Semondu: They are a level above others at the Dutch Hospital- literally, for the restaurant stands on a raised floor. With a classy glassy elevation as a point of departure, embark on delicious discoveries. At the “Sri Lankan Airlines restaurant,” as Semondu is often called, one cannot but expect a high.
Interiors certainly sweep you off your feet. Sheran Henry Associates have propelled Colombo’s design scene sky-high. Semondu is Colombo’s swankest restaurant. If you can still believe you’re in Colombo. You feel you’ve landed up in some racy international capital as cylindrical chandeliers encased in wood and fabric descend upon you. Lining the central isle, tables dressed exquisitely in glimmering candles and shimmering cutlery invite.
But reminding that you haven’t left Lankan shores are stunner floor-to-ceiling sepia negatives of exotic Sri Lankan scenes. We hear millions were lavished on the interiors. And it shows. But Sheran Henry and his young team (including teenagers) confute: this reussite of interior décor was accomplished cost-effectively by sourcing local raw materials and craftsmen. It’s about clever customising. Given his resolutely modern style I ask if Sheran trained in some grand international city. He says he too is 100% home-cultivated, like the native kumbuk wood he uses as flooring, which climbs up the walls in beautiful panelling. Sheran also elucidates that those floors were raised to conceal “ugly services” like AC ducts underground and preserve the original wood ceiling. (Incidentally, refuse too is disposed of in elegant environment-friendly fashion).
Semondu, whatever it may or may not mean, has so musical a lilt. Otherwise, mercifully, no music plays, as at fine dining restaurants overseas.
If the aesthete has fed his senses on the décor, the culinary journey is as much a visual fiesta- oh, what flights of fancy presentations assume! Executive Chef Sunil’s 20-odd years zigzagging across Jakarta, Bangkok, Singapore, London, Zurich, Oman, Dubai, Egypt and Kenya translate into a travelogue of taste. Fusion isn’t a fad on his menu but an expression of his experiences.
The dégustation unfolds. The bread basket includes an imaginative mini tray comprising four disparate breads of various grains, herbs and spices. Brown bread is scarce. Chef admits Colombo hasn’t cultivated the culture for it. Whilst we ponder over why, arrives the amuse-bouch: canapéd goat’s cheese & mixed nuts, flimsy vol-au-vonts, satiny cream cheese & chive mousse on pumpernickel.
Next, rocket, walnuts, pears, pomello and orange sit in a cognac glass. These are the crispest walnuts in Colombo. Chef reveals minimal storage ensures fresh deliveries from the airport. Beside the salad lounges stuffed mushroom with tingling wood-apple chilli mayo and lush reduced Modena balsamic vinegar. I’m scooping smears of it as Chef rues staff manage to burn the pricy product.
Cappuccino of cèpes has a bread-stick skewering the dainty coffee cup handle. Chef’s enthusiasm for the indigenous manifests in tamarind sorbet with fresh citrus jelly.
Mains: cannelloni, artichoke enclosing smooth hummous and couscous and pilau accompanied by little tandoori sticks with makhani froth. The makhani I wince is sugared. Chef corrects it’s honeyed, as it should be, when expensive ingredients aren’t compromised on. Indeed, he learned the recipe from a celebrity Indian chef who feeds Bill Clinton at Delhi’s Bukhara.
Desserts: chocolate brownie, chocolate mousse and coconut panacotta. Nice textures, but too sweet. Chef exhales, what to do, it’s what the Lankans want. But he navigates dessert out of a crash-landing with ginger & date pudding- just plane superb! Petit fours of love cake and chilli chocolate ensure passed with flying colours!
(Await more ‘Dutch fare’ next week) |
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