Serving
many a flavour
What shall we have? Baked Crab
or Chilli Orange Chicken? How about Bread Pudding for dessert? It
certainly is a hard choice at Raffles. Ishani Ranasinghe finds out
the latest at this much loved restaurant
Dining out…
a way to catch up with your friends, fam-ily or just have a fabulous
meal. One thing you can be sure is Colombo is not scarce of places
to eat with eateries mushrooming every day.
Colonial
charm
In existence a year, Raffles unlike most restaurants has
not lost the charm that has become its signature. A colonial ninety-year-old
house stands upright down Bagatalle road. Centrally located in an
ideal setting, this houses Raffles Restaurant, where a beautiful
garden adds to the ambience, making one feel quite at home.
Situated
where Café Kent was located earlier, the restaurant can be
accessed through the Galle road and the High Level road. Tony Bohoran,
managing director, in association with Kent Holdings, launched Raffles
Restaurant last May and it has grown to become one place everyone
loves going to.
Something
old, something new…
Those who will head to Raffles this month will see a few
changes that have come into place as a step towards catering to
a wider audience. “We will be introducing a new menu from
next month,” says Mr. Bohoran, but for those of you who are
worried about your favourite dishes being scrapped, forty percent
of the old menu has been retained. Having decided to keep the dishes
that are quite popular, you can still taste their signature dish
Baked Crab along with Chili Orange Chicken, Cheese Cake and Bread
Pudding.
Fusing
flavours
Known as a restaurant that serves fusion food, at Raffles,
east meet west where flavour is concerned. A pioneer in introducing
fusion food to Sri Lanka, Tony Bohoran’s fine blend of continental
and oriental flavours using the best of the fresh herbs and ingredients
together teamed with unusual presentation is guaranteed to make
one’s taste buds flow.
Thirst
quenchers
The cocktail bar is another new addition to the restaurant.
With a few specials the beverage list, it has a wide selection of
cocktails, wines and other liquor. The irresistible tea cocktails
Tony has created for Dilmah, is a special attraction among the few
‘mocktails’ (non alcoholic mixes). Through the bar you
can make your way to the music room. With its orange rooms and the
cosy black leather couches, “this is one place where you can
try out your hand at singing.”
Garden
Café…
Run independently the café operates on the concept
of action cooking. “This means that the customer can see what
is being done,” he said adding that they offer a wide variety
of foods ranging from Mongolian BBQ, Sri Lankan and the regular
stuff.
Bringing
their delicious food closer to you is their catering division. Playing
emphasis on the needs of the clients they have a wide range of menus,
“You can even mix and match the menus,” says Bohoran
adding that they are also specialised in doing sit down dinners
and even caters to as few as six people.
When
many hear the word Raffles they associate it with fine dining, “I
think it’s more fine food.” A strong believer in the
saying ‘value for money’ Mr. Bohoran feels his clients
should get enough, and more than what they paid for hence what they
have to offer have always been reasonably priced. With its charm
and quaintness, combined with its great food Raffles is the place
to keep in mind the next time you are thinking of your options for
dining out! |
