There are seldom any establishments you'll stumble across which provides you with exceptional ready-made food. Gourmet Lanka Deli, which you will find next t0 the entrance to the Keells at the Food Court of One Galle Face is one such place that we stumbled upon.
This concept is still quite new here in Sri Lanka, but try out the food at the Gourmet Lanka Deli, and you will be compelled to wonder why you haven't switched to this simpler alternative sooner.
The Food
The Gourmet Lanka Deli has food from all sorts of cuisines, ranging from Indian and Italian to Thai and Sri Lankan. They also have a host of amazing desserts which are of the highest quality and quite cheap as well.
From the array of options, we opted for the Hyderabadi Chicken Biriyani (Rs. 575) and the Italian Chicken Lasagne (Rs. 680).
We can either prepare the food by steaming it or heat it up using an oven or a microwave. The instructions for preparation are clearly given in the packaging.
Using the microwave, we heated the Lasagne and the Biriyani for 6-8 minutes.
After the process of microwaving, as we removed the film of the Biriyani, we were struck with an aroma that certainly did kindle our hunger. The Biriyani itself had the perfect texture, not too dry or oily, and each grain of rice was equally flavourful. There was no doubt as to why this dish was the most bought by the customers at Gourmet Lanka Deli.
The chicken too was near perfection; boneless and succulent, the chicken by no means could be considered meagre; it went quite well with the biriyani and had that tantalizing chicken flavour that we love.
The Lasagne also had a topping that came with it, which boosted the taste of the dish. The layers were rich and flavourful, with ample fillings of bolognese, but we felt that this wholesome meal could be made better if it promoted the gooey texture more.
We also tried a few desserts by Gourmet Lanka Deli.
The Belgian Milk Chocolate Mousse (Rs. 195) was close to perfection. It perfectly encapsulated the milky chocolate flavour and was quite rich and airy at the same time, striking the perfect balance.
The Chocolate Swiss Roll (Rs. 450) too was a piece of art. Tasteful, creamy and rich in flavour as well as consisting of a large portion, it was totally worth the money.
The Belgian Chocolate Mint Tart (Rs. 195) that we had was sour (the cheesecake kind) but did not taste as minty as we would have expected it to be. The flavour of chocolate did not properly emanate from the tart.
Ambience and Service
Like all stores at the One Galle Face, the Gourmet Lanka Deli too have a unique, quirky interior which is also quite customer-friendly.
The staff too are quite enthusiastic in making sure the customers get what they came for, and are quite friendly.
Conclusion
While the meals might be a tad bit more expensive than getting a ready-made meal delivered, it also minimizes a great deal of hustle, and the food we tried out maintained a pretty good standard. The desserts too are off the charts. Affordable, convenient and also some of the best we've had.
