Eastern Wok changed the way Chinese restaurants work in Sri Lanka. Dating back to 1992, after a rebranding, the restaurant is also the first halal dining in the country. Brunch spoke to the owner Azzam Muhammedh who told us that their flavours are unique and their dishes are not found at any other restaurant here.
During the lockdown, Azzam told us that they were one of the top restaurants on food delivery services, and they were catering through their own delivery service as well. In fact, during the peak of the pandemic was when their sales were the highest. Right now, their sales are not as much as before, but they are focusing on rebranding the restaurant’s ambience and offering customers a fine dining experience.
He named their kottu to be their signature dish – it is a Chinese inspired flavour with a hot butter fusion. “We have customers who used to buy it every day! It was so in demand and we offer chicken, beef, cuttlefish, and seafood options.” Another speciality is their Singapore chilli crab as well as their hot butter cuttlefish.
We had the opportunity to try out some of their signature dishes. Starting off with the chicken wings; they were vastly different from any we’d had before – the spicy kick was a welcome change and the sweet note was subdued. Next, we had the Tom yum soup; this is a clear soup of Thai origins, infused with a blend of spices and herbs. It’s aromatic and has an explosion of flavours that burst on your tongue. The serving portion is incredibly sizable; a small portion was more than enough for two people and it comes filled to the brim with bite-sized pieces of shrimp, cuttlefish, and fish – all of which were soft and tender after having absorbed all the juices and flavours of the broth. It’s a great appetiser as it’s tradition to have this soup to start off a meal in Thailand to work up a hefty appetite. No complaints; it held every flavour of a good Tom yum.
For our mains, we tried the schezwan rice and the Mee Hun noodles. Unlike the regular fried rice, schezwan fried rice is hot and spicy with bursting flavours of ginger – which was particularly strong – garlic, soya sauce, and red chilli paste. The noodles lacked any notable flavour but since it was dry, it was just waiting to be spruced up by the rich, saucy, curries we had on the side.
Next, we had the hot butter cuttlefish; they were shaped in balls and were incredibly crispy, and had an umami undertone which we really enjoyed; it also comes with a few chopped up veggies, so there’s a fresh balance to the dish as well.
Since we were told the Singapore chilli crab was a hit, we just had to try it and we understood exactly why it’s so renowned by their customers. The taste was unlike anything we’d had before and you could taste a hint of butter and sweetness hiding behind the spicy kick as well.
We also tried the Chicken Manchurian, which is a very popular Indo-Chinese dish. It came with crispy fried chicken pieces that were tossed in a sweet and savoury sauce and since it’s generally served alongside fried rice or noodles, we had the right accompaniment to go with it. It is worth noting that Chicken Manchurian is widely famous in Indian and Pakistani restaurants, and Eastern Wok had certainly done the dish justice.
As a vegetarian option, we had the garlic kankun; it was delicious – it had a rich sauce, which wasn’t overly thick and bite-sized pieces of garlic that gave the soft leaves a hint of crunch. We absolutely adored this and couldn’t stop eating it – even after we’d finished all the rice and noodles.
In the future, they have plans on opening up a few more take away centres located conveniently around Colombo, where they can market a few of their specialty dishes.
Instagram: @easternwok
Phone: 0112576276
Address: 38, Walukarama Road, Kollupitiya, Colombo 03
