Arabian Knights, along with the likes of Hazari's, has long been one of Colombo's Middle Eastern staples. It's tough being an Arabic restaurant here, but AK has held strong and we've become progressively bigger fans over the years.

The Food

If you've been following our reviews of Arabian Knights, you'd see that we weren't exactly blown away when we first reviewed their (at the time) new restaurant in Colpetty, though we loved their former branch on Marine Drive. That being said, over the past two years they've been constantly improving and have become one of our go-to delivery options. Middle Eastern restaurants in Colombo have had some unfortunately short stints, but AK has managed to anchor itself quite well. Their prices are comparable to that of Hazari's, which is to say that it's fairly reasonable considering the portion sizes so managing under Rs. 1200 is easily possible.

We started with the Vegetable Soup (Rs. 410) which was basically the most boring option on the menu (blame Kinita for picking it). I was actually expecting a light soup, but we were pleasantly surprised by what we got. This soup was super thick, close to a curry in terms of consistency and with a bunch of veges like carrots, potatoes, tomatoes and onions roughly chopped and thrown in. It was also packed with spices which gave it a very distinct flavour, with a undertone of what tasted like aniseed.

The Cheese Sambosek (Rs. 660) is a sort of melted cheese-filled patty. If you're into gooey cheese-filled food, this will be right up your alley. It's a pretty straightforward dish, though the patty itself was a bit on the sweet side, which we found a bit odd. This comes with a garlic mayo dip which really enhances the flavour along with their light spicy and sweet tomato sauce.

So the Hummus with Pine Nuts and Meat (Rs. 480) is technically a cold starter, but in reality it's a main since it's so filling. This, along with the beef fatteh at Hazari's are probably my two favourite hummus dishes in Colombo. The crunch of pine nuts offset the smooth and creamy texture of hummus brilliantly, while also adding that earthy flavour. I've had this around three times now, and the beef has been on point every single time. They also add a bit of sumac to the hummus which adds a very light tartness, all of it coming together beautifully.

The Chicken Tagine with Rice (Rs. 640) is probably one of their more modest rice options. The rice is more or less just steamed basmati with a sprinkling of sumac on top. This dish is all about the chicken, and while it didn't blow our socks off, it was still flavoursome.

The chicken tagine had a lot going on with carrots, capsicums, onions and tomatoes. While those did add variety to the dish, we felt that there just wasn't enough chicken in there which was a bummer since it was actually cooked well.

Ambience and Service

The restaurant's got a slightly weird orange-yellow theme with blue cushioned furniture, along with hanging metallic ceiling lamps, which make for a rather incongruous look. This would usually bother me, but it oddly wasn't the case here. It's certainly not mainstream.

The service at AK has generally been very solid, and except for a few minor lapses, they were pretty good this time as well. We dropped in for lunch during a time they were having a discount going, but few of the waiters were actually aware of it. Our second waiter was a lot more prepared and knew the menu by heart, so we didn't have issues there onwards. It was a pretty busy lunch service so our food took around fifteen minutes to get to the table, which was fine.

Conclusion

Arabian Knights have ironed out a lot of the kinks, and managed to maintain a good level of consistency over the past two years. The food is quite authentic and affordable with some real winners like their shawarma platter and hummus, which make for great delivery options.

Arabian Knights has made some definite improvements since our last review. We'd say the food is back to it's creative former glory.

The Food

The first time we tried out the new Arabian Knights in Colpetty was just a few weeks after they had opened their doors, and while we were expecting big things, they didn't quite deliver. Over the next six months we got some pretty positive feedback from the customers, so we figured it was worth another shot. While there is still room for improvement, the food was undeniably better.

It was a pretty warm day so we decided to try out their camels fury (Rs. 390). I swear I didn't just make that up. It's a mixed juice with strawberries and pineapple, which isn't overly sweet, very refreshing and really hits the spot after walking in the sun.

We started off with the classic hummus (Rs. 360). After recently trying the hummus at Sama Restaurant, we'd say this was pretty close when it came to taste with a good balance of creaminess and seasoning, but thicker and slightly grainy in texture. If I had to choose, I'd still go with the Sama's smoother texture, but that's a personal preference.

Damasco fries (Rs. 360) are pretty much something the guys at Arabian Knights came up with, so it's tough to really say what they're supposed to be. It's more or less a thicker version of a potato chip. The ones we got on our initial visit were soggy, but second time around they were crispy, puffy and well seasoned. Kinda' like little puffed potato papadams. While it tasted good, I still feel that it should be priced a bit lower.

The majboos rice (Rs. 580) was pretty good overall. It comes with a roasted chicken hind quarter, rice, a tomato based puree and a questionable salad. While the salad didn't really make much sense, the rest of the elements worked pretty well together. The rice being just a bit too dry was the only issue here, but adding the puree helped somewhat. The chicken was really the star of this dish, cooked perfectly moist and seasoned just right. They should consider offering a bucket of that chicken.

For dessert we tried out the muhallabia (Rs. 390), which is a curd-like Arabian dessert made from condensed milk, rice flour and rose water, topped with some pistachios. I wasn't too excited when I heard about the rose water addition, but it turned out to be pretty yummy. It's kind of like a jello version of  condensed milk, with a hint of rose water and pistachios for a bit of crunch.

Ambience & Service

The restaurant has a predominantly yellow and orange theme, which may come off as gaudy to some, but still works pretty well overall. The interior is also decorated with middle eastern themed arches and some artsy metallic ceiling lamps.

The service is still pretty great. The staff is helpful and attentive, and the manager still goes around to the tables getting feedback from the diners.

Conclusion

After an initial hiccup, Arabian Knights has bounced back well. The food is nearly back to their former glory, and coupled with the new venue, things are looking up again.

So Arabian Knights has just moved from their small but popular eatery at Marine Drive to a proper restaurant in Kollupitiya Galle Road. It's an awesome place to hang out at, but the food was a bit disappointing judging by their old standards.

The Food

During Ramadan they've got a neat ifthar deal for Rs. 1250 - you get their chicken shorba soup, chicken and beef kebabs, falafel, pita bread, damasco fries, mini Syrian shawarma, a glass of laban, and Arabic pudding or muhalabia. On typical days the shawarmas are for Rs. 420, the damasco fries for Rs. 360 and a plate of kebab for Rs. 680. So with taxes you might spend about Rs. 1000 here. The menu is limited till around the first week of August or so, so we're yet to sample this new outlet's rice dishes.



We love damasco fries, so it was with great sorrow that we discovered ours were very soggy. They promptly gave us a plate of well fried french fries to make up for it though.



On the same plate was a beef samosa, falafel, beef kofta kebab and chicken seekh kebab and a spicy dip. They were alright, nothing stood out, and the chicken kebab was dry. We loved the dip though and used it as a side for the shawarma as well.



We were so looking forward to the mini Syrian shawarma - these guys are known for their good shawarmas. But it was an anti-climax situation when it arrived; it was of course tasty, but average and could have used more filling.



The glass of laban (fermented milk) was meh, but then maybe that's my fault because I don't even like Arabic beverages. The muhalabia, an Arabic dessert, made of condensed milk and nuts was delicious - we really wished the cup wasn't so tiny though. The manager offered us a nice strong cup of mint tea too.

Service & Ambience

The service at Arabian Knights is very good - the managers stop by tables for a chat and the waiters are very polite and obliging if you ask them about the dishes. The Syrian chef so well known at the old outlet can still be seen here in the kitchen (his fez has been replaced with an ordinary cap though).

The restaurant is all blues and yellows, Middle Eastern arches and lattice. Its central dining area is lit up by boxy retro lanterns from the ceiling, and from here you can peek into the kitchen through glass doors. There are two inner rooms - one has more dining tables, and one is a very cool chill-out out room with low tables and cushions on the floor.

Conclusion

The Arabian Knights restaurant has got a very cool jazzed up interior, it's a great place to hang out at with friends. Their food is just okay, not impressive, and yet to meet their old level of awesome. We're hoping that maybe they'll up their game once the full menu is out in August.

Arabian Knights is a new and absolutely charming Syrian restaurant right by the sea. It only has about four seats and is more a takeaway joint, but if you walk in you'll be glad you did. Everybody there is quite charming (I said it twice cause it's true) and you can taste that they've put love and care into the food.

The Food

We sat down to have lunch. The meal began with a heart-shaped falafel which the chef gave us for free. The chef is authentic Syrian, so much so that he speaks no English (or Sinhala or Tamil) at all, which gave us great hopes for the food. He wears a bright red fez and is quite sweet, when he gave us the falafel he said "love Sri Lanka".

The falafel itself was crunchy and good, coated with sesame seeds and a tahini sauce.

For lunch we ordered the Spicy Syriana Meal (Rs. 460) and the Falafel Veg Sandwich (Rs. 230). The Spicy Syriana consists of a beef or chicken shawarama (wrap), french fries, two falafel and cole slaw.

Let's start with the shawarma. It was good. Too many Sri Lankan joints think a shawarma is a wrap but it really has a character of its own. Arabian Knights gets it right, with light parsley, tomato and those lovely pickled beets. Plus they include a delicious garlic mayo sauce and chili sauce, the little touches that make Arabic meals so nice. Is it the best shawarma I've ever had? Not quite, the bread could be a bit less toasted for example, but it's head-and-shoulders above any Arabic food in Sri Lanka so far.

Again, it's the little things that make a difference. The fries go quickly with the dipping sauces, the falafels come with their own tahini sauce and the shawarma has a good bite of veg inside. The only thing that doesn't make sense is the cole slaw, but I've never liked cole slaw.

The falafel was OK. Shru wasn't over the moon, but I ate the rest of hers quite happily. She thinks the falafel should have been more soft and crumbly and the wrap shouldn't be toasted. To me this is true, but these are within the range of personal taste. We both agreed that the place was lovely and delish.

As a note, one of the employees said a popular local dish washe Kabsa Chicken/Beef (Rs. 480). We'll have to come back to give that a try.

The Drinks

They also have an incredible drink called the polo mint lemonade (Rs. 200). This tastes just like the lime and mint frappe at Commons, but it's a 100 bucks cheaper. We also tried the AKs Special Layers Cocktail, which is separated layers of mango, papaya and banana juice, like at Bombay Sweet Mahal. We've long thought this was a genius drink and it's nice to see it somewhere else. They also had a banana milkshake with honey and nuts that we want to try next time.

The Location

Marine Drive (officially the Colombo Plan Road) is one of our favorite strips in Colombo. I mean, you have the Indian Ocean on one side, with some amazing sunsets. What's not to like? Despite being small, Arabian Knights has a stunning view of the ocean. Marine Drive, also, is one of the less trafficked roads in Colombo with no particular issues with parking and all. That said, don't come here for a family dinner, there's only four seats. I would honestly be quite happy sitting by the beach and eating takeaway, but that's not for everyone.

The Price

Our total bill for two people getting everything we wanted was Rs. 1,190. Tax and service seem to be included in their prices, which is a blessing in this time of surprising bills. You can still have quite a decent bite for Rs. 500.

Conclusion

We give Arabian Knights two sauce coated thumbs up. The food is excellent, but most of all the staff and owners are charming and put thought and care into the food. It's good that the chefs are authentic Syrian, but it's better that they're authentically nice. Good food is a matter of both quality and service and Arabian Knights has both. We recommend.

පිටරට උදවිය ලංකාවේ සංචාරයකට එද්දී, ගොඩක් වෙලාවට බලාපොරොත්තු වෙන්නේ මොනවද? ඔය ගැන කතා කරද්දී අපට ගොඩක් වෙලාවට මතක් වෙන්නේ ලංකාව වට වෙලා තියෙන ලස්සන මුහුදු තීරය, හිතකර දේශගුණය, පැරණි නටබුන් දේවල්. හැබැයි ඒ හැරුණා ම අපි හැමෝට ම වගේ අමතක වෙන සුවිශේෂී කාරණයකුත් ඔය අතරේ තියෙනවා. ඒ තමයි කෑම බීම. මොකද ලංකාව කියන්නේ ලංකාවේ කෑම විතරක් නෙවෙයි, ලෝකේ ගොඩක් රටවල්වලට ආවේණික වුණු කෑම හදන රෙස්ටෝරන්ට් තියෙන තැනක්. ඒ නිසා රටවල් ගණනක කෑම බීම එක තැනකින් රස විඳීමේ හැකියාව ලංකාවේ ඉන්න සහ ලංකාව බලන්න එන ඕනෙම කෙනෙක්ට ලැබෙනවා. අන්න ඒ වගේ රෙස්ටෝරන්ට් අතරින් අරාබි කෑමවලට ප්‍රසිද්ධ තැනක් ගැන කියන්න තමයි මේ ලෑස්තිය. මේකේ නම ඇරබියන් නයිට්ස්.

තැන

ඇරබියන් නයිට්ස් තියෙන්නේ කොල්ලුපිටියේ ගාලු පාරේ. ඔය ෆැබ් එක හරියෙන් පාර පැන්නා නම් හරි. එළියේ බෝඩ් එකකුත් ගහලා තියෙන නිසා මෙතැන ලෙසියකට මඟ හැරෙන්නේ නැහැ.

අපි මෙතැනට ගොඩ වුණේ සතියේ දවසක හවස 2.30ට වගේ. කන්තෝරු කෑම පැයත් ගෙවිලා නිසා අපි හිතුවේ මේ වෙලාවේ සෙනඟ අඩු ඇති කියලා. හප්පච්චියේ! ඇතුළට ගොඩ වුනාමනේ මේකේ ඉන්න සෙනඟ තොගේ දැක්කේ! අපි දෙන්නට වාඩිවෙන්න ලැබුණේ රෙස්ටෝරන්ට් එක දොරකඩ ම තියෙන මේසේ. හැබැයි පැය බාගයක් වගේ ඇතුළත සෙනඟ ටිකෙන් ටික අඩු වෙලා යන ගතියක් තිබුණා. කට්ටිය ගොඩක් හිටියත් මෙතැන ඉන්න ඒ හැටි අපහසුවක් නැහැ. මොකද සැප පහසු පුටු එහෙම දාලා, ඒසී කරලනේ තියෙන්නෙත්. පසුබිමෙන් ලාවට ප්ලේ වෙන මියුසික් එකත් කනට කරදරයක් නැති නිසා තවත් හොඳයි.  

කෑම බීම

නමේ තියෙනවා වගේ ම තමයි; මේ රෙස්ටෝරන්ට් එකේ තියෙන්නේ ඇරබියන්, එහෙමත් නැත්තන් මැදපෙරදිග රටවල්වල හුරුවට තියෙන කෑම බීම විතරයි. අපි ඔය අතරින් කෑමට  ගත්තේ “වෙජ් ෆලාෆල්” (රු.440) එකකුයි, “චිකන් කෙබ්සා” (රු.620) එකකුයි.බීම විදියට “ටර්කිෂ් කොෆී” (රු.360) එකක් ඕඩර් කළා.

ෂහ්! මේ වෙජ් ෆලාෆල් එක පංකාදු පහයිනෙ. කෑලි පහකට කපපු තඩි ෆලාෆල් එකක් මේක. ෆලාෆල් රොටිය පෙන්නේ කරස් සද්දෙන්. මේකේ ඇතුළතින් වගේ ම පිටතිනුත් තිබුණේ මාර ෆ්‍රෙෂ් ගතියක්. ඇතුළේ පුරවලා තිබුණේ රස ම රස එළවළු පැටී එකකුයි, පාස්ලි කොළ මිශ්‍රණයකුයි. ඒ නිසා වෙජිටේරියන් කෙනෙක්ට කියාපු කෑම.

අම්මපා! මෙච්චර කාලෙකට කෑව රස ම චිකන් කෑල්ල තිබුණේ අපි ඇරබියන් නයිට්ස් එකෙන් ගත්ත චිකන් කෙබ්සා එකේ. රතට රතේ දිලිසි දිලිසි තියෙන මේ චිකන් කෑල්ල දැක්ක ගමන් කාගෙන යන්න හිතෙනවා. සාමාන්‍යයෙන් මේක හදන්නේ යෝගට්, ලයිම් සෙස්ට්, පාස්ලි, මිරිස් කුඩු, ලුණු කුඩු එකතු කරලා හදපු සෝස් එකකින් මැරිනේට් කරලයි. ඒ හැරුණා ම මේකට ඔලිව් තෙල්, ගම්මිරිස් කුඩු, කරාබු නැටි, සූදුරු වගේ තව කුළුබඩු වර්ග ගොඩක් එක්කාසු කරනවා. ඒ නිසා ම මේ චිකන් එකේ තිබුණේ පොඩි ඇඹුල් රසක් එක්ක එකතු වුණු කුළුබඩුවල කරි රස. ඔය උඩ තියෙන දෙහි කෑල්ලත් මිරිකලා දාගත්ත ම තවත් මරු.

මේකත් එක්ක ලොකු බත් කෝප්පේකුත් ලැබුණා. පාටයි, රසයි දෙක ම ගත්ත ම නම් මේකටත් සෑහෙන්න කුළුබඩු එක්කාසු කරපු හැඩයි. හැබැයි වැඩියෙන් ම දැනුණේ කරාබු නැටි, සහ එනසාල් රස තමයි. මේ පිඟානට ආව සලාදේ හදලා තිබුණේ පපඩම් කෑලි, තක්කාලි සහ සලාද කොළවලින්. කියන්න තරම් විශේෂයක් නැතත් මේකත් හොඳයි. අනික චිකන් එකයි බතයි දෙක ම දුම් දාන සයිස් එකට උණුයි. ඒ නිසා තවත් ෂෝක්.

ටර්කිෂ් කොෆී එකේ තද කෝපි රසක් තිබුණා. සාමාන්‍යයෙන් ගෙදරදොරේ බොන කෝපිවලට වඩා සෑහෙන්න ස්ට්‍රෝන්ග් රසක්. සමහරුන්ට නම් මේක තිත්ත වැඩියි කියලත් හිතෙන්න පුළුවන්.

සේරම කෑම බීම ටික කාලා ඉවර කරලා, අපි හිතුවා ඩෙසර්ට් එකකුත් ඕඩර් කරන්න. මේ කට්ටියගේ ඩෙසර්ට් පොඩ්ඩක් විතර ගණන්. බක්ලාවා එහෙමත් තිබුණට ඒවා රු.700කටත් වැඩියි. අතුරුපසකට එච්චර ගාණක් වියදම් කරන එක අපරාදේ කියලා හිතුණු නිසා ම තමයි අපි මුහලේබියා (රු.440) එකක් ඕඩර් කළේ.

මුහලේබියා කියන්නේ අරාබිකරයේ පැත්තේ තියෙන ජනප්‍රිය පුඩින් වර්ගයක්නේ. අපි ඇරබියන් නයිට්ස් එකෙන් ගත්ත මුහලේබියා එක සුපිරි. නියමෙට ම කිරි රස තිබුණා. අනික පිස්ටාෂියෝ කෑලිත් යහමින් එකතු කරලා. අතරින් පතර ඒවා හැපෙනකොට තවත් රස වැඩිවෙනවා. තව පොඩ්ඩක් සෙට් වෙන්න දීලා ගන්න පුළුවන් වුණා නම් මීට වඩා රස වැඩිවෙයි කියලයි අපේ අදහස.

සර්විස් එක

රෙස්ටෝරන්ට් එක පිරෙන්න සෙනඟ හිටියා කියලා කාරියක් නැහැ, අපේ කෑම බීම මේසෙට ආවේ විනාඩි 15කින් වගේ. හැබැයි බිල් එක ගෙන්න පොඩ්ඩක් වෙලාව ගියා. ඒ නිසා අපි සල්ලි ගෙව්වේ කවුන්ටරේට ගිහින්. ඒ කොහොම වුණත් මෙතන වැඩට ඉන්න ස්ටාෆ් එකේ අයගේ හොඳ කඩිසර ගතියක් දකින්න ලැබුණු බව නම් කියන්නම ඕනේ. මොකද අච්චර කට්ටිය ඉඳපු වෙලාවේවත් ඒ කට්ටියගේ සුහදශීලී ගතියෙ අඩුවක් දකින්න ලැබුණේ නැහැනේ.

අවසාන වශයෙන්

ඩයින්-ඉන් විතරක් නෙවෙයි, ඩිලිවරිත් තියෙන නිසා ඇරබියන් නයිට්ස් එකේ කෑම බීම රස බලන්න රෙස්ටෝරන්ට් එකට යන්න ම ඕනේ නැහැ. හැබැයි මෙනුවේ තියෙන සේරම ජාති ටික ඩිලිවරි ගන්න නැහැ. කොහොමත් කොළඹ අවටින් සාමාන්‍ය ගණනකට අරාබිකරයේ කෑම රස බලන්න ඕනේ නම්, ඇරබියන් නයිට්ස් කියන්නේ ඒකට හොඳ තැනක්.

ඇරේබියන් නයිට්ස් කියන්නේ මුහුද අද්දර පිහිටි අලුත්, ආකර්ශනීය සිරියානු අවන්හලක්. එහි තිබෙන්නේ ආසන හතරක් පමණයි. ඒ කියන්නේ එය වැඩිපුර කෑම පිටතට රැගෙන යන තැනක්. ඒත්, ඇතුළට ගියා නම් ඔබ සතුටු වෙයි. එහි සිටින අය හරිම සුහදයි. කෑම රසවෙන්නේ ඔවුන්ගේ ආදරය, සෙනෙහස නිසා වෙන්න ඇති.

කෑම

අපි වාඩි වුණේ දවල් කෑමට. කෑම ඇරඹුණේ චෙෆ් අපට නොමිළේ දුන් හදවත් හැඩයේ ෆැලෆෙල් අරාබි වඩේවලින්. චෙෆ් සැබෑ සිරියානුවෙක්. ඔහු ඉංග්‍රීසි, සිංහල හෝ දෙමළ කතා කරන්නේ නැහැ. අපට වඩේ දෙන ගමන් ඔහු "love Sri Lanka" කීවා. තද රතු තුර්කි තොප්පියක් පැළඳ සිටි ඔහු අප තුළ කෑම ගැන බලාපොරොත්තු දැල්වුවා. ටහිනි සෝස් සහ තල ඇට දවටන ලද කරකරගා හැපෙන ෆැලෆෙල් රසයි.

අපි ඇණවුම් කළේ කුළුබඩු යෙදූ සිරියන් කෑමවේලක් (රු. 460) සහ ෆැලෆෙල් එළවළු සැන්විච් (රු. 230). මේ සිරියානු කෑම වේලට අඩංගු වුණ දේවල් මේවායි.  හරක් මස් හෝ චිකන් සවරම - shawarama (wrap), french fries, two falafel and cole slaw.

සවරම හොඳයි. ලංකාවේ හුඟක් තැන්වල හිතන්නේ සවරම නිකම් දැවටුමක් පමණය කියලා. ඒත් එයට ආවේණික ලක්ෂණ තිබෙනවා. අරේබියන් නයිට්ස් එය තේරුම්ගෙන එයට පාස්ලි ටිකක්, තක්කාලි හා හරිම රස බීට් අච්චාරු එක් කර තිබෙනවා. එය‍ට සුදුළූනු මයෝ සෝස් හා මිරිස් සෝස්ද ඇතුළත්. ඒ මම  කාලා තියෙන හොඳම සවරමද? නැහැ. පාන් තව ටිකක් අඩුවෙන් කර කර තිබුණානම් හොඳයි. ඒ වුණාට එහි කෑම ලංකාවේ අනෙක් තැන්වල අරාබි කෑමවලට වඩා බෙහෙවින් හොඳයි.

මේ වෙනස පුංචි දේ නිසායි. cole slawවලට මම කවදත් කැමති නැහැ. ඒ හැර අනෙක් සියලු දේ හොඳයි. Shruගේ පිඟානේ ඉතිරි ටිකත් මම කෑවා. ඇය කියන්නේ ෆැලෆල් තව මෘදු විය යුතුයි. දැවටුම කර නොකළයුතුයි කියායි. මටත් එහෙම තමයි. ඒත්, එය තිබෙන්නේ පෞද්ගලික රසයේ සීමාව තුළ. අපි දෙන්නම එකඟයි එතැන සුන්දර හා රසවත් කෑම ඇති තැනක් බවට.

එහි සේවකයකු කීවා ජනප්‍රිය කෑමක් වන හරක් මස් හෝ චිකන් washe Kabsa ගැන (රු 480). ඒ ගැන බලන්න අපි තව දවසක එනවා.

බීම

ඔවුන් සතුව තිබෙනවා අපූරු බීමක්. පෝලෝ මින්ට් ලෙමනේඩ් කියලා. (රු. 200). එහි රසCommonsහි පිරිනමන lime and mint frappe වගේ. ඒත් රු. 100ක් මිළෙන් අඩුයි. අප ගත් ඔවුන්ගේ විශේෂ කොක්ටේල් එක අඹ, ගස්ලබු හා කෙසෙල් යුෂ තට්ටුවලින් සමන්විතයි. බොම්බේ ස්වීට් මහල්හි  ව‍ගේ. ඔවුන් පිරිනමනවා කෙසෙල් කිරිමුසුවකුත් (milkshake) පැණි සහ කජු සමග. ඊළඟ වතාවේ බීලා බලනවා.

පිහිටීම

කොළම සැලසුම පාර ලෙස යළි නම් කරන ලද Marine Driveකොළඹ ජනප්‍රිය පාරක්. එහි හිරුබැස යන මෙහොත ඉතා සුන්දරයි. පුංචි තැනක් වුණත් අැරේබියන් නයිට්ස් ඉදිරියෙන් ඇති මුහුදු දර්ශනය මනරම්. මේ පාරේ වාහනත් අඩුයි. ඒ නිසා වාහන නැවැත්වීමේ ගැටලුවකුත් නැහැ. මෙතන පවුලේ කෑමකට නම් ඉඩ මදි. මම නම් කැමතියි කෑම අරගෙන වෙරළට‍ ගොස් කන්න. ඒත්, හැමෝම එහෙම නැහැනේ.

මිළ

අපට උවමනා හැම දේම කාලා අප දෙදෙනෙකුගේ බිල රු. 1,190ක් පමණයි. බදු හා සේවා ගාස්තුත් එයට ඇතුළත් වගේ.

නිගමනය

මෙතන අපි ඉහළින්ම අගය කරනවා. කෑම විශිෂ්ටයි. සියල්ලටම වඩා හොඳ කාරණය වන්නේ හිමිකරුවන්ගේ හා කාර්යමණ්ඩලයේ සුහදකම. චෙෆ් සැබෑ සිරියානුවකු වීම වගේ ප්‍රසන්න පුද්ගලයකු වීමත් හරිම හොඳයි. එය කෑමත්, සේවාවත් යන දෙකම අනරඝ තැනක්.

கொழும்பின் அழகான கடற்கரை வீதியான மரைன் ட்ரைவில் புதிதாய் ஆரம்பிக்கப்பட்டுள்ள சிரிய உணவகம் அரேபியன் நைட்ஸ். இது டேக் அவே உணவகமாக அமைந்துள்ளமையால் வெறும் 4 பேருக்கே உட்கார்ந்து சாப்பிட இருக்கை வசதி செய்திருக்கிறார்கள்.( ஆனாலும் நீங்கள் அங்கு இருந்து சாப்பிட முடிவெடுப்பீர்களானால் அம்முடிவையிட்டு திருப்திப்படுவீர்கள் ) இங்கு எல்லோரும் மிக்க நட்புடன் பழகுகிறார்கள். அவர்களது உணவில் அதிகமாக அன்பையும் உங்கள்மீதான அக்கறையையும் கலந்தே தருவதாக நீங்கள் உணர்வீர்கள்.

உணவு

நாம் அங்கு ஒரு பகல் போசனத்துக்காக சென்றிருந்தோம். செப் (தலைமை சமையற்காரர்) எமக்கு இலவசமாக தநத இதய வடிவில் செய்யப்பட்ட "பலாபீல்" உடன் எமது உணவு ஆரம்பமானது. இந்த செப் பற்றியும் சொல்லவேண்டும். இவர் சிரிய நாட்டை சேர்ந்தவர். அதனால் இவருக்கு ஆங்கிலமோ சிங்களமோ தமிழோ தெரியாது. அதுவே இவர் நன்றாக சமைப்பார் என்ற நம்பிக்கையை தருகின்றது. கண்ணைபறிக்கும் சிவப்பு நிறத்தில் அமைந்த குல்லாய் அணிந்திருக்கிறார். பழகுவதற்கும் இனிமையானவர். எமக்கு பலாபீல் ஐ தரும்போது "லவ் சிறீலங்கா" என்றார்.

"பலாபீல்" மொறுமொறுப்பாக நன்றாக இருக்கின்றது. மேற்புறம் எள்ளு போட்டிருக்கிறார்கள். தொட்டுக்கொள்ள "தஹினி சேஸ்" தருகிறார்கள்.

பகல் சாப்பாடாக நாம் "ஸ்பைஸி சிரியானா மீல்" (ரூபா 460) ஒரு "பலாபீல் வெஜ் சான்ட்விச்" (ரூபா 230) என்பனவற்றை நாம் ஓடர் செய்தோம். "சிரியானா மீல்" என்பது ஒரு மாட்டிறைச்சி அல்லது கோழி இறைச்சி சவர்மா, பிரன்ச் பிரைஸ், இரண்டு பலாபீல் மற்றும் கோல்ஸ்லோ (கோவா சலட்) ஆகியவற்றை கொண்டிருக்கின்றது.

"சவர்மா" பற்றிச்சொல்வதானால்; இலங்கையில் பல இடங்களில் இதை சரியாக செய்யத்தெரியாமல் இருக்கையில் இங்குதான் அதை சரியாக அதற்கேயுரிய தனிச்சுவையுடன் செய்திருப்பதை உணர்ந்தேன். தக்காளி, (ஊறுகாய்போல்) பதனிடப்பட்ட பீட், பார்ஸ்லி என்பனவற்றால் அது செய்யப்பட்டிருந்தது. மற்றும் சுவையான வெள்ளைபூண்டு மயோனைஸ், சிலி சோஸ் என்பனவும் உண்டு. இவற்றுடன் தொட்டுக்கொண்டு சாப்பிடுவது அராபிய உணவை ருசியாக்குகின்றது. இதுதானா நான் சாப்பிட்ட மிகச்சுவையான சவர்மா என்று கேட்டால் பதில் இல்லை என்றாலும் (ரொட்டி இன்னும் கொஞ்சம் மொறுமொறுப்பாக இருந்திருக்கலாம் என்பதால்) இலங்கையில் சுவைத்ததில் இதுதான்!

ப்ரைஸ் உம் அதனுடன் கிடைக்கும் சோஸும் விரைவாக தின்று தீர்க்கவைக்கும்; பலாபீலுக்கு அதற்கேயுரிய தஹினி சோஸ், நிரம்பியிருக்கும் சவர்மா என எல்லாம் நன்றாக இருந்தாலும் கோல்ஸ்லோ மட்டும் பொருந்தவேயில்லை.(இவ்விடத்தில் எனக்கு கோல்ஸ்லோ ஒருபோதும் பிடிப்பதில்லை என்பதையும் கருத்திற்கொள்ளவேண்டும்)

பலாபீல் அவ்வளவாக எனது நண்பிக்கு பிடிக்காவிட்டாலும் அவளது பங்கையும் சேர்த்து சாப்பிடுவது எனக்கு மகிழ்ச்சியாகத்தான் இருந்தது. அவளுக்கு அது இன்னும் கொஞ்சம் மெதுமெதுவென இருக்கவேண்டுமாம். அதேவேளை அதிகமாக பொரிக்கப்பட்டிருக்கவும் கூடாதாம். அவை உண்மையென்றாலும் ஆளாளுக்கு விருப்பு வெறுப்புகள் வேறுபட்டதல்லவா? இருந்தாலும் எம் இருவருக்கும் இடமும் உணவும் நன்றாக இருக்கிறதென்பதில் கருத்து வேறுபாடு வரவேயில்லை.

பணிபுரிபவர்களிடம் கேட்டறிந்ததில்; இங்கு மிகப்பிரபலமான உணவாக கோழி இறைச்சி / மாட்டிறைச்சி கப்ஸா (ரூபா 480) இருக்கிறதாம். அதை சுவைக்க இன்னொருநாள் வரவேண்டும்.

பானங்கள்

இங்கு "போலோ மின்ட் லெமனேட்" (ரூபா 200) என்றொரு பானம் கிடைக்கின்றது. அது "கொமன்ஸ்" இல் கிடைக்கும் "லைம் அன்ட் மின்ட் ப்fரப்பே" போல் இருந்தாலும் இங்கு ரூபா 100 குறைவாகும். மற்றும் அரேபியன் நைட் ஸ்பெசல் "லேயர் கொக்டெயில்" (மாம்பழம், பப்பாசி, வாழைப்பழம் என்பனவற்றின் ஜூஸ் அடுக்குகளாக இருக்கும்) என்பது பொம்பே "சுவீட் மஹால்" இல் கிடைப்பது போல் இருக்கிறது. "பனானா மில்க் ஷேக் வித் ஹனி அன்ட் நட்ஸ்" உம் இருக்கின்றது. அடுத்தமுறை முயற்சித்து பார்க்கவேண்டும்.

அமைவிடம்

மரைன் ட்ரைவ் (கொழும்பு ப்ளான் வீதி) கொழும்பில் அதிகமானவர்களால் விரும்பப்படும் வீதியாகும். ஒரு புறமிருக்கும் கடற்கரையும் அங்கு ரசிக்கக்கூடிய சூரிய அஸ்த்தமனமும் அழகூட்டுவன. மேலும் இங்கு வாகனங்களை நிறுத்துவதற்கு போதிய இடமும் உண்டு. இவை எல்லாம் அரேபியன் நைட்ஸ்க்கு வசதியாக அமைந்தாலும் வெறும் நான்குபேருக்கு மட்டுமே இருக்கை வசதிகள் இருப்பதால் குடும்பத்துடன் சாப்பிடச்செல்ல பொருத்தமான இடம் அல்ல. எனக்கென்றால் இங்கு டேக் அவேயில் சாப்பாட்டை எடுத்துச்சென்று கடற்கரையில் சாப்பிடுவது பிடித்திருந்தாலும் எல்லாருக்கும் அது பிடிக்காதல்லவா?

விலை

எமக்கு இன்று எல்லாமாக (வரிகள், சேவைகள் உள்ளடங்கலாக) ரூபா 1,190 செலவானது. எப்படியோ இங்கு ரூபா 500 இல் நல்ல உணவு சாப்பிடமுடியும்.

பொழிப்பு

உணவு அருமையாக இருக்கின்றது. பணியாளர்கள் அன்பாக இருக்கிறார்கள். அவர்கள் கவனமாக சமைத்த உணவை பண்பாக பரிமாறுகிறார்கள். சமையற்காரர்கள் அரேபியர்களாக (சிரிய நாட்டை சேர்ந்தவர்கள்) இருப்பதால் உண்மையான அரேபிய உணவு கிடைக்கின்றது. நல்லதொரு சாப்பாட்டிற்கு தரமும் சேவையும் நன்றாக இருக்கவேண்டும். அது இங்கு நன்றாகவே இருக்கின்றது என்பதால் நாம் இவ்விடத்தை பரிந்துரைப்பதில் மகிழ்ச்சியடைகிறோம்.