Fat Wok is a Chinese restaurant that is located on the second floor of 'Relax on Kotte' motel building, and it is open for both guests and non-guests. Buddhika stumbled upon it during one of his food adventures, and given his experience was quite good, we decided to check them out as well.
Food & Drinks
Their spread is mainly Sri Lankanised Chinese, and they have plenty of varieties as you'd find in any Chinese resto. Starters, soups, vegetable dishes and a list of protein dishes – chicken, pork, beef, mutton and seafood are available here, which you can pair with rice and noodles. As for drinks, they've got juices and a few soft drinks.
The Hot Butter Cuttlefish (Rs. 770) had a delightfully crunchy batter and was not too oily. We didn’t get much in the terms of flavour from the cuttlefish itself, but it was soft nevertheless. Bits of carrot, onion, leeks and chilli, all added to texture and spiciness. If they can improve the cuttlefish flavour, this dish can be quite a bargain.
The Sizzling Pepper Style Pork (Rs. 650) came to us fuming with angry smoke, warning not to touch it – which was a treat for the eyes. Glazed in a tangy sauce, it was piled with pieces of pork, carrot, potato and onion. We were thrilled to see that none of the pork pieces here are fatty ones.
The pork was fried to have a slightly crunchy outside, with a strong smokey note and had plenty of porky goodness inside. The sauce took a sweet note and we couldn't get much in terms of pepper flavour here, while the carrot and potato didn’t seem all that well-cooked. Seeing a river of mustard seeds didn’t help either – which didn’t really add much flavour since most of it was burnt.
It's not a bad dish, but they can certainly improve it.
The Devilled Chicken (Rs. 540) sported about ten pieces of chicken smothered in sauce and spices. The chicken was cooked all the way through to the bone, with a slightly hard outside, while retaining its flavour. There was a hint of pepper in the mix, while chilli flakes and capsicum added to the heat which was balanced out with the sweet sauce. It was a decent side dish, with bold flavours that can work well as a bite, but nothing to rave about.
The Seafood Fried Rice (Rs. 560) wasn't too oily but was a bit salty and came with cuttlefish, fish and chopped prawns in the mix. However, the prawn counterpart of the dish was limited to just tails, which was a letdown.
carrot juice on the left, apple juice on the right
We got a Carrot Juice (Rs. 200) and an Apple Juice (Rs. 200) to wash everything down.
Initially, the carrot juice was too sweet, and pulpy, so my lunch partner requested a bit of lime to be added to make the drink more balanced in flavour.
The apple juice seemed quite fresh with a bit of pulp swimming in it, without being too sweet. Both drinks could have been a bit chillier than this.
Ambience & Service
After you got through the entrance to the first floor, you are greeted with a spacious spot that can hold more than 30 people easily. The place can be quite relaxing with natural air seeping through, and the view of the lake in the distance is nice too.
At the time of our visit (around 1 pm), there wasn’t anyone except for this one guy – who seemed like a nice fellow but didn’t seem all that confident in taking our order. Our food took more than fifty minutes to arrive, which is a downer but apart from that, we didn’t see an issue with the service.
They do BYOB without a corkage fee as well.
Conclusion
Fat Wok is a good option if you want to grab a bite to pair with your drinks and can work as an option for a casual meal with family and friends too. They do have a few things to polish up here and there but given they don’t break your bank, we can give a nod to this place.
