2016 Apr 12
by Anuki Premachandra
An authentic Indian experience.
Without a doubt nearly everyone around the world would agree when asked what’s great about India. The Food. Period. Indian food is the one good thing I am grateful India gave the rest of the world. But the search for authentic Indian flavours in the neighbour country seems nearly an impossible task. Out of the many restaurants in Sri Lanka that claim to offer ‘authentic’ Indian cuisine, the most occurring case is that they try to either adjust the flavours of the dishes to well suit the Sri Lankan palate (although there really isn’t much of a difference between the two, LOL) and this is where they take the authenticity of the dish away.
Flavors opens for dinner at 7.00 p.m. and is right beside the lobby in the Galadari Hotel, Colombo. There’s no way you can miss the place. The location of the restaurant though, wouldn’t please the eye of many. Personally, I wouldn’t recommend you to try Flavors as a ‘date night’ location. It’s more of the type of a hangout spot with your friends. The fact that it’s located right beside the lobby, makes it loose the fine dining hotel experience you would expect.
Ambience
Contrary to what I read up on most reviews online, Flavors is not really that bad. Although, it would be fair to say that if you are expecting a fine dining experience, Flavors is not really your cup of tea.
Decked in colours of maroon and gold, with a wooden roof adorned with garlands of flowers in a couple of nooks and corners, the interior of the restaurant looks as Indian as it can get. Although the only issue being the fact that the restaurant really has no view or privacy, in the sense that since its located on the far end of the lobby, the glass panels really open up to the lobby. Definitely not a restaurant with a view. Although it should be said that the prices in the restaurant puts it in a middle income category restaurant, the dishes are definitely worth the price you pay for them, which is generally lower compared to prices at other competitor hotels/restaurants.
Food and Drinks
In a nutshell, dishes you will taste at Flavors capture the authenticity of Indian food well. The beverages range from Lassi’s at Rs.350 to Neer at Rs.375. some of the beverages here are ones I’ve seen for the first time on the menu of an Indian restaurant in Colombo. All beverages, though limited in variety, range from Rs.300 – Rs. 375.
We tried the KohziVattal (Rs. 575) as our starter. It’s a rich blend of spices on some grilled chicken pieces. The dish, not so big, is enough to serve two people. The spices were beautifully infused into the succulent meat pieces. I wouldn’t recommend this for those of you who would generally stay away from spicy food, because this dish is as spicy as it can get! Their starters rage from Rs.270 – Rs.575.
They have a limited choice of salads that range between Rs.275 – Rs.425 and another, seemingly limited range of soup between the prices of Rs.400 each.
Like any other Indian restaurant, they offer the Main courses both Non-veg and Veg separately. Under the Non-Veg category, you would find yourself some rich flavours like the ones from the MurghMakhanwala (Rs. 900) which is char-grilled chicken in rich tomato and butter gravy. They also do have seafood choices like NanduThokku (Rs.1150), a dish that contains fresh crabs cooked in homemade spices. For the meat-eaters, all your choices for the main course are between Rs.800 to Rs. 1300. Quite a catch I’d say. The Non-veg category contains options like BainganBharta (Rs. 375) and is a dsh made of char-drilled eggplant cooked with homemade Indian Spices. The PaneeerMakhani (Rs. 475) is another show stopper and for those of you who don’t know what Paneer is, it’s a type of Indian cottage cheese and a great alternative to meat.
Typically, I’d go for a biriyani, because for me, that’s the epitome of the cuisine. We tried the Muttin Dum Biriyani (Rs. 1150), the biriyani, not as pricey as the ones you would find at Navarathna, was served in a beautiful pot and brought to the table. What I liked the most about Flavors was the fact that nearly all of the dishes they served us that night had a delicious aroma that wafted in the air as they brought the food to the table. The biriyani, needless to say, was well prepared. Although I did find the muttom a little too try and bland. The dish wasn’t a show stopper for me. Their rice preparations alternate between the ranges of Rs. 350 – Rs. 1200. If you chose a curry as your main, you can order some staples like Idiyappam(Rs. 350) or RavaDosa(Rs. 325), which is pancake made from semolina and rice flour served with chutney and sambar. They do have quite a variety of staples to choose from.
The dessert choices were limited and frankly, not that great. I wanted to try their Kulfi(Rs. 450) that day but they said it wasn’t available. The GulajJamun(Rs. 425) was well made, it wasn’t a show stopper. There dessert varieties range from Rs. 375 to Rs. 500.
Contrary to most online reviews, Flavors isn’t really that bad. I read a couple of reviews made by some Indians and they completely agree with me regarding the real authenticity of the food. The décor though, needs some immediate revamping, but all in all, Flavors is a place all Indian Food freaks must try!
