Mintage down Kynsey Road is well-known among the working-crowd in the area, mainly for their classic take on Chinese fare, coupled with booze. So, we were obviously excited when we heard about their new branch in Kotte.
Drinks
As of now, Mintage in Kotte isn't serving any alcohol-based beverages, but they do have a collection of cocktails, juices and soft drinks. We opted for the Blue Lagoon (Rs. 400) and a Watermelon Juice (Rs. 300).
We weren't too happy about our Blue Lagoon. As you can probably see in the picture, there's a tall layer of syrup in here, which overpowered the limey, fizzy quality of the drink with a giant wave of sweetness.
The Watermelon Juice was much better. They can go easy on the sugar content here as well, but it had the refreshing watermelon flavour popping through.
Food
Our starter was this giant bowl of Chef's Special Mushroom Soup (Rs. 648 for S). This picture was taken after two servings, and what's left was easily enough for three more servings. Needless to say, it's a pretty solid deal for the said price.
A clear soup with chunks of spongy mushroom swimming about, it had a dominating chicken stock flavour, along with a subtle leafy note, thanks to the greens they had added. While we're happy with the generous amount of mushroom at play, but a little bit of mushroomy flavour in the broth itself would have made it perfect.
For our mains, we got the Yang Chow Mixed Fried Rice (Rs. 848 for S), accompanied by Mintage Special Garlic Fried Pork (Rs. 758 for S) and Hot Butter Cuttlefish (Rs. 858 for S).
Fluffy and not oily, there wasn't a lot of seasoning in the rice, so the flavour is drawn from the assortment of beef, pork, shrimp, chicken, spring onions and carrots in the mix.
The Garlic Fried Pork had a subtle gamey taste, which bugged me a little but not to my dinner partner. With a good ratio of meat-to-fat in the slices, there was a peppery touch to it, along with lots and lots of garlic. 
The highlight of the meal was the Hot Butter Cuttlefish. We've always enjoyed Mintage's HBC, and it didn't let us down this time as well. With pieces of spring onions and red chillies, the HBC was chewy, but not overly so, along with just right crisp to the bite. It was freshly made, and not re-fried, which is always a plus point, while the batter was nicely light and not oily at all.
Service & Ambience
They have implemented all the necessary safety and hygiene measures against COVID-19. Upon our arrival, the staff warmly welcomed us, checked our body temperature, and offered a bottle of hand sanitiser. Every person enters the premises are supposed to note down their names and whereabouts on the book they provide.
The tables and chairs are arranged in a manner that the customers can maintain 1m distance from each other. Geared with face masks, the staff members also kept their distance from the customers as they take orders and deliver them to the table.
The service was polite and helpful. Our hot butter cuttlefish took a bit of time to arrive but aside from that, we had no issues regarding their service.
Conclusion
As a whole, our experience at the new Mintage didn't disappoint. It's a good option for a family dinner if you're in the area.
