When you think of Pilawoos, you think of either Kottu, Iced Milo and the next question, “Which Pilawoos?”.
Pilawoos Premium is a new addition to the restaurant scene in Kollupitiya, with the hope to add quality and a touch of premium-ness to the regular Pilawoos.
This spot is a small joint, located at the premises of Almond Exclusive. As of now, they have takeaway and delivery only. We popped in for a First Look.
Food
They have rice dishes, kottu, chicken BBQ, a few buns and a couple of beverages. We went with Healthy Garlic Booster Rice (Rs. 630), Mix Seafood Fried Rice (Rs. 900), and Singapore Fried Rice (Rs. 400).
This is the Healthy Garlic Booster Rice. A huge BBQ chicken leg, sitting on top of a good serving of garlic rice, flanked by the colourful slices of bell pepper arrived in this one.
One can not simply ignore that humongous chicken leg – which is why we dug into that first. Smoky to the taste, it was cooked well, with the meat falling off the bones easily while the charred bits adding a few bitter notes. There wasn’t much in the terms of seasoning going on here but it wasn’t too oily, which is a plus point.
The fluffy, well-cooked rice packed a subtle garlicky note that paired extremely well with the chicken. If you are looking for loads of spices this is not the one to get. Make good use of the slice of lime and bell pepper – you're in for a treat.
Behold the spread of generous, decently sized prawns, cuttlefish rings and cubes of fish – all smothered in an eye-catching, red coloured sauce. Underneath of all the seafood was the fried rice, with bits of carrots and spring onions mixed in.
The prawns and cuttlefish were deliciously chewy and soft while the cubes of fish had a creamy texture. But the flavour trick here was in the sauce, with its sweet and sour notes pairing well with the seafood.
The Singapore Fried Rice was a huge portion of fried rice with small pieces of veggies mixed in. There was a chop suey with pieces of boiled carrots, beans and cabbage on one side and a few pieces of chunks of chicken that were drowning in a sauce on the other side.
The secret here lies in the sauce that was spicy to the taste while the chicken had soused up all of its flavours. However, the sauce did drown the chicken flavours a bit – but we are not complaining since it seemed fresh, while the pieces of onion and capsicum made it even more interesting.
Ambience and Service
Like we mentioned previously, they're still working on the premises. From what we gathered, it will be open with dine-in facilities very soon.
Conclusion
Pilawoos Premium indeed managed to add a premium touch to their food. The prices are a bit steep, but considering the good flavours, we didn't mind. They seem to be heading in a good direction and if you are in the area and in need of a quality fried rice, this is a good bet.
