We’re only joking. There’s no such thing – although there probably should be considering the sheer hoards of closed-shoe executives swarming round the Beira/Nawam Mawatha district.
White Horse, home to the adolescent white-haltered girl by night and refuge of the wearied white-collar male by day. If you’re in the lakeside office zone, this is your best and closest bet for reaching two of the island’s most sought after commodities: air conditioning and arrack.
And so we swung by for a quick office lunch and brew – the icy blast of the A/C more than welcome on a hot, hot day and the treacly goodness of a cheeky luncheon arrack the only thing to look forward to before the big hand finally made its way to five.
As executive lunches (we’re using the term loosely) go, well, this wasn’t high flying, nor was it cheap – the bill for three coming to a surprising Rs. 2800. Four arrack and limes, three nasi gorengs, one cheese toast. Compare to the excellence of Chesa Swiss’s executive offerings – roughly Rs. 3500 for two. While we’re not expecting gourmet brilliance from the humble kitchens of Horse, we’re still a bit taken aback by the culinary set back to our wallets.
We have much affection for the venue that hosted so many of our adolescences, but still, this is a tad too much for such unglamorous surroundings and unexciting fare. The nasi goreng, respectable, the cheese toast, still good – but the price, completely unwarranted. This is a shame, and probably explains why the once venerable White isn’t more plagued by troops of hungry suits. The surrounding kade and hole in the walls of Nawam Mawatha clearly hold greater appeal – and value. Despite White’s offering of the cooler, boozier pastures, if you’re going executive, this isn’t quite the way.
