COLOMPUR

Hello Readers, I’m back! The lockdown took a toll on me, and of course my food! Literally, suffered at home having to eat my sisters cooking (face palm!). Tried to explain to her that TikTok wasn’t the best recipe guide to follow. Sigh. I am extremely ecstatic to be back at work and back to eating my way around Colombo, with my colleague and partner in crime, Amantha. I decided to kickstart the week by trying out a few dishes from an Instagram popular cloud-kitchen venture, available solely via Uber Eats and Pick Me Food; Colompur.

Amantha was in the mood for some Chinese and I was craving some Indian food, but we both didn’t want to break the bank. Colompur seemed like the perfect choice to satisfy both our cravings. Their extensive menu offers Sri Lankan, Indian and Chinese cuisine. Usually, when one restaurant offers multiple cuisines, things can either go really well or totally wrong! We have also noticed that when pricing is too reasonable, the taste isn’t always great. Phew, thankfully Colompur has mastered the art of both; good food at affordable prices.

Colompur is a cloud kitchen that offers Indian, Sri Lankan and Chinese cuisine. For those of you who do not know what a cloud kitchen is, it is a place where food is prepared only for delivery or takeout. They operate out of Kirulapona, and deliver to almost anywhere in and around Colombo. Their aim is to provide delicious meals at a reasonable price for their customers, whilst giving them an authentic experience of a good home-cooked meal.

Amantha, ordered the Chinese and I ordered the Indian dishes. Oh! And we also decided to try a Sri Lankan rice and curry too. As usual, we ended up with a whole heap of food – yum, I’m not complaining. For our appetizer we ordered the Assorted Dish, which consisted of Prawn Toast, Chicken Wontons, Vegetable Spring Rolls and Hot Battered Prawns. The aroma of the food was strong and our tastebuds were already beginning to dance. It was quite difficult to patiently and calmly wait whilst all the pictures were taken of the different items on the dish. Of course, our first instinct was to gobble it all up, but then we simply walked away till all the pictures were captured.

Once we were allowed to dive in, momentarily, I had to pause and look around, decide quickly ‘what do I start with?’ Vegetable Spring Rolls was the clear winner. It wasn’t your typical Spring Roll which is usually a bit too oily and soggy, these Spring Rolls tasted fresh, crispy and crunchy. It was comparatively slightly smaller than your usual spring roll, but made up for its size through its flavour. It wasn’t too oily and it had quite a crunch to it, and also a peppery kick, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Finger licking good for sure.

Having devoured the spring rolls, I moved on to the Chicken Wontons. I have always enjoyed hot Wontons on a cold rainy day, and that is exactly what I got. It was a little gloomy outside and the food was fresh and piping hot, which made the experience perfect. The wontons were a little different from what I was used to. When you order wontons from a restaurant, there is a clash between the flavours.

It’s too spicy, too sweet, and too salty or doesn’t have enough flavour at all, and they usually have too much filling, but Colompur had figured out the perfect balance. It was the right amount of filling and the flavours complemented each other. It left us craving for more.

Next stop, the Hot Battered Prawns. I will proudly say being a huge fan of hot battered prawns I was deeply satisfied with the quality of the prawns and the texture of the batter. It was crispy and the prawns were of a decent size. Most chefs fail to get this perfect blend, either the prawns are tiny and there is too much batter on it, or the batter is too salty and tastes like feet! And yes, I am one of those guests at weddings who eat an entire plate of hot battered prawns as a starter! The chef’s at Colompur have found the perfect recipe; it was slightly spicy, not too oily and every bite had a nice crunch. I pigged out on it and left nothing for Amantha; Oops! You snooze you lose.

Hello! Prawn Toast.

I’m not the biggest fan of Prawn Toast, I just feel like they don’t blend too well together. It’s like Batman and a Power Ranger, the two of them just don’t make any sense together. However, I’m pleased to say, Colompur changed my mind on this. The bread was perfectly buttered and toasted, and the large, well marinated prawn, with a dash of garlic on top, was juicy and delicious. Not too oily, and it was delivered fresh and crispy and not soggy, this made a huge difference. The toast and prawn complemented each other like Batman and Robin. This turned out to be my favourite appetizer.

With the appetizers done we worked our way to one of the main dishes, a good old, home style, Sri Lankan Rice n’ Curry.

Colompur does not add artificial flavours to any of their dishes. They prefer to prepare them as healthy as possible. They are also keen for their customers to experience an authentic meal with a home-cooked vibe. Their Rice n’ Curry we selected was served with white rice, four vegetable curries, dhal, chicken curry and papadum, with a side serving of kohila nuggets. That rainy afternoon, this really hit the spot. The curries were not too spicy, and it reminded me of Achchi’s Sunday lunch. As Sri Lankans we tend to eat a lot of rice and curry, and although it’s a staple at lunch, we look forward to this meal daily. Colompur offers a wide range of curries to select from, and they also have options of yellow rice and the traditional curries that accompany it. The packet was also served neatly and trust me, this too makes a difference. Most Rice n’ Curry packets are served with the different curries all mashed up and we can’t enjoy the curries individually. Having whacked the entire packet, Amantha wanted to take a break. Pfft. He’s such a weakling. I simply lowered my pants a bit, allowed my stomach room to wobble a bit more freely, and swiftly moved on to the Chinese dishes I had ordered.

Next up, Hot Garlic Fish.

I am a meat lover; I don’t have much of an appreciation for fish. But this dish popped out whilst scrolling their menu, and I thought why not, let me be a bit adventurous and try something different for a change. The fish they had used was ‘Modha’ also more commonly referred to as Barramundi. The fish was steamed and prepared with the right quantity and blend of ingredients which included ginger, garlic, chilli, tomato and celery; his combination was just perfect. I was hooked after the first bite. It was explosive and vibrant, and my tastebuds were enjoying a mini mouth orgasm. The fish was tender, soft and melted in my mouth. Paws of Amantha! I gobbled up this entire dish on my own. There was no way I was going to share something this good. I didn’t even bother to mix it with a bit of the fried rice, I just chomped on this piece after piece.

Whilst, I wolfed down the Hot Garlic Fish, Amantha decided to try a spoonful of the Chicken Fried Rice.

Seconds later I noticed that he was moving further away from me, giving me the side eye. He had discovered that the Chicken Fried Rice was not served alone, it was served with a generous portion of Vegetable Chop Suey, Kan Kung (Morning Glory), a Fried Egg, Chilli Paste and a medium sized piece of chicken. The rice was also mixed with chunks of juicy, mildly fried chicken. From sharing a Rice n’ Curry, to indulging in this dish all on his own, Amantha was in a total food coma afterwards. He had polished off the entire dish. Not a grain of rice was left when I went over to have a peek. He looked up and whispered, this reminded me of my childhood, when Thaaththi used to take us for a Chinese meal on a Friday evening. How could I be mad at him now! When I asked Amantha to describe this dish, he simply said, ‘I can eat this every day for the rest of my life. I am so full, I can’t breathe, can we speak about this later.’

So, there you have it folks, Colompur is a must try, and you have to take your time with each dish. You have to savour each bite. You can find them on Uber Eats, Pick Me Food, Instagram: @colompur and on Facebook; ‘Colompur’ or you can simply do it the old-fashioned way and call them on: 070 711 1999.

Have a wonderful weekend, and do share your food pictures with me via Instagram. Tag: @dailymirrorlk