Tucked into a small spot right in one of the busiest streets in Kandy, Chai, the restaurant with its calming assortment of colours and the beautiful art is definitely a sight for sore eyes.
The Food
Chai has an assortment of fast food options like the burger and submarine, sandwiches, and like the name suggests, tea.
The Sausage Shawarma (Rs. 390) was not the ideal option. It had a vinegar-ish taste and also came with a tinge of bitterness that probably came off of the salad that they had filled to the brim with.
The filling mostly consisted of the salad and a few slices of a sausage, which did not have a very meaty flavour to it either; it was slathered in a sauce that was way too strong. The roti that it came in was pretty slim, but also slightly chewy, which was disappointing.
The Chicken Submarine (Rs. 430), which was quite filling, also shared the same problem as the shawarma. It’s filling had a slightly strange, strong after-taste, which sort of compelled us from not enjoying the food, but hopefully, these can be tweaked by making a few small changes to the recipe. The bun tasted quite soft and fresh.
The Double Decker (Rs. 590) in contrast, was quite good. Consisting of two chicken patties, cheese and a healthy dose of fresh salad leaves amongst other things, it was a satiating and filling meal. The bun also felt quite fresh and softer than expected. The patties too were soft and also quite flavourful and the rest of the filling perfectly complimented it. The fries that came with it was quite airy and oily, giving it a more crispy, papery feel rather than the solid slices of potato that we crave for.
The Fruitos (Rs. 380) was basically melted store-bought fruit and nut ice-cream accompanied with another milky concoction and owing to that, it tasted quite good.
The Black Mint Tea (Rs. 100) was basically plain tea with a few mint leaves thrown into the fray. It also came with tiny little rusks to dip into the plain tea and a date.
Service and Ambience
The walls are decorated with beautiful, simple drawings that are soothing to the eyes and they’ve effectively capitalized on the space and arranged it in such a way that quite a number of people can be accommodated at once. Considering the fact that it’s situated right next to the main road parking might be an issue.
The staff were quite friendly and helped in every way possible.
Conclusion
Although we wouldn’t say the food at Chai is perfect, it’s a chill place to grab a quick meal (if you know which specific things to order!). They’re pretty cheap, and if they do work better on eradicating the tiny little things that the customers don’t like about the food, they’re sure to be booming!