Peter M

Sea Fish is a restaurant that started out in 1969 and was situated at Gall Face, apparently at the same site where the Taj Samudra now stands. It’s a family business that has been handed down through 4 generations. The fact that an eatery has survived so long warrants a visit and that is why it was on my “to do” list. Walking into the restaurant there are well appointed tables with a predominantly blue theme (even the napkins). The servers were eager that I order drinks, but I politely declined.

I ordered the fried breaded Seer Fish (2600 LKR). It came with a small salad, a small amount of French fries (that seemed reheated) and tartar sauce (that really needs some serious work). So I ordered, more French fries (1200 LKR), really? The fish (two small steaks), were flaky, tasty with a good texture and bite. Right through the meal, there were serious flies hovering around my food. I made a comment to the server and he just nodded his head. Nobody seemed to care. My original plan was to order the lobster. So glad I did not.

Which ever country I am in, I am always on the quest for a good lobster dish. Not surprising then, that I ended up at Ocean, the seafood restaurant at the Kingsbury, in Colombo. I had arrived without a reservation, so after a brief wait and some arm twisting, I got a corner table right by the entrance. Oh well. Beggars cannot be choosers :). While the place was crowded and the seating limited, it had a good vibe, which is enhanced when you see their spread of fresh seafood on ice. They have it all (see my pictures). Diners go to the display and select what they wish to eat. And guess what, there are 40 different ways to cook your fancy, in cuisines that cover Indian, Thai, Chinese, Italian, Continental, Japanese and Sri Lankan. I chose a 0.73 kg lobster to be prepared in a tempered Sri Lankan style (with onions, chilies, etc), The preparation of the dish was unique, intense in taste, and took me to another place. It was very spicy, and should have been toned down so that the cooking style itself does not bury the taste and flavor of most of the lobster bites. For dessert, I asked for chocolate biscuit pudding. It was not on the menu, but the server obliged and got it from another restaurant at the hotel. It was tough, cold, hardly layered, too sweet and a disappointment. Service overall, was superb.

So I did go back for lobster again, but was keen on having it grilled with garlic butter and let me tell you it was the best grilled lobster I have ever had…. the meat was so tender like it was poached, even though it was grilled very succulent, juicy with intense flavor literally melting in your mouth, but with robust texture. Wow, this was really an amazing experience. So much so that I asked the manager to bring out the Chef (Damith Jayatileka) from the back, and I congratulated him for a perfectly prepared dish. See my pictures. I went back again on another day, and this time chose to have the grilled King Prawns with garlic butter and insisted chef Damith prepare it. Once again, a masterpiece of presentation, flavor, texture, and taste. See my pictures. Before that, Oysters Rockefeller with garlic toast was fantastic. Dessert was baked Alaska also pretty good. I will be going back, hopefully more than once, to have the lobster, as well as the king prawns, again. Wow.