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Thambapani Restaurant |
By Laurie AshtonThis month, my husband made the arrangements for date and time of review, and it took me two days to realize that he’d managed to arrange it on my birthday. What could I do but laugh? He knew he would have to take me out for dinner anyway, so he took a short cut to Thambapani Restaurant. Thambapani . . . meaning "The Copper Hand." So named by Prince Vijaya from India in 543 BC. Legend has it that, after arrival, they rested on the ground, whereupon Vijaya and his men discovered the reddened copper color of their palms, giving Sri Lanka its first recorded name. Thambapani . . . an art gallery. A place where local artists can display their works. Thambapani . . . a garden restaurant. Relaxed, tranquil, nestled away from city noise. A place where one can enjoy fabulous food by exploring Sri Lanka’s diverse past, a voyage of culinary discovery, from past to present. After arriving, we quickly gave our order. Quickly being a surprise since I usually take forever. Perhaps it was giddiness from the thought of turning another year older? As we waited our order, my husband and I wandered into the backyard. A fountain of water kept a couple of birds wet, nice on a cool day, as they pretended, inanimate as they were, to nip at the goldfish at their feet. Wicker sofa sets provided a relaxing arrangement beside more formal tables. A small deer, a Bambi look-alike, stood, nearly hidden beside some trees. After admiring the greenery and the relaxing, informal setting, we wandered through the restaurant, taking in the artwork. Flamboyant masks, abstract nudes, aboriginal cave paintings, colourful papaya trees. An eclectic collection of originals, many I would enjoy staring at for hours and hours, given the opportunity. We settled at our table in an air-conditioned room and enjoyed our appetizers. Crab Spring Rolls (creamy crab and leek combination in a spring rolls wrapper, Rs275) for me. Crunchy, a bit too oily, but nice, served with a sour dipping sauce. Chopped chillies, onions, perhaps tamarind? A delightful accompaniment. My husband had the Crab Stuffed Jumbo Prawns (jumbo prawns stuffed with crab meat, with fruity dipping sauce, Rs350). Excellent, but again, a little too oily. They came with the same dipping sauce I had, plus pickled onion, carrots, and cauliflower that were so good he let me snitch only one of each. How disappointing! He called this dish “all that’s best in crab and prawn, all wrapped together.” I couldn’t agree more as I attempted to steal another bite from him. Unfortunately, he was too quick for me and put a stop to it. Aw, honey, it’s my birthday. Just a little bit more? Sadly, that plea only worked for one more bite. We could have ordered the Prawn Cocktail (the island version – prawns in a special cocktail sauce, Rs350) or perhaps the Satay (chicken, 6 sticks served with peanut satay sauce, Rs275). Soup options included Pumpkin (the golden gourd with croutons, Rs200), which I was tempted to have. Or Chicken Sweet Corn (the traditional – a great favourite! Rs200), which also looked tempting. Seafood Soup (prawns, fish, cuttlefish, vegetables, shitake mushroom. Clear soup, Rs275) followed for my husband. He felt that it would probably be better off without the mushrooms, and otherwise approached excellent. His complaint? Not enough bite. My husband and I like spicy! I had the Mulligatawny (spicy chicken colonial soup served with rice and lime, Rs225). Mulligatawny being an Anglicized version of the Tamil words for “pepper water” or “pepper broth”. It was thick and smooth, no chunks, with a subtle flavour made even more excellent with the provided lime squeezed in. Given how many versions of Mulligatawny exist, I would hazard a guess that this is the Colonial Sri Lankan one. Decidedly worth having, no matter how many Mulligatawnies you’ve had before. Main dish choices are vast and varied – four pages of everything from Portuguese Seafood Platter (an exciting combination of baked crab, grilled prawns, calamari, pan-fried fish accompanied by salad, French fries or savoury rice and lemon butter sauce. Everyone’s favourite! Rs650), to Battered Prawns (with tangy sauce, served with your choice of mashed potato or fries and salad, Rs550), to Thambapani Fried Chicken (served with fragrant rice, pickled baby onion, and a special fruity sauce and salad, Rs475), to Mutton Poriyal (Jaffna curry tenderly nursed in ghee. Made with imported mutton, Rs 490), to Pedre’s Black Pork Curry (a special from Negombo. Flavoured with toddy or arrack, Rs400), to vegetarian dishes like Pasta Primavera (fettuccine with mixed vegetables in creamy sauce, Rs450). My husband’s main course arrived. Seer Fish Grilled (with lemon butter, vegetables, and mashed potatoes or fries, Rs495). It was very nice indeed. The lemon butter enhanced the flavour of the tender fish, and the vegetables were outstanding. And then there was the Singapore Spicy Chilli Crab. When I saw it on the specials board, I knew I had to have it! The dish worth looking silly for, I hoped as the waiter draped me in a bright red bib. I was thankful, though, that we were the only ones in that room. It arrived, shells and sauce and all, on a beautiful ceramic plate with a wooden mallet for breaking into the shells. It was messy, it was fun, and it was sooo worth it. I had a difficult time pinning down the ingredients in the sauce. Chillies, for sure. Jaggery, perhaps. Tomato, almost probably. Beyond that? It was a deep baritone sweet and spicy sauce. Yowsa! Other dessert choices? Fruit Mousse (passion fruit, mango, seasonal fruits, Rs200), or Watalappan (Rs225). Either one, I suspected, would be an excellent choice. Jaggery Pudding (Rs200) looked intriguing. Next time, no doubt. But this time? Satiated or not, I could not pass. It was my birthday, after all! We ordered the Chocolate Biscuit Pudding (Rs225). Would it suffice as a birthday dessert? Even without candles – and no, we don’t want to set off any smoke alarms! - absolutely! Creamy, chocolatey, thick, rich, sweet, delectable, wonderful, brilliant. Oh my! Service was excellent and prompt, and the wait-staff were helpful and informed. This was the consummate birthday dinner experience. Now all that remained was for me to get my birthday present. Oh, honey! Thambapani Restaurant 496/1 Duplication Road
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Last Updated:
2005-08-25 15:37
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