Breakfast just the way you like it
View(s):Exclusive boutique resorts that combine a back-to-nature vibe with a touch of fantasy: that’s the Uga Escapes’ concept, breathtakingly brought to life at several stunning locations around the country. ‘It only works because we’re enthusiasts,’ explains the company’s head of marketing, Ashan Wijewickrema. ‘People here are crazy about travel, about hospitality, about food. Our combined obessession is what makes the Uga experience special.’
Chef Vichalya and Amal, executive Chefs at Jungle Beach and Ulagalla
For a hotelier and inbound tour operator specialising in one-of-a-kind encounters with Sri Lanka’s scenery, wildlife and culture, an obsession with travel is understandable. But food? Aren’t these exotic, out-of-the-way locations a bit rough and ready when it comes to food and drink?
Definitely not, says Ashan. ‘Good food – often enjoyed in the open air – can be an important part of the travel experience. If you read old accounts by colonial travellers in Sri Lanka, you’ll find a surprising amount of space devoted to descriptions of the food they ate, how it was prepared, how it tasted.’ Some government rest-houses – often the only accommodation available in those days – were, he says, famous for their cooks’ ability to produce gourmet fare from simple country ingredients.
Gastronomic Journeys
‘Travel must be a gastronomic as well as a geographical journey,’ agrees Vichalya Fernando, chef de cuisine at Jungle Beach, Uga Escapes’ resort at Kucchaveli, a few kilometres north of Trincomalee.‘And in Sri Lanka, it can be a genuine voyage of discovery because we have such a rich, multicultural cuisine. He has, he says, ‘incorporated as much of this rich culinary tradition as I can into the menus at Jungle Beach.’ Despite the resort’s somewhat out-of-the-way location, guests at Jungle Beach are faced with a plethora of gourmet choices every day. ‘Our menus offer a light fusion of contemporary Western and Asian tastes, inspired by fresh, natural ingredients – particularly the freshest seafood, which we obtain locally. What better place for seafood than Trincomalee, the finest natural harbour in the world?’ Jungle Beach boasts a variety of seafood specialities, including a special three-courseall-crab dinner served at tables set out on the wide, sandy beach that fronts the hotel.
Eating and drinking with your feet in the sand is definitely key to the Uga Jungle Beach experience. There’s a beach bar – a watering-hole for swimmers and sunbathers by day, a place for whispered romance by night – and more romantic still, a dinnertime ‘beach picnic’ under the stars, popular with honeymooners. Other culinary delights include a special ‘Sri Lankan table’ that showcases traditional dishes and spices, and the peak of gastronomicachievement , Vichalya’s menu de dégustation – all five melt-in-the-mouth courses of it, accompanied, if you wish, by appropriate wines suggested by food-and-beverage manager.