Arts

Creativity is their signature dish

By Tera Jayewardene

KIKU restaurant in Colombo 5 offers a fresh take on Fusion Japanese

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Above Shirohana Romantico on Dickman’s Road, Colombo 5, you’ll find KIKU Colombo, a dynamic Japanese fusion restaurant and event space. Creating its own special vibe, it has soft soothing colour patterns and light streaming in through the large windows. The brainchild of Jacqueline Samarasinghe in partnership with Shirohana, KIKU started more than a year ago, and is open Tuesday to Sunday from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. If KIKU could be described simply it would be a fresh take on Fusion Japanese, flower-themed and minimalistic.

Modern minimalist Japanese architecture gives the place a unique ambience. Pix by Priyantha Wickramaarachchi

What’s really special about KIKU is that each time you visit there, what you get and what you find won’t be the same. Their base menu doesn’t change, but every day different dishes are crafted in their kitchen, a particular attraction being their desserts. Even if a dish doesn’t ‘wow’ you, you would still come out saying “that’s interesting”, and most definitely would have found something else you loved on the menu. From doughnuts with fascinating fillings like red bean, mochi, spiced chai and hibiscus cream, there’s plenty to explore.

“When we opened our doors to customers last August, coming to work felt like being transported out of Sri Lanka as I walked in to KIKU every day, and it still does,” says Jacqueline, encapsulating perfectly how everyone feels when entering KIKU. Like with their food, KIKU presents their take on Japanese architecture, resulting in something Japanese but also unique. “At KIKU we live and breathe creativity, this is encapsulated within our food and drinks, our interior, the events we host, to the products we sell. We wanted it to be calming on the eyes and whenever someone walks in, we want them to feel relaxed,”she adds.

Their themes vary every day. For instance on Matcha Tuesday, you will find a plethora of matcha-infused desserts, like matcha mochi, matcha tart, matcha cream filled doughnuts and matcha brownies. They also have vegan Wednesdays, fishy Fridays and specials over the weekends.

“It is a modern take on Japanese fusion. Our menu is small with Japanese and European influences providing a unique and interesting selection of light bites and tasty snacks to eat in or take away. An important part of our menu features edible flowers and we also get a selection of vegetables and herbs from the Shirohana farms,”Lakna Thalapawila, the head chef at KIKU who is one of the people responsible for KIKU’s ingenuity says. Lakna and Jackie went to school together, and after Lakna had come back from Singapore where she studied culinary arts, Jackie asked her to be the Head Chef at KIKU. Together with the help of Shirohana, Jacqueline’s sister Carolyne, and Lakna, they finally settled on the Yōshoku, a cooking style where Western cuisine is made with Japanese ingredients.

Jacqueline Samarasinghe

Some of the best dishes of the restaurant are the miso scrambled eggs, with avocado or shiitake mushrooms on toasted sourdough, the salmon onigiri, grilled salmon fillet, poached egg and wasabi hollandaise on furikake rice. One of the most outstanding dishes is the wafu pasta, pasta with a soy butter sauce, tofu steak, shiitake mushrooms and toasted nori. The crunchy texture of the tofu steak contrasts with the soft pasta and while many think vegetarian dishes are often bland and flavourless, KIKU Colombo shows how vegetarian and vegan dishes ought to be done.

The matcha waffles with matcha cream and caramelized pear, is undoubtedly one of the best dishes that KIKU has created.

The restaurant also has interesting drinks. Going along the Shirohana line of flowers, they serve a beautiful lavender latte, rose latte and a clear but delicious elderflower and rosemary soda. The hojicha Latte, made of roasted green tea syrup which is often overlooked might be the best drink on the menu. Unlike many other places KIKU doesn’t add sugar into their drinks, in fact the sugar is nowhere in sight; there is no sugar at your table, and it’s KIKU’s way of subtly weaning people away from the sugar craze that has struck our society.

Lakna and her sous chef Sehan Dananjaya

KIKU is also an event space and workshop studio. Focusing on Japanese elements of inclusivity and mindfulness, KIKU has hosted events on meditation, lantern-making workshops and floral workshops.

Birthday celebrations and media events are also arranged and KIKU does special anime movie nights called ‘KIKUKinonight’ where diners watch anime and enjoy food created around a particular theme. The most recent one was on the vampires and baos theme.

“Our aim is to stand out with our ideas and uniqueness. We’re constantly pushing the boundaries, never settling for mediocrity, in a space that is clean, minimal and easygoing,” says Jackie.