Local Guides World
Peter M
7 reviews on 1 places
I had been to the Beach Wadiya decades ago. Always one of my favorite stops when I am in Colombo. The place has character. For one, you have to cross train tracks (there is a path) to get to the entrance. It is very basic, hardly any decor, but the tables and chairs are on beach sand. The areas are covered. And you have a direct view of the beautiful ocean. I came here with a plan, and that was to eat lobster. They have only a few variations and I chose the grilled preparation (which they said was prepared over a flame) with melted butter. I chose a 650g lobster (price is 2k rupees per 100g). When the dish arrived at my table, I was immediately disappointed.
Both the top (meat) and the bottom (shell) part had no signs of being subjected to a flame (no charring anywhere). It came out with a dry look. I poured butter on it, let it soak for a while and then consumed it. It kept bothering me, so I addressed it with the server and told him that it was clearly the boiled preparation. He admitted that it was boiled but put on the fire after that. I told him that was not accurate. For dessert I had the fruit salad with ice cream.
Both the top (meat) and the bottom (shell) part had no signs of being subjected to a flame (no charring anywhere). It came out with a dry look. I poured butter on it, let it soak for a while and then consumed it. It kept bothering me, so I addressed it with the server and told him that it was clearly the boiled preparation. He admitted that it was boiled but put on the fire after that. I told him that was not accurate. For dessert I had the fruit salad with ice cream.
The Steakbar is a classy restaurant at the Kingsbury Hotel. I came here to warm up for the evening. Although tempting, I did not have any food, because I had a dinner reservation at another restaurant, in the same hotel. Therefore, I cannot comment on the food, but I did take pictures of their menu. They prepared a cocktail for me to taste and brought it to the table with a nice presentation (see my video). Ambiance was superb. There was live seductive music, mellow in tone, but perfect for the place. Lights were dim. Both service and atmosphere right on the money. The place is pricey, so save your money before you get here.
If you are looking for authentic Sri Lankan food, you have come to the best place in town. Palmyrah restaurant at the Renuka City Hotel has a diverse menu, that covers all the major bases of unique Sri Lankan favorites. There are string hoppers, hoppers, rice & curry, Thosai, Kothu and Pittu. There is a superb selection of rice, curries, sambols and of course appetizers. In addition, there are mouthwatering desserts. I had the plain samba rice with crab meat curry, tempered ladies fingers (okra) with pol sambol. It was divine. My only suggestion is that the crab curry should be made with lump crab. To have small shredded pieces that are buried and overwhelmed by the thick gravy, destroys the experience. Therefore, what is lacking is texture and bite to truly savor this dish. Before anything came out, the house serves rassam in a Turkish coffee cup with pappadum. This combination is dynamite. The rassam is thick with a mix of strong flavors that really hit the spot. My complaint about the atmosphere is that it was very chilly where I was sitting (and cooling the food). I made numerous attempts to address the problem with the server and then with the manager. They toned down or even shut the air conditioner to only turn it back on. This on off cycle repeated many times during my lunch. The dining room filled up pretty soon. Judging from the crowd, service was fantastic. I will be tasting many more dishes and will post pictures as I go along.
It was my first time flying out of Krabi International Airport and I was initially blown away when I got there. There was hardly any car traffic at the departure terminal (Hello Los Angeles). The same inside too. Vast spaces and lots of seating while I awaited the check in counter to open. Once I got through, then security and to the domestic gates (7 of them). I was flying out of gate 7 and it was crowded there because there was an Air Asia flight ahead of my flight (on Bangkok Airways). The waiting area by the gate was flooded with people. I tried to go to duty free upstairs but there was no access and it was dead up there.
And by the way, there are local eateries and an international brand or two if you need a bite. Nothing to write home about. All dull choices. Toilets (as they call restrooms here) have tissue paper for wiping hands after washing. I see this in many places (and even in certain hotel toilet areas). Oh well, that is another story. Anyway, to make a long story short, the airport is clean and spacious. But they need to manage their departures by distributing the flights out by empty gates. Yes, I understand there are contracts for airlines and gates, but why choke all the people at one gate for back to back flights? Overall signage is poor. I found vendor staff to be rude and inhospitable. Had to ask questions because overal signage is so poor. So yes, there's still more work to be done if Krabi International Airport desires to compete in the real business of truly satisfying customers..
And by the way, there are local eateries and an international brand or two if you need a bite. Nothing to write home about. All dull choices. Toilets (as they call restrooms here) have tissue paper for wiping hands after washing. I see this in many places (and even in certain hotel toilet areas). Oh well, that is another story. Anyway, to make a long story short, the airport is clean and spacious. But they need to manage their departures by distributing the flights out by empty gates. Yes, I understand there are contracts for airlines and gates, but why choke all the people at one gate for back to back flights? Overall signage is poor. I found vendor staff to be rude and inhospitable. Had to ask questions because overal signage is so poor. So yes, there's still more work to be done if Krabi International Airport desires to compete in the real business of truly satisfying customers..
Chutneys, is a South Indian restaurant at the Cinnamon Grand. Most, if not all South Indian restaurants that you find in any city, generally provide food from Tami Nadu only. However, Chutneys is unique, in that it has both vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes not only from Tamil Nadu, but also from Karnataka, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh. So I opted for an Andra Pradesh dish of Nellore Chepala Pulusu
(Nellore chilli spiced signature fish curry) to start my lunch. Unfortunately, it was loaded with mango juice and was very sour. So they re did it for me without the mango. It was made with Seer fish and was spicy with a thick tomato based gravy.
This was followed by a Karnataka preparation of Badanekai Alugadde Palya (Brinjals and potatoes tempered with mustard and dry masala). This dish was like a hash, with zero texture. Most of the potatoes were mashed. It seemed that the dish had been made a while back and was being reheated frequently. There was flavor, and it came from the small pieces of lightly charred brinjals. Also had white basmati rice and raita (with chilies and onions), as accompaniments. Service was good, they kept checking on me to make sure everything was okay.
(Nellore chilli spiced signature fish curry) to start my lunch. Unfortunately, it was loaded with mango juice and was very sour. So they re did it for me without the mango. It was made with Seer fish and was spicy with a thick tomato based gravy.
This was followed by a Karnataka preparation of Badanekai Alugadde Palya (Brinjals and potatoes tempered with mustard and dry masala). This dish was like a hash, with zero texture. Most of the potatoes were mashed. It seemed that the dish had been made a while back and was being reheated frequently. There was flavor, and it came from the small pieces of lightly charred brinjals. Also had white basmati rice and raita (with chilies and onions), as accompaniments. Service was good, they kept checking on me to make sure everything was okay.