Good Market Lanka's most recent chapter is now open in Rajagiriya. They're located on the first floor of Beverly Street clothing shop.
What's On The Shelves
As you enter the shop, you'll spot the fresh produce on your right-hand side. Organic and brought in fresh from country-side farms every day, the pricing of these vegetables and fruits are a little higher than the usual ones you get in supermarkets.
However, this is one of the very few places in town that guarantees to give you organic fresh produce (and other products), all thanks to their intensive screening process.
The Nuts & Snacks aisle is something I always stop by whenever I'm at Good Market. A massive variety of nuts can be spotted here, including cashews, pine nuts, peanuts, walnuts, almonds and pistachio. The pricing of these varies from Rs. 90 to Rs. 1500 (for 100 grams) – where Macadamia nuts being the most expensive.
You can grab some quality, flavourful snacks here, like thalabola, fruit snack bars, rulang toffee, cookies, and Thattai Vadai (Point Pedro Vadai) – my absolute favourite. It comes all the way from Point Pedro and is the greatest tea time snack I can possibly think of. Packed with fennel, curry leaves and chilli powder, they're hella crispy and deliciously spicy. Costs Rs. 240 (100g, 20 pcs).
We also tried a Pineapple Snack Bar (Rs. 195) by Greenfield Organic Life. Made with organic coconut treacle and organic dried pineapple, it was a light, healthy snack.
They also have seeds, like chia, sesame, sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds etc.
In terms of flour, Good Market has a wide range – from string hopper flour, rice flour, atta flour, gram flour, kurakkan flour and coconut flour to cassava powder, jack seed powder, kithul flour, oat flour and flaxseed flour. Almost all of them are priced at Rs. 500 or less.
You can find the traditional rice varieties here, like Dik Wee, Suwandel, Madathawalu and Kaluheenati, which are healthier than everyday Samba. Aside from that, Good Market also offers a variety of grains, such as Green Gram, Meneri, Kollu and even Quinoa.
In fact, I made my awurudu kiributh this year, with the packet of Suwandel (Rs. 390 for 1kg) I got from Good Market.
Good Market is home to a whole bunch of sauces and condiments. The piping hot Scotch Bonnet Sauce, fiery Chilli Sauce and the collection of Italian style sauces by Dolce Italia will surely summon the inner gourmet chef of yours.
They also have jam, butter, chutneys and pickles from Yummy Goodness, Lalrich, Addictive, Amba Estate and Innocent Foods etc.
To spice up your curries (and life), Good Market provides a massive selection of spices, from the basic chilli powder to oregano powder to vanilla pods.
In a time where substandard cooking oil dominates the market, Good Market is a safe bet. They're a little pricy (Rs. 660 for 375ml virgin coconut oil), but you cannot put a price on health and safety.
These bottled goodies come in really handy if you want to save some time in the kitchen. This section is comprised of an impressive spread of ambul thiyal, seeni sambol, umbalakada sambol, achcharu and the likes. It's ideal for anyone who has a loved one abroad that needs some Sri Lankan touch on their plate.
Good Market features an assortment of local coffee, tea and also, sweeteners like kithul treacle, honey, jaggery and organic coconut sugar.
The Northern Palmyrah Bee Honey (Rs. 443 for 200ml) I bought was of excellent quality, but the Raja Gedara Kithul Jaggery (Rs. 300 for 300g), not so much. It was quite tough in texture, which is not a quality of good kithul jaggery, and had just a teeny tiny hint of kithul.
There are a few shelves dedicated to wellness and body care. This is where you'd browse through the activated charcoal powder, essential oils, soap, cream, shampoo, conditioner, balm, deodorant, face wash, face scrub, dental floss, bamboo toothbrushes, activated carbon toothpaste, face pack, hair oil, hair spray, hand wash, body wash and lotion.
The frozen pizzas, lasagna and the likes by Dolce Italia are quite convenient when all you need is a quick dinner/ lunch. These two fridges are full of interesting beverages like SOZO, Kombucha and iced teas, cheese, hummus, chocolates, curd, greek yoghurt, seafood and meats.
This is simply a picture of my shopping cart at Good Market Rajagiriya.
Conclusion
The Good Market promotes good life, by stocking its shelves with organic, healthy and eco-friendly products. It's also a nice way of helping a massive community of entrepreneurs and small scale businesses to feature their products and generate revenue.