The Bearded Chef does boxfuls of delicious biriyani. It's a great option if you want to save the hassle of cooking when you're having people over, as one box of biriyani can easily feed about 8 – 10 adults.
How To Order
You can DM them on Instagram, or call/ WhatsApp at 0772132223. Orders are undertaken only on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, and requires a 24-hour notice (minimum). Delivery is limited to Colombo and its suburbs and entitled to a fee. For us, it was Rs. 350 (to Nugegoda).
The Biriyani
They do three kinds of biriyani – Chicken (Rs. 5000), Beef (Rs. 5500) and Mutton (Rs. 6500), and we got the first one. Each one of them is served with the helpings of Malay Pickle, Raita, Masala Fried Chicken and Watalappan.
From what we gathered, this is made with a recipe that had been in their family for generations.
The Basmati rice itself was well seasoned with spices, absolutely aromatic and there was no oiliness in sight. In terms of flavour, it leant towards the Hyderabadi style, but not quite alike. We enjoyed the addition of cashew nuts, prunes and caramelised onions in the fray, which made for the extra flavour, along with the chunks of nicely seasoned, boiled potatoes. 
They're quite generous with chicken, cooked in two ways, and the flavour play between them was interesting. The Masala Fried Chicken adds a lovely smokiness to the meal with a lot of texture, while the usual kind intensifies the overall flavour of the biriyani. Superb!
The accompanying Raita and Malay Pickle improved the depth of its flavour, by being sweet, sour and zesty delights.
A biriyani meal is incomplete without Watalappan, and The Bearded Chef does a good one at that. Boasting with rich cardamom notes, it was sweet, but not overly so, had the right consistency, while the crushed cashew nuts scattered about made it even better.
Conclusion
Our experience with The Bearded Chef left us happy, and full. Their biriyani is delicious, the meat-to-rice ratio is on point, and the ordering process is super smooth. Try them out!
