Palpatha down Etul Kotte – Mirihana Road is known for their massive spread of rice and curries. It’s not a fancy restaurant, but their offerings are pretty good for a regular streetside buth kadey.
Rice & Curries
Nicely presented in clay pots, they’ve got around 20 – 30 curries here, and you can pick six of them, including a protein of your choice, to go with your plate of rice (red/white/yellow).
At Rs. 300, our Fish Stew Rice & Curry came with a large piece of well-seasoned paraw fish (trevally), pol sambol, tempered winged beans, amberella curry, cucumber salad, and good old papadam.
The fish stew boasted of a nice peppery flavor with a hint of lime in it, which was simply delightful. Adequately spicy, with lots of curry taste, these guys seem to know their way through the Lankan culinary style. Our favorite was the amberella curry, which was deliciously spicy, with a teeny tiny sweetness seeping through, and a hint of sourness.
The yellow rice was cooked right, not oily and portionwise, it’s quite big, so two people can easily share it.
Despite the hefty price tag of Rs. 430, their Mutton Rice & Curry was pretty solid as well. This time around, kos mallum was the winner. It had a lot of thinly sliced jackfruit, generously mixed in scraped coconut, and a sprinkle of mustard seeds, making a flavorsome combo with our plateful of fluffy white rice.
Palpatha does a good mutton curry – soft, slightly chewy and packed with flavor that comes from the spices and the meat itself. The rest of the curries on the plate comprised of tempered winged beans, bitter gourd curry, and tempered leeks. All of them were decently prepared, properly spiced, all in all, delicious.
Service & Ambience
The service here isn’t all smiles, but they’re pretty quick on their feet. There are like 5,6 staff members working behind the food counter to serve the food.
In terms of ambience, it’s not air-conditioned, but they’ve got a couple of huge fans here so you don’t have to worry about the heat. The place gets packed during lunch hour, so takeout is your safest bet. Anyway, if you feel like sitting down for a meal, they’ve got a bunch of wooden chairs and tables as well.
Conclusion
Palpatha is a tad pricey option in Nugegoda’s buth kadey scene, but for a good reason. Their portions are big, the spread is massive, and they’ve got almost all the meats cooked in different ways. Be sure to try their mutton curry or the paraw fish stew – they’re the bomb.