Sri Lankan restaurants have a great system of 'take aways'. You pay far less for food if you simply carry whatever packed food is offered on sale.
Check out SAPID at No. 2A Vajira road, Junction, Bambalapitiya, Colombo for both alternatives. Restaurants in Colombo sell LAMPRAIS, a Dutch variation of the rice and curry theme. The rice is boiled in stock and served in a selection of dry fish and meat curries wrapped in a banana leaf and baked. A take away costs SLR 100 and is enough for two sometimes.
Or, MAJESTIC CITY, a shopping mall with a basement full of eateries or 'boutiques' as Sri Lankans call them.
In Kandy, check out the the CARGILLS supermarket and a popular bakery a few steps away. Sri Lankan bakeries have an assortment of wonderful fish rolls/pizzas, veg/beef patties and cost between SLR 7.50-10!! A cold take away LION Lager at Cargills costs SLR 50 and it's open between 8am to 9pm.
In Nuwara Eliya, avocadoes cost SLR 7.50 and passionfruit SLR 4.50. Also check out MILANO bakery in this town. I ate a 14-course meal for SLR 240 at RUKMALI RESTAURANT, Polonnaruwa road, Sigiriya junction, Habarana where all hired cabs/buses stop for lunch and a breather.
Restaurants sell cheap hoppers, a light, crisp and bowl-shaped meal prepared by swirling a mixture of rice flour and coconut milk in a wok-shaped pan. The sides are waffer-crisp and the center soft. Great when eaten hot with an egg dunked in the centre. Or, string hoppers, delicate circles made of squiggles of rice flour paste squeezed through a sieve and steamed till they're just right.
'Alt Heidelberg' German Restaurant
11, Galle Face Court 2, Colombo 3.
Chesa Swiss Restaurant
3, Deal Place A, Colombo 3.
Hakata Restaurant
110, Havelock road, Colombo 5.
Jade Garden
126, Havelock road, Colombo 5.
Miyako Restaurant
No. 45, 5th Lane, Duplication road, Colombo 3.
Orient Hongkong Seafood Restaurant
1A, Race Course avenue, Colombo 1.
Siam House
438, Duplication road, Colombo 4.
Seafish Restaurant
No. 15, Sir Chittampalam A. Gardiner Mawatha, Colombo 2.
Claims to be the oldest seafood place in town.
Pubs and Clubs
M.G.M Grand Club
No. 772, Galle road, Colombo 4, tel. 502268/591711.
A 24-hour gambling club for tourists only, offers good food and spirits, free transport to and from any city hotel. A walking distance from Majestic City and on the popular Galle road.
Questions?
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