Jeewa’s Polos & Kuma’s Natural Foods is a very affordable Sri Lankan food stall at the Good Market at Diyatha Uyana (and now my new favourite). They do roast paan sandwiches, kurakkan burgers and roti wraps here, though they also do a super rice and curry at Colombo Racecourse on Saturdays.
Service & Ambience
The Good Market makes for a bright happy location for lunch time, and a very happening one in the evenings. We dropped by during lunch and watched as the lady at the stall made us some roast paan sandwiches and grilled them hot-hot.
Most Good Market food stalls have no seating so it was a relief to find chairs at this one, with shade from the sweltering heat. It takes about 10 minutes to whip up a fresh sandwich or two, so while they’re being made you can take a stroll around the craft shops nearby.
The Food
The menu here includes a range of burgers, wraps and sandwiches, with ingredients beloved by Sri Lankan tastebuds – like fish ambulthiyal, pol sambol, jack fruit curry and devilled cuttlefish. Most things are for around Rs. 200, while the BBQ chicken and chicken Fajita are the most expensive at Rs. 500-600.
We had a classic kade pol roti and lunumiris, for just Rs. 50. The roti comes thin and sliced into triangles and the lunumiris is absolute dynamite – a simple but superb lunch if you’re a fan of this combo (and a fan of not spending much money). Also, if you like bottled chutney products like mango and mustard, Jeewa’s sells some in the same stall.
We also got some roast paan stuffed with chicken, polos and pol sambol. I’m not even a big jack fruit fan, but this was one tasty sandwich, mostly because of the chunky chicken bits and the freshly grilled roast paan that came buttered with a very spicy pol paste. We’ve also heard good things about their rice and curry, which is only served at their Good Market stall at Colombo Racecourse on Saturdays. For Rs. 350, it includes organic red/yellow/white rice, brinjal mojuwa, bread fruit curry, polos achcharu, gotukola sambol, ambarella maluwa, pol sambol, dhal curry, with a side of chicken, cuttlefish or crab – it’s so popular that you’ll have to call and pre-order.
Conclusion
Jeewa’s is one of the few Good Market stalls where your wallet doesn’t feel too taxed after you’re done. If you love your easy, spicy Sri Lankan recipes as much as we do, these guys are a must-visit when you’re in the neighborhood.
