The Food Studio (FS) at One Galle Face (OGF) has always provided an eclectic mix of food that can excite any foodie. Its variety of cuisine is prolific, and though it is technically a food court, the diversity and quality of its meals make the Food Studio experience one that is on par with visiting a traditional restaurant.
The OGF Food Studio has recently seen a new addition to its ranks – Hotel Manoli – a restaurant that specialises in Levantine cuisine. The Sunday Morning Brunch paid Hotel Manoli a visit last week to see just what Hotel Manoli is all about.
Decoding Levantine cuisine
Levantine cuisine, to be specific, is the traditional cuisine of the Levant, or the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. The Levant broadly encompasses Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, Syria, Turkey, Egypt, and Cyprus.
Chatting with Brunch, Food Studio Executive Chef Sesha Fernando explained that the traditional cuisine of the Levant focused on the magic of fresh ingredients seasoned with spices, seeds, and herbs which were reminiscent of the cultures of the Levant as well as the cultures of its neighbouring Arab nations and their histories of trading herbs, spices, and other flavoursome ingredients.
“Mediterranean food is a good addition to the Food Studio concept because of its healthy flavours which are very unique and new to those who haven’t tried Levantine cuisine before,” Chef Sesha shared. “Hotel Manoli opened one-and-a-half months ago and the response has been very good, both from expats who are familiar with the cuisine and from Sri Lankans who are new to it and appreciate the fresh, unique flavours.”
Chef Sesha also noted that Levantine cuisine’s freshness and simplicity had proven particularly popular with the younger generation which tended to gravitate more towards healthy food and simple recipes.
What makes Levantine cuisine unique is its mix of spices, many of which we are not familiar with because they don’t often feature in the Sri Lankan culinary repertoire. These spice mixes result in subtle but flavourful meats. The overall Levantine cuisine uses a lot of lemon and citrus which add to its light, subtle feel, along with the ample use of fresh greens.
The most distinctive aspect of Levantine cuisine that would be recognisable to the mainstream Sri Lankan are meals including tabbouleh (the famous Middle Eastern parsley-based salad), hummus (the thick paste made of chickpeas), and baba ganoush (a dish similar to hummus but made from mashed roasted eggplant).
Hotel Manoli itself
Hotel Manoli, despite its Sri Lankan-sounding name, is anything but. It takes its name from an ancient hotel in Alexandria, Egypt that was a centre of gaiety for the Levantine community pre-1922. The original Hotel Manoli was home to some of the healthiest, freshest, most delicious ancient cuisines on the planet, and Sri Lanka’s answer to Hotel Manoli hopes to do the same as its namesake, serving up cuisine that goes as far back as the ancient Romans and Phoenicians but has, through the millennia, stayed ever relevant, fresh, and healthy.
Hotel Manoli was created under the FS Culinary Concepts brand which is a part of Food Studio – the food court at One Galle Face. “Hotel Manoli is a place, a taste, a region of shared plates, and a wide palate of tastes embracing numerous cultures from the Mediterranean and the Middle East,” Chef Sesha said. “Hotel Manoli focuses on a wide range of mix and match meals along with an array of sides and sauces to choose from. The menu will soon be showcasing sharing mezze platters and meals for sharing when in a crowd.”
The food
The food at Hotel Manoli comes in bowls and you can choose the elements that make up your bowl. For the ‘starch’ element of your bowl, you can choose from a helping of saffron rice, tabbouleh salad, hummus, or get your main of choice in a pita pocket (hollowed-out pita bread).
The mains are chicken shawarma (not a wrap, but rather the style of cooking chicken on a spit with yoghurt and spices), the famous Middle Eastern chickpea cutlet falafel, grilled barramundi marinated with lemon, pepper, and the Levantine spice za’atar, Iranian-spiced mutton koftas, halloumi cheese with hot honey, and seared beef tenderloin.
We ordered the seared beef tenderloin in pita pockets (which comes out like proper shawarma), the mutton koftas with saffron rice, the falafel with tabbouleh (all-veg), and the chicken shawarma with hummus. We also got some pita pockets with chicken shawarma and tasted the grilled halloumi with hot honey.
All the meats were wonderfully spiced and the blend of spices in each preparation was unique. Chef Sesha actually took us into the kitchen to show us the treasure trove of Levantine spices he has painstakingly curated.
Our runaway favourite dish was the grilled halloumi with hot honey; slices of wonderfully salty and chewy greek cheese drenched with warm honey and a subtle chilli paste to give it a hint of spice. It can be ordered as a side too, and we fully recommend ordering this on its own to eat hot and savour.
The falafels were also very well-done, though, for us, the meat held more appeal, and both the chicken shawarma and the beef tenderloin were perfectly cooked, with the distinct flavours of each coming through wonderfully. The Iranian kofta was spicy and reminded us of the Indian variants of koftas.
In terms of our starchy bases, the hummus was well-seasoned and thick, and when paired with a meat base like chicken and beef can make for a very filling meal. The tabbouleh was also a Brunch favourite, with Hotel Manoli’s take incorporating couscous into the mix to make it a stronger base for the meal.
Hotel Manoli has a variety of sauces that add an extra level of flavour and spice to each meal. The sauces we tried were the shatta, the tahini, the schug, and the harissa. These sauces are not to be underestimated – they make great additions to the meal and some of them, like the harissa, are very spicy. However, on a personal level, we enjoyed the base flavours of each meal just as well without the sauces, so be sure to pick a sauce that you really like.
We must also make special mention of Hotel Manoli’s saffron rice, which was a treat – it was wonderfully fluffy and cooked in a broth that was just delicious.
The Brunch verdict
Food Studio is always specially laid out to bring together the right mix of eateries, with tastes ranging from the adventurous to the nostalgic, from street food to fine dining, and from East Asian sushi to artisanal gelato.
Hotel Manoli adds to this a fresh new concept, a more Arabic take on Mediterranean food that focuses on fresh ingredients and subtle flavours. Hats off to the Food Studio for giving us something new and tasty.
PHOTOS Krishan Kariyawasam
