filled the air. I recognized a few prominent faces. Also a few nods from people whom I've met in passing before. There was even a bouncy-castle and pony rides for the kids.

I settled down at a table with some company I new well. Started tasting refreshing chilled Carlsberg beer. Ahhh, what a way to spend your Sunday afternoon. I was already regretting not making it before.

Jazz was getting better with every performance. Either that or I was getting drunk on Carlsberg. I even got to witness the thinnest smoke I have ever seen. Towards dusk, the music was transforming from Jazz to Blues with a stunning performance of Gary Moore's "Still got the Blues" by Shafee, the ex-WildFire member.

Live music wound down around 8.00pm. There was still a relatively large crowd hanging around when I left. It was indeed a pleasant way to spend a Sunday afternoon. I will certainly be there next month... maybe with my family too.