Of shisha, fattoush and Lebanon

By Shilpa Samaratunge
I do not eat merely to put the hassle of eating out of my mind. I may be labelled a glutton but I love my food and most restaurants I visit cement my firm resolve on the wonders of eating.
This week I decided to indulge my obsession for ethnic food and visited Scheherazade at the Galadari, Colombo. Lebanese food, they say, combines the sophistication of European cuisine with the thrill of Eastern spices, and it is Lebanon’s culinary contributions that have been the greatest influence on Arabic cuisine.
Opened only for dinner Scheherazade is the only restaurant that provides exclusive Arabic cuisine in Sri Lanka. Open for dinner at 7 p.m. every day, the food is set up buffet style. They have a few interesting choices of soup, looz shorba (almond soup) being the most attention-grabbing. As usual in Arabic countries, you should try at the beginning of your meal some salads and other starters and you won’t regret it. There is a basket of Arabic bread laid out and salads galore.

There’s hommous, (chick pea dip) eaten with Arabic bread, fattoush (salad of toasted croutons, cucumbers, tomatoes and mint), tabbouleh (salad of burghul, tomato, mint and parsley). There is also a cuttlefish salad I rather enjoyed, mixed with raw onions. Among the starters I can safely say that the above mentioned dishes are ones that must be tried, if available.
For the mains there is beef marinated in curd. I highly recommend the lamb sojok and baked fish in spicy sauce. There is also falafel – small deep-fried patties made of highly-spiced ground chick-peas, a completely vegetarian choice.

I would recommend this restaurant mostly for the carnivorous types as the vegetarian menu is limited.
The desserts were also varied and I found one dish extremely appealing. It is not very sweet for those who lack a sweet tooth like me. Omali is a warm dessert which is spongy. It is a treat and even in my extremely overfed state, I had room for quite a bit.
The meal is complete with a cup of Turkish tea. It is I admit an acquired taste, as the coffee is very strong but it is doubtless something I would try again.

The restaurant hopes to feature belly dancing like it did some time ago. The other specialty of this restaurant that I thought I would leave for the end is the shisha, also known as the ‘hubbly bubbly’ pipe. The restaurant provides a variety of different flavours including apple, strawberry and mint. The pipes are brought down from Lebanon and are available on request. Shisha is in a sense the cordon bleu of smoking, a pipe lasting for roughly an hour.
So for those who are daring enough, I recommend this restaurant. Your daring will be rewarded with a fine selection of excellent Arabic food. The prices of course are the general hotel prices which you really can’t argue with.
The staff is friendly and Manager Uditha Samarasinghe is sufficiently well versed in the food and shisha consumption alike, so should one feel the urge to inquire, feel free.
The waiters won’t try to excel each other in speed, but when it comes to
recommending some selected dishes there is no end, because almost every menu item really is worth recommending.

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Catch the action live!

Cinnamon Grand
Catch the action and cheer your favourite cricket stars and team as they vie for the most prestigious trophy in the cricket world. Cinnamon Grand offers a wide range of beers and a variety of food items for customers who come to catch the World Cup action on two giant screen televisions.
Themes include; Caribbean, Surf ‘N’ Turf, Curries ‘N’ Grill, Pies, Dibber / Kebab, Flambé Night, Devilled Night, Tacos, and Burger Night.
March 13 to April 28 April from 7 p.m. to 2 a.m.
For reservations call 2497373

Hilton Colombo
The management of the Hilton Hotel has organised a giant screen for your viewing pleasure, games, competitions, quizzes and much more whilst you enjoy the match at the Echelon Pub.
For reservations call 2437177/2492492

Galadari Hotel
Enjoy watching the matches live at the Margarita Blue. Special happy hour from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. and from 11 p.m. to 12 midnight, with competitions like guessing the winning team, man of the match, highest wicket taker of the World Cup and much more.
For reservations call 2544544 Ext 354/359
Trans Asia Hotel
Join fans of the cricket World Cup at the Library at Trans Asia, where a special beverages and snack menu awaits you, while you watch the action live on giant screen.
For reservations call 2491925

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Chicken with sauce

Ingredients:
6 – 8 chicken breast fillets
50 ml lemon juice
1 tsp paprika
100 ml chicken stock
250 ml yoghurt
1 tbsp cornflour
1 heaped tbsp chopped
parsley
20 ml oil

Preparation:
Using a sharp knife, slice through the middle of each chicken breast, but don’t cut right through. Open chicken breast so that it forms a thin, flat piece. Sprinkle half the lemon juice, paprika and season to taste. Mix together stock, yoghurt, cornflour, remaining lemon juice and parsley. Heat oil in a large frying pan, and fry chicken over medium to high heat for two minutes on each side. Remove from pan and keep aside.
Pour yoghurt sauce into the frying pan and heat, stirring for two minutes. Season to taste, pour over chicken breasts and serve immediately.

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