Mandarina Colombo, the city hotel for the discerning business traveller, reopened the doors to its rooftop restaurant “On the Eleventh” on 10 August with the introduction of “Nelum Kole”, a flavourful and authentic lunch menu based on Sri Lanka’s iconic nelum kole meal. The Nelum Kole lunch menu buffet is available on weekdays from 12 to 3 p.m.
The launch of Nelum Kole marks the opening of the On the Eleventh rooftop restaurant following the Covid-19 pandemic, along with Mandarina Colombo’s array of 80 rooms.
Mandarina Colombo General Manager Dinesh Hettiarachchi commented on the launch of Nelum Kole, sharing: “In the post-Covid situation, it’s needless to point out that not only the hospitality industry but also a subsection of the society whose livelihoods were based on the industry have been affected. Mandarina Colombo, as a part of the leading Sri Lankan conglomerate Macksons Holdings, is on the strong footing that our post-Covid revamp mission will not only cater to the reinstatement of our hotel’s commitment towards the local food culture, but also create an avenue to give back to society. We have initiated several attractive promotions including the new Nelum Kole menu.”
Mandarina Colombo’s local suppliers are spread out across Sri Lanka and the new Nelum Kole menu includes raw materials sourced from Kumbukgete in the North Western Province, along with daily vegetables and lotus leaves supplied from the Colombo suburb of Bandaragama to name a few of the wide network of suppliers coming together in the creation of this tantalising meal.
The Morning Brunch was invited to an exclusive preview of The Nelum Kole menu and found a spread any Sri Lankan would swoon over. With three different varieties of local rice, including favourites like fried rice and dunthel bath, a range of 10 rich vegetable curries, five mouthwatering meat curries, and an assortment of side dishes and condiments, Nelum Kole creates an expansive range of authentic, flavourful, and tantalising Sri Lankan food.
Ever the place to go if you’re a foodie on a budget, the Nelum Kole meal starts at Rs. 500 for the base vegetarian meal with the proteins of your choice being added on as you desire at very competitive prices (adding chicken to your meal would cost an additional Rs. 100, and so on depending on the protein you choose).
The vegetable curries on offer ranged from the standard fare of green beans curry and ladies fingers to the more exotic vegetables like lotus root and ambarella curry with a pleasant balance of flavour in each curry.
The meat portion of the menu offered fish, chicken, beef, mutton, and prawns, with each meat curry cooked to perfection with its own distinct flavour. There was also a variety of fried fish including dry fish.
The dessert section offered the tried and true Sri Lankan staples of curd and treacle, cream caramel, and watalappam, each of which was a delight in its own right.
“Especially through the new Nelum Kole menu, our lunch will offer an array of authentic local cuisine. Hence, we do believe that as a local organisation, in this context, we have been able to contribute to the Sri Lankan community at our level best as a part of our CSR commitments. Furthermore, I need to add that for a hotel, the food is the key value addition, hence we are very proud of the quality and unique taste of the food prepared by our chefs who have over 60 years of combined experience in the industry,” Hettiarachchi shared.
In addition to its mouthwatering weekday lunch menu, Mandarina Colombo also offers competitive conference, meeting, and banquet packages for any of its four meeting spaces and its 160-pax banquet hall. True to its vision of providing its guests with the very best, the team at Mandarina Colombo is ever available to tailor-make solutions best suited to the needs of their valued guests.
PHOTOS Eshan Dasanayaka
