Whether playing his trademark cut shot over point, bowling his slow left-arm spin or grooving to eastern beats, Sri Lanka’s ace cricketer Sanath Jayasuriya, has a knack for adding a magic touch to whatever he does. This time around the Master Blaster has taken guard for a different innings – one of the culinary kind. He launched “Qbaa” – a fine dining restaurant in Colombo 5 while T20 excitement was at fever pitch.

Located at No 2, De Fonseka Place, Colombo 5, the restaurant has a relaxed ambience. Suzie Illangakoon, one of the four partners of Qbaa and a long-time friend of Sanath’s believed that he would be genuinely interested in starting up the venture. The four partners are Suzie, Shamendra Tilakasiri, Roger Perera, and Sanath himself.

“The idea of the restaurant actually popped up in April, and we really had to make haste to get things ready by October as we had the T20 World Cup at the back of our minds,” Suzie adds. “There was no compromising regardless of the limited time, as people look into the finer points.”

“Qbaa – is quite the eccentric name, but unfortunately there’s no story behind it,” laughs Suzie, “Q – all about quality.”
The restaurant had its opening on Friday, October 5 and Sanath was present to greet guests as they walked in. Cricketers, officials, ministers and other top brass made their appearances as the night evolved. Lasith Malinga was one of the first to arrive (joking that he’d been fielding all day), followed by mystery spinner Ajantha Mendis. The cricketers paid little notice to the West Indies vs Australia semi-final that was being screened at the bar, as if they already knew who they were going up against.

The late night breeze rustles a few leaves fallen on the tranquil rooftop – the perfect place for a cosy chat or striking that business deal. The restaurant is in itself built to cater to people looking for a relaxing evening after a long day at work. Simplicity is the overall theme of the interiors, designed by Architect Murad Ismail. The dining area leads to a wine cellar that boasts a range of fine wine imported from France, while a community table concept is brought into play where people can taste wine around the table.

The spacious bar boasts live performances by jazz artist Keithan Carter, who’ll keep the groove going four days a week.
Angelo Mathews and Dilshan look a bit tense before the impending finals, but even so cannot resist swaying to Keithen’s tunes, while Kumar Sangakkara has a minute and a half to spare for everyone who greets him. We grab the tiniest window available to speak to Jayasuriya. “This is a new experience for me, but I know I can take on the challenge of being an entrepreneur,” he says. “This is also like cricket, it’s a team game, yes, I have the support of all the partners,” he says before hurrying off to greet Jeevan Mendis with the heartiest hug of the night.

“What sets Qbaa apart from many other fine-dining restaurants is that it has an indoor dining court, a rooftop lounge, wine cellar and pub all in one,” M. Mohan Raj, the General Manager at Qbaa told the Sunday Times. Having extensive knowledge in fine-dining having been at The Caviar House in Geneva, Sheraton Atlantic as well as 5 star hotels in Colombo, Mohan believes that he will continue the high standards at Qbaa. “We also pay special attention to the finer points – we even get our rock salt especially from Tasmania, and we make sure to serve the irresistibly juicy pink salmon on a black plate for contrast. These are the little details that go the distance in fine-dining.”

The cuisine at Qbaa is essentially continental and fusion, while there is a special grill set up each day of the week. “We serve the catch of the day which is brought down straight to us, while the meats and salmon are imported from Europe,” says Mohan. The main chefs manning the kitchen are Sous Chef Darrrel Smith and Kosala Silva. The dishes of the day are roast beef delicacies, with prawn soufflé, smoked salmon wrap and chicken liver mousse garnished with fresh herbs. “We also plan on serving caviar in the near future,” adds Mohan.

Meanwhile the cricketers have congregated at presumably the most enchanting area of the restaurant – the moonlit rooftop. Voluble chit-chat ensues, but they make sure to keep cricket out of it. Seems the stage is set for many more encounters off the field.

Follow @timesonlinelk

comments powered by Disqus

Hats off to him!

Letters to the Editor

Appreciations

Coir machine that takes on 1000 husks an hour

No more the agony of terrible blisters

Wide-ranging topics at Vaccine Forum annual symposium

A bit of scrabble and fun keeps loneliness at bay

An evening to unwind the Koluu way

A new dazzle at Sifani’s

This is the way that our game always ends in a whimper…

Dancesport hits the floor on Oct. 21

New theatre group in “A Tale of a Man and a Monster”

Pictures that speak in many voices

A slow boat to England

Sake fever in Saijo

The wonders of nature: Seven leopards and a bear

People and events

Introducing Sri Lankan cuisine to the world