COS P restaurant opened up its doors not too long ago, in Kottawa. This was somewhat of a surprise addition to the area but a welcome one. They more or less have a theme revolving around jack fruit and try to make it as healthy as possible without losing the flavours or the appeal.
From what we gathered, even their logo is designed as two fingers holding a young jack fruit and the name COS P is essentially an abbreviation for Kos Polos (කොස් පොලොස්). Needless to say, we were more than excited to try them out.
Food
You can choose from rice & curry variants, kottu, wraps, and a few finger food items – which all of them made with jack fruit. However, the meat content on their menu is quite low.
As a starter, we got the COS P Chips (Rs. 250 for large) and a COS P Nuggets (Rs. 150 for regular).
*Pictured above – Nuggets (left) and Chips (right)
COS P chips are essentially fried jackfruit strips with a dusting of table salt. It was creamy, crunchy with just enough saltiness to keep things fun. Dipping these in the tomato chilli sauce gave it a bit of heat as well as a tinge of sweetness, making this snack one of the best snacks I've had in a long time.
The Nuggets had a lot to improve and we weren't fans of it. There were 6 or 7 of nuggets in the bowl and they were lightly deep-fried after being soaked in the batter. Neither the batter nor the jackfruit had much flavour except for the bitterness from the unripened jackfruit. They can easily tweak this to make it better as we think.
COS P Rice (Rs.250) name stood out to us for obvious reasons and it came neatly packed in a cardboard box small tub of with white rice, pol sambol, kiri kos, a small helping of curried karawala, and polos curry gravy on the side. While the pol sambol seemed fresh, it lacked the flavours of the lime and salt. It didn't pack much of moisture either but that can be alleviated by adding a bit of gravy.
The highlight of this rice packet was the kiri kos, which was creamy, milky and had just the right amount of seasoning. The fried chilli added a bit of heat and the mustard seeds made things interesting. Packed with a boatload of curry flavour that was weirdly close to fried fish curry, yet absolutely flavoursome, we liked the polos gravy.
The karawala was somewhat questionable because 1) the pieces were was too small, and 2) it wasn't rich in flavours as we anticipated. All in all, considering the price this is an okay spread but we think they can certainly polish up more.
One of the fried rice like options they have is the Tuna Rice (Rs. 550). The fried rice here has bits of carrots and leeks mixed in and we got deep-fried jackfruit strips as well as a cutlet in the box along with the helpings of mango chutney and jackfruit curry gravy on the side. The rice was seasoned to the mild side, fluffy and didn't have any oiliness.
The tuna in the dish was more of a paste so you won't get any pieces here. The cutlet was a hand-made ball of cheese mixed with cooked jackfruit, leeks, and potato. This reminded us of a good pare kadey chinese roll but with loads of cheese and in the shape of a ball. We loved it.
The fried jackfruit stripes added a funky crunch to the meal, with a bit of bitterness while the mango chutney was sweet with a hint of spiciness. This is a good, different kind of fried rice and we liked it.
Dessert
As for desserts, you can choose from mango, curd & treacle, and a couple of cakes. We went with the Kiripani (Rs. 150) and Mango (Rs. 150).
The curd tasted fresh, tarty and mixing things with the treacle balanced it out quite well.
Mango was essentially a mango cut to an 8 so cubes with a tub of treacle. While the mango seemed fresh, flavour-wise it felt a bit bland. Nevertheless, we gulped them down quick.
Ambience & Service
The wait staff was polite and promptly answered anything we wanted to know about the items on the menu. They were accommodating and friendly in explaining everything they have to offer at the place.
The place is quite spacious with enough seating for 30 or so more people on the ground floor. They have triangle-shaped tables, and we noticed chess, checkers, or snake boards drawn on them that you can play if you want to.
There was a guitar playing in a corner that added to the calm family-friendly ambience. They have a dedicated spot for small children to play as well and they can accommodate parties and events too.
Conclusion
Making everything kos, COS P off to a good start and as far as we are aware they are the only places that do food around jackfruit. Both ripe and unripe jackfruit is well known for its health benefits and for its versatility as an element in cooking.
COS P's food is of good quality and the prices are not expensive. If you are nearby you can certainly drop in with your family and enjoy their jackfruit-entred dishes in a chilled-out ambience.
