Here’s another buth kadey we discovered thanks to YAMU team’s new ‘Badagini – Nugegoda’ video series. Located down Highlevel road around Kirulapana area, Rasa Piyasa is a well-kept, streetside restaurant that’s well known for some excellent rice and curry for a decent fare.
Food & Drinks
Beautifully presented in clay pots, Rasa Piyasa offers a wide array of authentic Sri Lankan curries, and you get to pick five of them to go with your buth plate, including a protein. They’ve got two types of rice; steamed (white/red) rice and fried rice.
Accompanied with a hefty piece of well-cooked, adequately seasoned chicken, the Chicken Rice and Curry (Rs. 250) came with a plateful of properly steamed white rice. As for curries, we selected beet root, pumpkin, gotukola mallum and some good old pol sambol. All of them were packed with flavor and strong notes of curry. The pumpkin curry was especially good – it came in a creamy, and slightly grainy gravy, while the pol sambol gave a nice spicy kick to the whole meal.
They were running out of pork, but Buddhika somehow managed to snag the last portion of the Pork Rice and Curry (Rs. 250), and it was worth every effort. The pork curry came in with a light gravy, but tasted almost exactly like an authentic black pork curry – and a very good one in that case. Aside from a couple of fatty bits that melt in your mouth, the rest was all meat, cooked right, with distinct sour hits of tamarind and goraka seeping through.
They do one of the best damabala (winged beans) curries I’ve come across – crunchy and well seasoned, as opposed to being mushy and overcooked.
We also tried a Chicken Fried Rice (Rs. 200), and it didn’t disappoint either. The rice wasn’t too oily, well seasoned with a sprinkle of thinly sliced carrots and spring onions, while the devilled chicken served on the side was nicely cooked with a little tough, golden brown outside, and soft inside. It was on point in terms of flavor – devilishly hot with a hint of sweetness.
Ambience & Service
The ambience here reminded me of our other favorite rice and curry joint in Nugegoda – Jaadi Samaga Game Kaema. A thatched canopy covering the buffet, katu mati walls (walls made with wattle) give you the authentic Sri Lankan buth kadey vibe.
The staff is friendly, helpful and efficient – no compaints here.
Conclusion
Rasa Piyasa did a good job in making our bundis full. Their stuff is excellent, and well worth for the money we spend. Head on over to this place if you’re ever in Nugegoda and looking for some authentic style Sri Lankan rice and curry.