Going to Attidiya simply to visit a Keells Super outlet sounds ludicrous, but that's what the YAMU life is all about. We didn't even want to go, honestly, but Bhagya took us there on a little field trip and supplied us with Keells fresh fruit juice and other snacks, so we didn't complain.
They've changed a lot of things since the renovation, with new additions like a fruit juice station, a cafeteria that serves up a buffet, and lots of new products to buy. We tried the food.
Food & Drinks
For starters, we got the Chicken Hawaiian Pasta Salad (Rs. 150) which is really just macaroni shells soaking in mayo along with an over-abundance of chopped onions. Nothing special here, but good to grab if you're looking for a snack.
We got the Rice and Curry with Fish (Rs. 280) which comes with a large quantity of white rice, fresh sides like mallum, dhal, beetroot and quite a fleshy piece of well-cooked fish. I loved the taste of this whole dish, but I really wish there was a bit more curry to balance out all that rice.
The Nasi Goreng (Rs. 350) was a surprise. It's nice and colourful which lead me to believe that perhaps they'd gone and overloaded the thing with that packaged flavour mix, but it wasn't.
It was just very well-flavoured albeit horribly oily Nasi rice. The chicken that comes with it is slightly bony, but tasty nevertheless- spicy, saucy and fried just right. There's a bull's eye in there too, but it didn't pique my interest.
The Chicken and Cheese Kotthu (Rs. 450 ) was a gigantic helping of kotthu and chopped veggies that's been seeping in a milk-based cheese sauce for a considerable amount of time. How do I know this? It was soggy.
The sauce was bland enough to make us question whether there was actually any cheese in there at all. There was, you get these chooty chunks here and there- so make sure you really dig if you want your cheese.
I tried a Carrot & Orange juice- a bright orange concoction with bits of finely ground carrot still floating at the bottom. The juice itself was tart, with no added sugar and strong orangey notes coming through. The carrot presents itself in its usual slightly bitter-sweet fashion. Not their best, but not their worst either.
The Service
I have no qualms about the service, the staff are friendly and helpful. The juice counter did have about 20 people making juice, but that's a great thing because then the counter will always be stocked with juice. Yay!
So What's Changed?
I know this is just a review for one outlet, but every Keells outlet from here on is going to bear the same new facitilies. I think the juice station and cafeteria are both great ideas, but Keells really needs to discuss their plastic packaging issue. Apparently they're working on looking for more sustainbable alternatives, but only time will tell. For now, try their Carrot & Orange juice.
