Kotuwa
I am sure many have tried Chef Rishi Naleendra’s creation at Cloudstreet and the now-defunct Cheek Bistro. While I have actually planned to check out his new wine bar, Fool, which occupies the same location as the former Cheek Bistro at Boon Tat Street, my friend wanted to experience Sri Lanka’s casual street food culture by the Micheline-starred Chef.
Housed within the Boutique Hotel Wanderlust in Little India, Kotuwa is where Chef Rishi showcases his home country’s cuisine in an unconventional way. I was not having much expectation and anticipation as I do not really know much about Sri Lankan cuisine. Maybe somewhat like Indian cuisine, I thought to myself.
After giving us a good introduction of the menu, the friendly server suggested that we ordered some sharing dishes to go with their hoppers, which are exactly like the Indian appams. So I am right, this is like Indian cuisine, I comfirmed to myself. Interestingly, seconds later, I spotted pork and beef (2 of my favourite meats) dishes in the meat section of the menu. Not really Indian then, I thought to myself again.
The black pepper Kithul Pork ($26) was sweet and spicy. Crispy pork belly chunks were glazed in Kithul palm syrup, an ancient Sri Lankan sweetener, with black peppercorn and whole pickled Guindilla chili pepper which gave the dish a tangy note.
Dallo Baduma ($24) can easily pass off as a fiery Chinese Tze Char dish! Here crispy fried calamari was tossed in chilli butter and stir-fry vegetables like tomato and spring onion. We all agreed that this tasted like our favourite Kum Heong dish.
Next dish looked more Sri Lankan to me. Tender lamb shoulder ($28) was braised in a Sri Lankan red curry. Would be great with basmati rice instead of the hoppers we ordered.
Another interesting curry dish we had was Polos Ambula ($18) - Baby jackfruit was cooked in coconut with toasted Sri Lankan spices. A bit sour around the edges and loads of spices, this is a great vegan and vegetarian option.
We could not spot the beef cheek when Poricha Erachi ($26) was served. The sous-vided and fried beef cheek pieces were buried under a “salad” of fresh onions, green chili and red chili flakes dressed in sweet tamarind and lime. Delicious and addictive.
My views on Sri Lankan dishes changed many times throughout the dinner for good reasons. I am not so sure but I have this feeling what we had at Kotuwa was not 100% authentic Sri Lankan. However, I enjoyed the dinner and company. If I have to be picky, maybe the sommelier or server should have recommended a cold bubbly brut or champagne instead of the Austrian Red to go with such culinary style.
