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Peanut-butter cookie brownie from Skrumptious.

We Hope It’s Not Raining Right NowOctober is smack in the middle of rainy season (which usu-ally goes till late November), but that doesn’t mean that you can’t go out. There are more places than ever opening in and around Colombo. This issue we cover Thalis and Che Che, among others. Note, however, that Che Che got so much business after our online review that they had to shut down for a while, so be gentle.

If you’re wondering how the YAMU sausage is made, we now welcome Imaad Majeed to our writing team. He also did the layout for this issue.

Finally, we are also a website, and Janith and Malinthe are hard at work improving our app and creating new ones.

Anyways, don’t forget your umbrella.

indi

EDITORIALIndi Samarajiva

Vidya BalachanderBhagya Goonewardhane

Aisha NazimImaad Majeed

ADVERTISINGDinesh Hirdaramani

779 776 445 / ads@yamu.lk

CONTACT11 454 4230 (9 AM - 5 PM)

info@yamu.lk

PRINTED BYImashi Printers

©2015 YAMU (Pvt) Ltd14/15A Duplication Road, Col 4

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BY VIDYA Indian cuisine can present a prob-lem of plenty — with so many dif-ferent states, it’s nearly impossible to represent India on a plate. But the thali is a pretty good primer. Quite literally a plate laden with several small cups bearing up to a dozen dishes, the thali is a compact introduction to the dizzying vari-ety of regional Indian cuisine. That’s precisely what you get at Thalis, a brand new vegetarian addition to Park Road. Serving both north and south Indian thalis in addition to a la carte dishes and snacks, this all-vegetarian eatery is authentic and affordable — two adjectives we love more than others.

THE FOODSpanning the whole range from do-sas, vadais and other light bites to north Indian dishes, with a cursory

nod to Chindian (or Indian Chinese), the menu at Thalis is an ambitious and expansive one. But displaying a rare decisiveness when confronted with multiple options, I zeroed in on the south Indian thali (Rs. 400).

A neat freak’s delight, the thali held ten individual cups arranged around the plate, with a larger vessel of rice in the middle. I was delighted to find both rasam (a tangy and usually fiery soup made of dal) and sam-bar; a coconutty snake gourd curry as well as a dry bean one; fresh curd to wash it all down and payasam to sweeten the deal.

The rasam was much too watered down to have any real punch, and the beans poriyal was run-of-the-mill. But the thick sambar laden with pearl onions was perfectly balanced (and reminded me of my

mum’s sambar), while the tama-rind-laden kuzhambu, a spicy-sour dish with lady fingers and karawila, was the sleeper hit of the meal. With unlimited refills available for each of the individual elements, Thalis’ thali is fantastic value for money.

You’d imagine that a thali with mul-tiple refills of payasam (just per-fectly sweet, creamy and decadent) would have been plenty, but we had brought our A game to this lunch. So we also ordered puliodhare (Rs. 350) or tamarind rice, along with a cucumber raita (Rs. 200). Usually a tangy and spicy preparation, Thalis’ version was a tad off-balance. Al-though generously speckled with fried peanuts for crunch, the rice was underseasoned and didn’t have the characteristic pucker of tamarind. The raita with cucumber cubes in watery curd was similarly

Thalis155, Park Road, Colombo 5 | 777 686 192

8

under-salted and generally under-whelming.

On the other hand, the melt-in-the-mouth paneer butter masala (Rs. 600) positively took us by surprise. Usually a combination of rub-bery pieces of cottage cheese in a sweetened gravy, a good paneer dish is rare to find in Colombo. How-ever, Thalis’ iteration of this classic north Indian preparation gave us little reason to nitpick. The soft and crumbly pieces of paneer added richness to the tangy and perfectly balanced tomato gravy. Scooped up with pieces of the fresh and soft naan (Rs. 225) studded with fat cloves of garlic, it was one of the highlights of our meal.

The beverages also held up their end of the bargain. The savoury but-termilk (Rs. 150) seasoned with salt

and asafoetida, and garnished with green chillies and coriander stems, was pretty damn perfect. Neither thick nor diluted, and chilled just so, it was the perfect antidote for a sunny day.

But it was the frothy filter coffee served in a petite tumbler that I enjoyed the most. From the pres-entation down to the sweet, frothy brew, everything reminded me of the afternoon coffee rituals that were such an important part of my growing-up years. Just for the joy of the filter coffee alone, I’m sure I’ll return to Thalis soon.

AMBIENCE & SERVICEThalis bears the simple and func-tional air of a restaurant where the focus is on food over frills (although we appreciate the colourful little touches at the entrance, pictured

below).

The comfortable wooden chairs and gleaming table tops arranged in a brightly-lit dining area aren’t de-signed for you to dawdle over a long meal. This is the sort of place where you eat with your full attention and then get on with it. Although the speedy service keeps pace with the general air of briskness, we found all the wait staff to be polite, hos-pitable and attentive, urging us to have more refills of the thali.

CONCLUSIONAuthentic Indian food is still not abundant in Colombo. Thalis makes for an exciting addition to the local culinary scene. At just over Rs. 2,000 for a substantial meal that also included a full thali, it is a wallet-friendly and generally happy-making option.

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BY BHAGYASince they first opened their doors one year ago, Giovanni’s has been our go-to spot for wood-fired pizzas. This time around, despite Dimuthu’s absence on the day we visited, they still dished out the quality pies we’ve come to expect from them.

THE PIZZASIn the course of the year, the folks at YAMU have made numerous stops at Giovanni’s. I happened to be one of the only people in the office to not have tried their pizzas, so I was excited to see if all the hype was for real.On our previous visits, it had been Dimuthu manning the clay oven, so we were a bit surprised to find a different gent working the dough this time around. From what I’ve heard, Dimuthu trusts very few people with making pizzas, so I was definitely curious to see how well the chef deemed worthy of the task would fare.

Giovanni’s keeps things relatively simple with a 20-item menu that revolves around classic italian preparations. You’ll find the entire menu written out on a blackboard at the entrance. Prices range from the mid-to-high end, but the pizzas are large and more than sufficient for one hungry person. They also top their pizzas more generously than any other pizzeria in Colombo (even compared with the likes of Harpo’s and Domenico’s), so the value for money is unbeatable.Since the option was available, we went for two half-and-half pizzas. The first of these had bacon and pollo cacciatore (Rs. 1,400 and Rs. 1,500 respectively for full pizzas). While the latter is essentially chicken doused in a tomato sauce with added herbs, the bacon pizza is quite simply that — unadulterated bacony goodness with warm, stringy mozzarella. There wasn’t much else going on in

the bacon half, which really helped emphasize the fatty flavour of the meat.One thing we really appreciate about Giovanni’s is the fact that they absolutely pile on the toppings. One slice of the pollo cacciatore had the equivalent of half the topping you’d get at a mainstream pizza chain. The chicken, while well-cooked, was also moist. The flavour of the tomato came through well, further complemented by the basil leaves added on top.The other pizza consisted of one salami half and the other half, all-meat (Rs. 1,700 for a full pizza of either). With a fermented tang that comes through in the flavour of the pizza, salami may not be for everyone. The pizza nails the brief in terms of flavour, but it may taste funny to those who aren’t too familiar with the distinct flavour of salami. The all-meat was also legit, with plenty of bacon, chicken and beef, topped

giovanni’s145, Thimbirigasyaya Road, Colombo 5 | 770 335 366

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off with sliced capsicum and basil leaves. This also had a spicy kick to it, with a bit of dried chilli added into the mix. Despite the abundance of ingredients, they still managed to maintain that balance of flavours, so the savouriness and spice is evened out by the creaminess of the mozzarella.

AMBIENCE & SERVICEDespite its popularity, Giovanni’s remains quite a small space. The ground floor is where the magic happens, while the compact dining area with just a few tables occupies the first floor. It’s actually quite charming—and perfect for a date—

despite the simple wooden furniture, chequered table cloth and balconies that overlook the street. They’ve got seating for around 15 upstairs, but don’t be surprised if you see them set up tables on the side walk to accommodate the hungry hordes.Clay oven pizzas require very little cooking time, so you can expect the service to be quite fast. That being said, it is still quite a small operation, so the service time does get slower as the place packs up. The guys at Giovanni’s are casual, friendly and knowledgeable. As for the new chef, we’d say he fared pretty darn well.

CONCLUSIONWe’re happy to see that Giovanni’s hasn’t let the demand affect the quality of their pizzas. It’s one of the few places in town that has been consistently knocking it out of the park, so we’re excited to see what Dimuthu & Co. come up with next.

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Where to find the best cuppa? We’ve got you covered with 11 entries into Colombo’s coffee dictionary.

BY VIDYA

In a country that has had a centuries-long romance with tea, coffee is a recent upstart. There wasn’t really much of a coffee culture in Colombo even until a few years ago. But with a slew of home-grown and internation-al chains opening up, caffeine-seekers sud-denly have it better than ever before.

The coffee dictionary has expanded beyond the usual iced coffee and cappuccino, to niche styles such as ca phe sua da (or Viet-namese-style coffee), the cold drip, the flat

white, and more. Many more.

Now that there are nearly as many coffee styles as letters in the alphabet, we decided to put together a dictionary . Here’s our A-Z guide to coffee available in the capital.

NOTE: During the course of our coffee-addled research, we were disappointed by the incon-sistencies at most coffee shops across the city. So take this as just a guide, results may vary.

Coco Veranda Ward Place 0117635635

Caffitaly Vivekananda Road, Wellawatte

Dolce Italia 147, Vajira Road, Colombo 5 0112559900

Hansa Coffee Fife Road, Colombo 5 0112584832

Pho Vietnam 47, Thimbirigasyaya, Colombo 5 0772722277

Shanmugas 53/3, Ramakrishna Road, Wellawatte 0112361384

Sri Suryas 255, Sea Street, Colombo 11 0112424789

The Cake Factory 91A, 5th Lane, Colombo 3 0777382510

Whight & Co Marine Drive and Aloe Avenue, Colombo 3

0114383236

PlacesMentioned

Here

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Quite simply an espresso diluted with hot water, the Americano is the culturally confused cousin of the Italian espresso. (It is believed to have been created by American soldiers in Italy during World War II, making it neither entirely Italian nor totally American.) Lighter-bodied and less intense, it is perfectly suited for those who can’t quite handle the in-your-face kick of espresso.

One of the lingering legacies of France’s six-decade-long colonial rule of Vietnam, ca phe sua da or Viet-namese-style iced coffee brings together high-quality Vietnamese coffee and sweetened condensed milk in one curious package. Because of limitations on the availability of fresh milk, the French and Vietnamese began to use sweetened condensed milk with a dark roast coffee. It is also called ca phe nau da in northern Vietnam. A small, drip filter is usually affixed over a cup containing a chunky layer of condensed milk. You wait for the hot brew to percolate completely, mix it up with the viscous condensed milk and add several ice cubes before you slurp up the strong, cold, bitter-sweet brew. You can also leave out the ice cubes and drink it hot, but it’s not as fun.

A FOR AMERICANOTry it at: Whight & Co

C FOR CA PHE SUA DATry it at: Pho Vietnam, Whight & Co

A drink that inspires serious fanfare, cappuccino is also one of the most technical Italian coffee styles to perfect. (That’s probably why a good one is so hard to find!) Starbucks has phased out cappucino from its menu in favour of the flat white, so it’s quite com-forting that we’ve still got a demand for it here in Co-lombo. It’s made of a single shot of espresso topped with an equal quantity of hot milk, and crowned with a thick layer of milk foam. Those who worship at the altar of coffee nerd-dom would tell you that for a cap-puccino to be perfect, everything from the thickness of the foam to the size of the bubbles matters. But here’s our rule of thumb: if the foam is thick enough to support a teaspoon on the surface for a couple mo-ments, you know you’re drinking a good one.

C FOR CAPPUCCINOTry it at: Dolce Italia, Coco Veranda

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Like a cappuccino but minus the foam, latte means ‘milk coffee’ in Italian. Traditionally a larger cup than a cappuccino, the latte also includes a higher milk to espresso ratio. The milk is steamed to give the latte its characteristic appearance, also mak-ing the drink a canvas for latte art. Google ‘latte art’ and you’ll see what we mean.

Using the universal principle of a drip filter, this style in-volves pouring hot water slowly over coffee grounds to extract a thick concentrate, which is then mixed with hot milk and sugar. Typically served in small steel tumblers at south Indian restaurants, Indian filter coffee is known for its theatrics – servers often pour it from one vessel held high above their heads to another one held lower, creat-ing what is locally known as ‘metre coffee’.

L FOR LATTETry it at: Caffitaly, Coco Veranda, Dolce Italia

I FOR INDIAN FILTERTry it at: Sri Suryas, Shanmuga

A hangover cure par excellence and the basic building block of most coffee styles, the espresso is a highly pre-cise creation that involves a delicate dance between fine coffee grounds and boiling water or steam that is forced through under pressure. Said to mean ‘pressed out’ in Italian, serving an espresso as soon as it is brewed is cru-cial to its flavour. But that doesn’t mean you should call it an expresso — that’s just wrong.

E FOR ESPRESSOTry it at: Caffitaly, Whight & Co

Hailed as a ‘break-out star’, the cold drip is actually a centuries-old technique that has gained currency in the recent past. It involves dripping room temperature water (as opposed to the hot water that is generally used for most coffee styles) over coffee grounds at a very slow pace (between 12-24 hours), to create a full-bodied concentrate. Usually served over ice cubes, this smooth and heady brew is a revelation.

C FOR COLD DRIPTry it at: Whight & Co

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Long welcomed into the fold of Sri Lankan clas-sics, iced coffee is one of those styles that enjoys crossover popularity both among coffee snobs and the rest of us plebs. A decadent combination of brewed instant coffee and (oodles of) condensed milk, it is even occasionally jazzed up with a shot of brandy. The fact that it is inauthentic seems ir-relevant to its mass appeal.

Using the fairly basic principle of pouring hot water over coffee grounds and filtering it to get a smooth brew, the pour over has become something between an art and a science. Balancing the coarseness of the coffee grounds, the temperature of the water and the quality of the filter might seem like too much work for a cuppa coffee, but if the purists are to be believed, it’s well worth the effort.

‘Macchiato’ means spotted in Italian, so this bever-age is composed of an espresso shot with a spot of frothed milk on top. The milk dulls the blunt edge of the espresso, but only just — this is still an intense and full-bodied drink that punches above its (tiny) size. If you like a pretty cuppa for your In-stagram, go for this.

I FOR ICED COFFEETry it at: The Cake Factory

P FOR POUR OVERTry it at: Whight & Co

M FOR MACCHIATOTry it at: Caffitaly, Dolce Italia

Widely credited as being an Australian innovation, the flat white has a similar composition as the cappuccino. The all-important difference is that the espresso is topped with a thin layer of foam, which means you get a stronger coffee flavour. Starbucks is trying to introduce this item to their menu in place of the cappucino, so it’s likely to be-come more popular, soon.

F FOR FLAT WHITETry it at: Hansa Coffee

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BY BHAGYAChe Che’s is a new home-based take-out venture specializing in Chinese dumplings and steamed buns. It may still be in its infancy, but the food is delicious and incredibly affordable, given the quality. The only caveat is that they’re located in Palawatta, which isn’t the most accessible location, but we think it’s well worth the trip.

THE FOODWe often find that home cooks offer some of the best food in Colombo, both in terms of quality and value for money — and Che Che’s exemplifies just that. They’re still very new so the menu is limited to jiaozi (dumplings) and baozi (buns), both of which can be had either steamed or pan-fried. What really surprised us was how affordable all of it was, with each portion (10 dumplings or 5 buns) priced under Rs. 400.

Yes, dumplings aren’t incredibly expensive to make, but they take a fair bit of skill and know-how to nail. They offer chicken, beef, pork and vegetarian fillings in traditional and spicy variants. At the moment they are take-out only, but we were told that they’re hoping to open a dine-in restaurant in Colombo once they’ve expanded their menu.

First off, we tried the steamed jiaozi with tradional beef filling (Rs. 350 for 10). These were along the lines of what you’d find at most restaurants, but executed with more finesse. The dumpling had a velvety-smooth texture, with just a hint of saltiness. The filling was also seasoned just enough to bring out the flavour of the beef.

While the dumpling was good on its own, to really unlock its full flavour potential, you need to dip it into the

accompanying sauce. This one came with a soy, cilantro and green chilli sauce, which brought that extra bit of saltiness and heat. More often than not, restaurants will serve it with just soy, but those other two ingredients really tie all the flavours together.

Next up was the pan-fried jiaozi with traditional pork filling (Rs. 370 for 10). While we enjoyed the beef filling quite a lot, this was our pick between the two dumplings. The fact that the dumplings had been pan-fried added a welcome crunch, which worked beautifully with the well-seasoned and moist pork filling. Once again, the chilli garlic sauce added another dimension of flavour. All their sauces are homemade and definitely taste like it. This sauce had more oomph, with plenty of garlic and just enough spice.

che che’s11/1, Vimukthi Mawatha, Palawatta | 773 508 492

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The pan-fried baozi with spicy pork filling (Rs. 395 for five) ended things off on a high note. A good baozi is nearly impossible to find in Colombo, so needless to say, these blew the competition straight out of the water. They nailed that perfect contrast of textures, with a crisp outer shell and a soft centre. The spicy pork filling also also balanced out the doughy flavour of the bun.

The filling itself was tender, with a texture almost like pulled pork. This one came with a sweet chilli sauce, which was my personal favourite. The sauce was perfectly balanced, with the

occasional chilli seed adding a burst of heat. It was so good that I shamelessly finished off the entire

thing with a teaspoon. No regrets.

ORDERINGSince Che Che’s is still very new, they currently only offer take-out from

their home in Palawatta. Orders can be placed by either calling them on 0773508492 or contacting them

via their Facebook page. Orders should ideally be placed a day in advance but they aren’t too strict about that.

CONCLUSIONWe’ve been asked to recommend restaurants for dimsum and dumplings. Until now, we haven’t been able to wholeheartedly recommend any particular

spot. But Che Che’s dumplings are both affordable and delicious. We’re definitely looking forward to seeing them in Colombo.

BY KINITANail Anatomy has been around for a just over a couple of years now, and they’ve solidly maintained their standard since our last review. Our focus this time was more on their new services rather than their nail services, which we have already covered in depth before. They’ve got a whole range of new things to offer, from full massages to specialist treatments for healthy nails and feet. Their site isn’t updated yet but you can give them a call for more details.

They also have a range of products to deal with all kinds of issues like topical pain and infected nails/toe nails. All of them are top-end, medically reputed brands like ClearZal, footlogix, and Avoplex. At around Rs. 4,000 for the ClearZal, for instance, the products don’t come cheap. But if you have a genuine issue, these are probably your best bet.

SERVICEFrom the point of entry to exit, you can expect a smoothly manicured experience. The staff, mostly Indonesian or Filipino, are extremely well trained and know the menu and services well. They were able to answer all my questions and were informative and polite.

I requested a Signature Massage, which is an hour-long, full body massage. Before I went in for the massage, I was given a short form to fill, explaining any ongoing medical conditions, where my stress areas were, the level of pressure I required, and which areas I wanted the massage to focus on. I told them that it was just general tension and they nodded sagely.

My masseuse, Shri, was great. She ushered me into a lovely little massage room and left me to change. The attention to detail

was great. The music was some gently tinkling harp stuff, incredibly relaxing and soothing. She brought me a glass of water, and handed me some disposable undergarments to don. Before the massage, she put a thermal pad on my back which slowly increased heat in order to ease my muscles.

The massage itself was all I could have expected. Once or twice, Shri would ask if the pressure was enough/too much, but otherwise I was left to my comfortable reverie. She was efficient, took her time, and clearly knew what she was doing. Most importantly, I felt comfortable and was totally able to relax. Towards the end of the massage, she did some interesting pressure point reflexology on my shoulders and face, which was strangely relaxing. This was followed up with some aromatherapy breathing with essential oils to wrap up the session.

The nail anaTomy14 Reid Avenue, Colombo 7 (inside Lakpahana) | 112 688 358

22

Shri finished with a hot towel rub down to get rid of all the excess oil. This woke me up a bit after my dozy hour.

After I got dressed and went out into the reception area, they had prepared a little cup of green tea with a cookie while they arranged the bill. They usually offer you a drink and snack with most procedures, but it was still a thoughtful touch.

AMBIENCEApart from maintaining a really quiet and peaceful environment, the lighting is perfect. The dedicated massage room was quite dim and cosy, equipped with a proper massage bed, some gently fluttering candles (which I later found out weren’t real), an essential oil diffuser, and a little hot towel box.

After I hopped up on the table, which came with the usual hole

you can rest your head in and look through, I realized that instead of having to look at a boring floor, they had placed a little stone bowl with flowers and stones underneath. It was a great little touch for those who tend to keep their eyes open during a massage.

CONCLUSIONI was impressed and happy. I also got a Classic Pedicure, which consists of a full pedicure, exfoliating scrub, massage, cleaning, cuticle treatment, and of course, nail painting. They use quality OPI nail colour, and are careful and diligent. It’s pricey at Rs. 2,500, but definitely worth it. I asked them about their new treatments for bacteria/infections etc and they said that they are simply selling the products right now. But they do offer consultations along with the pedicure to tell you what your feet might need. The 60-minute massage cost Rs.

4,000, which is cheaper than most places like Spa Ceylon or even Siddhalepa. This is a bit surprising because their other services are all a bit above average Colombo salon prices.

If you’re planning an event like a hen’s night, an office treat, or even a little pampering party, they can organise it for you. You can book out the whole place, specify your numbers, budget, and what kind of services you want. They can arrange for catering or you can bring in your own food.

They also have a great offer going on currently. Refer three friends and you get a free foot massage, or refer five friends and get a free back massage. It’s definitely worth the premium to become a regular here, but be sure to make an appointment in advance. They’re usually too full for walk-ins.

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BY AISHAEveryone knows that little black tub. You either love it or hate it – there’s no in-between.

Luckily for the guys over at Marmite SL (who wanted us to try out a bunch of Marmitey goodies), we at YAMU aren’t fussy and we like our food, re-gardless of whether there’s Marmite in it or not. Taking that into account, we crashed a food-tasting event (created exclu-sively for us) where we sampled about 15 different items made with or of Marmite.We liked some of them, abso-lutely loved the others, and didn’t like a few of them. There are ten combos we think are great to try out at home.

PART ONE

1. PattiesThis is something you can easily get at your local bakery or kadé. Drizzle a bit of Marmite on top of the pattie (we used a spoon, and it did the job well), and give your regular snack a much stronger flavour. This works well with a slight drizzle — we’d advise against using a lot of Marmite, because the taste can be a bit overpowering otherwise.

2. PizzaThe pizza we tried was chicken and cheese. This combo worked well. The Marmite complements the cheese, so we’d suggest you opt for a cheesier pizza if you want to try this. It’s a good way to add a twist of flavour.

3. Manioc ChipsWe’ve tried this before, and this is one of our favourites because of how beautifully simple and uncomplicated it is. Use the Marmite as a dip. As always, don’t scoop it out plentifully. Use the dip sparingly. Another creative dip is the ‘tomamite’ — a concoction of tomato sauce and marmite, which has an interest-ing sweet and tangy flavour to it.

4. Parippu VadaiParippu vadais go well with Marmite, especially since they are nice and crispy on the out-side. They pair even better with tomamite, as the tomatoey fla-vour complements the dough and the parippu. We’re guess-ing Marmite would also go well

10 Yummy Things You Can Do With Marmite

26

with isso vadais, since they are thin and crunchy. We also tried ulundu wadai, but that was a no-no. It was too starchy and fluffy for the Marmite to work as a good dip.

PART DEUX

In this part, we focus mainly on how the Marmite works when it’s used a part of the dish, in-stead of as a dip. Some of these creations really surprised us with how good they were. Have you ever heard of caramelized Marmite? No? Well, today you will. We’re going to start off with what our favourite.

5. Toffee CakeThis cake was a stunner. It was light, buttery, and fluffy, and had

a bit of Marmite in the dough itself — but the winner was the topping. Coated and topped off with confectionary sugar and caramelized Marmite, the way sweetness and bitterness con-trasted in this cake was truly amazing. This was our favourite, and a clear winner. The beauty of this creation is how little Marmite is actually needed — just a spoonful added with the sugar while it is caramelising.

6. BurgerThis is really easy to make, given that you can easily grab all the ingredients off a store shelf. This one had chicken ham, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes and, obviously, the burger-bun. Just layer them all on top of the other, and apply the Marmite on the bun for addi-

tional flavour. It goes great with the ham and cheese.

7. Pol SambolWe slathered some Marmite on to the rotti (pretty much like what your mom may have packed you for your school breakfasts) and then sprinkled some Marmite-in-fused pol sambol on top. This is your regular, traditional pol sam-bol — grated coconut, chillies, chilli powder and onions mixed together — with like a teaspoon of Marmite mixed in instead of salt. I personally think it could have used more salt, but Bhagya felt it was just right.

8. Chicken CurryThis was really really good — a definite win. We loved it, and definitely recommend a dash of

10 Yummy Things You Can Do With Marmite

27

Marmite to spike your everyday chicken curry. It’s really sim-ple to make as well. Cook your regular Lankan chicken curry, and once you switch the stove off, just add a tablespoon of Marmite into the gravy and give it a good stir.

9. Chicken KottuAdd a dash of Marmite to your regular toss-up of godamba rot-ti, stir-fried veggies and meats.

This is a good combo, and adds an indescribable (how would you really go about describing how Marmite tastes?) flavour to the overall dish

10. VinaigretteTake half a cup of white vinegar, 1 1/2 teaspoons of Marmite, 1 teaspoon of Dijon Mustard, and a teaspoon of honey and whisk them all together to create this tangy, zesty little dip.

BONUS — PART 3

As dessert, Marmite goes sur-prisingly well with dark choco-late.

Also, let us save you the trouble and give you a hint as to what not to try it with (in our very per-sonal opinion): Ulundhu vadai, pasta and peanut butter. This is of course highly subjective, and you can most certainly try it out with them and let us know if you like it.

Meanwhile, the recipes for the Toffee Cake, the Kottu, and the other stuff we’ve approved of can be found here: fb.com/MarmiteSL.

Happy cooking!

Catering for all We specialize in

Occassions...

42 HORTON PLACE, COLOMBO 7

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Catering for all We specialize in

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42 HORTON PLACE, COLOMBO 7 www.facebook.com/IndianSummerLK

BY AISHA Skrumptious does a vast range of brownies including those with minty, cheesy, and peanut-but-tery twists. Like Indi says, they’ve

got the art of making brownies down to a science, and they’re pretty consistent whenever we tried them out. While your per-

sonal preference would play a huge role in which flavours you’d like, we think they do a pretty good job.

Indi tried the mint swirl brownie (Rs. 1,100) that was quite different from the usual. He said it tasted like mint and it was refreshing with the sweetness of the chocolate. The brownie itself was gooey and soft. He prefered this to a regular brownie, but that’s because he doesn’t like choco-late much. He said

it reminded him of the Andes choco mints he had as a kid.

Their Peanut-butter Cookie

Brownie (Rs. 450) had an inter-esting salty twist to it ‘cause of the buttercookie they had used as the base. The brownie in itself was very fudgy and very satisfy-ing, with swirls of peanut but-ter mixed in. The peanut butter and cookie complemented each other, and overall, this was a very smooth combination.

The Cream-cheese Brownie with comes with a thick layer of creamed cheese, also very smooth. The textures didn’t jar as the brownies are thick and gooey in itself, and though the creamed cheese is of a slightly lighter texture, it blended in with the brownie.

Their portions are generous. If you’re having it in-house, it comes with a serving of whipped cream and fresh strawberries.

skrumpTious3 Sulaiman Terrace, Colombo 5 | 777 009 995