You need to try the Sri Lankan food at Sigiriya Hale
Let us whisk you away to an island in the Indian Ocean; one with a diverse landscape and lush fertile plains, white sandy beaches and ancient Buddhist temples....Ok, perhaps we can only take you there in your mind’s eye, but what if we told you about a local restaurant we’ve found where you at least get to experience the aromas and flavours of the real thing.
Sri Lankan food is renowned for its unique characteristics from the use of rich coconut milk, spices such as cinnamon, star anise and cardamom pods, along with fried curry leaves and other fresh herbs. The tastes differ subtly from your typical Indian curries or Thai spice blends to create a range of warming, aromatic dishes that transport you to warmer climes – even if it’s just for one afternoon or evening.
Sigiriya is a family owned restaurant in Hale which specialises in Sri Lankan cuisine, blending Indian and Buddhist traditions through a marriage of fine food and warm hospitality. The restaurant itself is beautiful and welcoming – while not overdone, there’s plenty to look at in the form of traditional, brightly coloured masks, statues of Buddha and wall art balanced by neutral tones in the furnishings. A variety of seating makes it perfect for anything from a quick lunch on a table for two, a booth for a family of four, or circular bench seating for relaxed groups of six.
The restaurant has just celebrated its first birthday by hosting a huge bash for friends, family and regular guests. In the last 12 months, Sigiriya scooped a couple of trophies in last year’s English Curry Awards where it was crowned best newcomer, while owner, Don Buddika, who has over 20 years experience, including a stint managing Dubai’s famous Jumeirah Beach restaurant, was crowned Curry King of the year.
Spices and some other ingredients come directly from Sri Lanka, which, in the hands of the talented and experienced kitchen team, helps to create such an authentic Sri Lankan style dining experience. We popped in at lunchtime when Sigiriya offers a pared down version of their full dinner menu.
Starters include kathi roll – freshly made paratha stuffed with marinated chicken or paneer, a street food classic which beats a plain old sandwich any day of the week. We also really enjoyed tawa king prawns charred over coal and cooked with Sri Lankan spices, along with a trio of delicious marinated lamb chops. All starters come with a honey dressed shredded salad, so vibrant in flavour it would have made a perfect dish on its own.
It’s such a treat to be able to experience lunchtime dishes which, although common in Sri Lanka, are less available over here. Sigiriya abula is similar to an Indian thali where you get to sample smaller portions of vegetable curries, a meat curry, salad and rice. This we would happily eat every day. The abula included a taster of their Ceylon chicken, a coconut curry base flavoured with lemongrass, curry leaves and green chilli (also available as a dish on its own.) We were blown over by a wonderfully unusual beetroot curry and an amazing curry they modestly described as ‘aubergine’ but turned out to be a sweet and delicately spiced vegetable dish enhanced by ripe and juicy fresh pineapple.
Fish lovers will love Sigiriya’s mustard fish, a creamy and lightly curried dish using flaky pieces of haddock cooked in Sri Lankan spices finished with freshly ground mustard seeds. If you want the abula platter and prefer fish to chicken, they’ll happily swap it out for you.
We also tried the mysterious lamprais or ‘lump rice’, which arrived in a parcel made from banana leaves. Inside you’ll find a mixture of rice, a little chicken and lamb curry, a deep fried boiled egg, sini sambol (a sweet onion relish) and more of that amazing aubergine curry.
Sri Lankan’s have a sweet tooth, so make sure to save a little room for dessert – even if you can only manage one with two spoons. The wonderfully named watalappan is a classic dessert based on the European caramel egg custard flan, but flavoured with jaggery treacle sugar and sugared cashew nuts. Sweet coconut pancakes are another must try with freshly made pancakes stuffed and rolled with a delicious filling of shredded coconut and honey.
Hale village is so lucky to have this pocket of Sri Lanka (Sigiriya is named after the dramatic ‘Lion’s Rock’ landmark) with a beautiful restaurant offering authentic handmade dishes with a welcome as warm as the spices they use to flavour their food.
