Head to Saman Villa to savour a degustation menu
View(s):Saman Villa, Sri Lanka’s first five star luxury boutique hotel, in keeping with its tradition of innovation introduces a degustation menu from Executive Chef Alex Zinke.
Soft braised pork belly
Hailing from a family of chefs , Alex Zinke has worked in some of the finest hotels around the world. Cutting his teeth at the renowned Savoy Hotel in London, known for its relentless pursuit of the finest French cuisines and meticulous detail to technique, Chef Zinke has also worked at the Etihad Tower, the famed Burj Al Arab and catered for the Formula 1 in Vienna, with Bernie Ecclestone and Michael Schumacher as fans of his cuisine.
A degustation or tasting menu is an elaborate parade of dishes that showcase the true talent, and range, of a chef. The Saman Villas tasting menu features eight sublime courses all designed to highlight the best local produce available. Chef Zinke’s culinary symphony champions the techniques of classic and French cooking married to rigorously seasonal and local ingredients, and lightened to create a supremely elegant and not heavy eight course dining experience.
With a degustation menu, the burden of decision-making is lifted, by putting oneself in the hands of an expert chef. Enjoy the thrill of the new,
Chef Alex Zinke
one spectacularly good dish after another presented in thrillingly fast succession.
Our first course – the Espeche from Sri Lankan prawn, red curry, mango and coconut was sheer elegance of conception and flavour. Beautifully presented with delicate edible flowers and intensely flavoured red curry gel and foam, it was a triumph, one that will be a taste-memory benchmark. So was the burst of fresh sweet-tart flavour in the apple and red cabbage served with soft braised pork belly and a bacon milkshake shooter.
An impossibly thin and translucent cucumber gel was carefully draped over a plate forming the top of course three, a crab cannelloni, the gel giving it a gem-like tone. The food is exquisite.
There are also real surprises, like the seared red mullet fillet in tomato essence soup,
Espeche from Sri Lankan prawn, red curry, mango and coconut
buffalo curd and zucchini that releases the most intense and wonderful tomato flavour. Diners have the option to choose from three main courses each one created to seduce the senses. Another highlight is the Sri Lankan Tatoo, pecan tamarind crunch, tropical fruit mousse. An absolute delight of a dish with a mousse so airy, foamy, rich in flavour yet light it puts all other mousses to shame.
At Saman Villa, the diner feels desired and attended to, in a way that comes across as collegial not obsequious. The staff explain as much or as little as you like about what they give you. Elements of theatre in the serving make you feel a part of the action, not just the passive subject of it.
The restaurant and tasting menu is not restricted to in-house guests and with Bentota just a 30 minute drive on the highway you should be making a reservation post haste.