Ambul Thiyal is a well-kept, streetside restaurant that serves up some pretty good rice and curry on pan watti (they used to serve them on lotus leaf before, but not anymore). As with most buth kadeys down High Level road, this place is quite popular among tuition kids, shoppers and office crowd.
Rice & Curry
Their menu includes typical rice and curry (chicken, fish, egg or veg), and fried rice. The spread is offered in buffet-style, which is nice because you get to pick the curries you want, along with the rice you prefer.
We opted for the Chicken Rice & Curry (Rs. 300), which came with four curries of our choice, and a hefty piece of well seasoned chicken. The chicken itself was fall-off-the-bone tender, and had strong notes of spice.
From their wide array of curries, we got the Kiri Ala (fresh yam), Dambala Thel Daalaa (tempered winged beans), Batu Moju (tempered brinjal), Nelum Ala Salaada (lotus stem salad), Gotukola Mallum and of course, some good old Papadams.
Each of these curries were well-prepared and seasoned adequately. The yams was cooked to perfection, and came in a slightly grainy gravy, that had a good balance between milkiness and spiciness. While the brinjal needs a little bit more sweetness in it, the winged beans was tempered just right.
However, the highlight was the lotus stem salad, which was fresh, crunchy and full of flavor.
The Chicken Fried Rice (Rs. 300) didn’t disappoint either. It’s essentially a well seasoned basmati rice tossed with carrots, and spring onions. The devilled chicken was quite good, which was little firm on the outside, and soft on the inside.
Service & Ambience
The lady behind the counter isn’t all smiles, but helpful and quick on her feet. The lighting is pretty bad here (except for the section with the buffet), and as you go inside, it literally feels like walking into a dark cave without a headlight.
After a while you get used to it, and as we could see, they’ve got some neat wooden tables and chairs, which is enough to accommodate around 10 – 12 people at a time.
Overall
Their prices are quite steep in comparison to Gemi Gedara, which is like 1km away from here, but the curry spread here is pretty authentic. We fully reccomend this place for a nice rice and curry lunching, if you're around Nugegoda area.
