Dutugemunu Street can get into quite a bottleneck during the post-work rush hour, and that's exactly when Bencita On Wheels is open.
Operating out of a food truck, running on a generator, they serve waffles, both savoury and sweet. The same waffles are also served up as fajitas, tortillas and quesadillas. For the Sri Lankan palate, they've got koththu, noodles, rice, and even roast paan sandwiches.
Located right opposite the Bernard's Clothing store, you might just miss this spot while you curse away at the traffic jam ahead of you.
The Waffles
We tried the Chicken Waffle Fajitas (Rs. 350) which was made up of two waffles, sandwiched together and then sliced into four pieces. Quite filling for one person, we quite liked the somewhat Thousand Island-ish sauce going on in the filling, with just enough fleshy chicken bits and tomato to make for a balanced bite.
The Sri Lankan style pol sambol and fried egg (Rs 250) sounded interesting. So, we tried it. This combination worked surprisingly well. Bencita's pol sambol is not too spicy, and not too tangy, so it doesn't actually seem too out of place between two waffles. Soft and fairly fluffy, the waffles were just firm enough to actually hold together the fillings, and the slices were easy to pick up and eat without any mess. Waffle WIN for Bencita's! We'd love to try this one with a bull's eye.
Their menu has got quite a lot of attempts at appealing to a local pallete, which we appreciated, and we're looking forward to trying out their roast paan range. At Rs 150 for ambul thiyal, we were quite tempted. Alas, we weren't feeling particularly gluttonous at the time. Also, we're somewhat wary of the fajita and tortillas gimmick. They weren't serving tortillas and quesadillas when we were there. If you've tried those, do let us know in the comments below.
Ambiance & Service
It's a food-truck on the side of a fairly busy road, so you'll have to deal with vehicle fumes. We liked the fun lighting just above the counter, though it made our waffles look green, then blue, then orange. See .GIF below. WARNING: May or may not cause seizures.
They've got just two waffle ovens that they use to fire up a sandwich at a time, and manage to serve up our orders within 10 minutes. We spoke to the owner and he seemed like a pretty affable character. If there's anything specific you want or don't want, they're able to comply (e.g. no onions).
Conclusion
Having started out in March, this year, Bencita was initially set up along Marine Drive, near Ozo, but, they soon realized that the salty sea breeze was giving their jenny trouble. It turns out that they've got permission to operate their food truck opposite the Laugfs on Havelock Road, so, here's hoping it works out for them.
With the most expensive menu item priced at Rs 420, Bencita On Wheels is a good deal and we're happy to see someone trying out the food truck route. If you drive through Dutugemunu Street, try out the waffles.
There's only enough parking for one vehicle. They close at 9.30 PM.
