‘Nuga Gama’ : the village in the city
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While the modern day cooking drives the need for instant food, there really is nothing to beat good old Sri Lankan rice and curry experience prepared to original recipes, slowly cooked to perfection. At Cinnamon Grand’s Nuga Gama, the acclaimed ‘village in the city’ these popular culinary dishes are preserved and presented, keeping to the age-old formula by expert hands of village ammés. While daily, a lavish dish option is available for all diners in the evenings, come weekend, a generous spread of local cuisine covers one end of the out-door venue, shaded by a 200 year old Banyan tree for lunch, between 12 noon to 2.30 pm.
The weekend buffet menu is extensive and changes weekly, giving diners different experiences to enjoy. From a variety of rice dishes, spicy and light veges, curries, salads, sambols, and other fare; every dish has a tale of its own.
The sixty-seater restaurant recreates the magic of the local villages and the quintessential lifestyles with mud huts, thatched roofs and the aroma of spices dancing in the air. Majority of the fruit and vegetables used at Nuga Gama are organically grown while the condiments used to cook are also made in-house by the ammés.
For those who love a little high – mid-day or at night, Nuga Gama has special cocktails made with local spirits and fruits. To complement this is a bites menu spiced by authenticingredients such as fried jackfruit seeds, manioc and polos cutlets.
Three-types of rice dishes are a staple at the weekend lunch buffet. This includes red rice, white Suwadel rice and tempered rice turned out by using recipes of distinctive communities in the island. Sri Lankan pickle from various fruits and vegetables will make an appearance every week, alongside a variety of coconut sambols. Chicken Curd Dry Curry, Mutton Black Pepper Curry, Beef Curry, Babath are some of the more popular meat dishes while the Jaffna Crab Curry, dry fish (Karawala), Prawn and Cuttlefish are hot sellers from the seafood spread.
What is prepared at Nuga Gama is also designed for the health conscious. Some of the commonly available include those made from Thebu and Kowakka which help those who have diabetics, Aguna leaves which clear the blood system and Gotukola which are good for one’s eyesight. The salad counter will feature home-grown yield such as Lunuwila, Vil Gotukola and Wel Penela.
When it comes to dessert, it is traditional sweetmeats that make a presence, of which 98% are made in-house. Kee roti (coconut, honey and cashew), Wella Pathuru (flour, penil pol, cinnamon powder), Pomala Watta (like narang kewum), Seeni Pittu (kom pittu), Godapara (from the Welithalapa mix) – sweetmeats from the villages are all on offer; with guests also having an opportunity to witness the ammés making kevum and kokis.
Monday evenings, the Nuga Gama comes alive with the Oreiental music from thablas and serpinas.
Lunch buffet is only available on weekends.The buffet is priced at Rs.1,550+++. For reservations, contact 2497361/62.