If you’ve ever been to Unawatuna a year or two ago, then you are bound to have paid a visit to one of its iconic food stops: The Social. Unfortunately, as renowned as it was, the restaurant was forced to locate to Colombo due to the pandemic, and they are currently operating as an online cloud kitchen. Brunch spoke to The Social Founder Shehantha Goonesena about the restaurant’s history and more.
“I had some money saved up, and I took a bank loan and sold my car as well and eventually opened up the restaurant in Una,” commented Shehantha on how the restaurant was founded, adding that they did really well the first year, but unfortunately they were facing a loss during the second and third year as they hadn’t fully recovered from the Easter bombings and suddenly there was a pandemic.
At the time, The Social Unawatuna was No. 1 on Tripadvisor, and as someone who has visited the spot, I can assure you that Shehantha’s hospitality contributed greatly to this feat.
“I really wanted to develop the place, but I understood at the current time that such a project would not be feasible, so we had to relocate to Colombo.” The first few months after relocating were tough; Shehantha explained that they spent that time working on their menu. They eventually decided to focus on an Asian fusion cuisine.
At the moment, The Social Colombo operates out of Shehantha’s garage, which he’s equipped with the necessary kitchen appliances.
Going into detail about their menu, he explained that they have a variety of bao buns, noodles, dumplings, all which are made with a combination of authentic Asian spices. This itself is currently a huge challenge for them, as with the pandemic, they have been finding it increasingly difficult to import these spices and ingredients. Shehantha informed us that the prices of certain ingredients doubled or tripled during this period. Nevertheless, they maintain the quality and the price range that they promise.
Shehantha has no love for cooking. However, he does enjoy managing a team and being social and hospitable. Giving us a behind-the-scenes look into his team, he commented: “I have an amazing Executive Chef with work experience in Australia who joined us two months ago, who lives close by, so luckily he is able to report to work daily. I also have one employee I got from the South who currently lives with me, along with another employee from Ja-Ela. That is my small team for now.”
Having had the opportunity to indulge in some of their dishes, it is clear that Shehantha has indeed put a lot of thought into the spices and flavouring he uses in his food. Each dish was bursting with flavours, but there was still a balance and nothing overpowered the other, which was impressive considering how easy it is to over-season your food, especially if one has such an extensive range of spices to choose from.
From their menu, we tried the chicken dumplings, Thai fish cake bao buns, and the Korean-style prawn and cuttlefish noodles.
The first thing that caught our eyes in terms of the chicken dumplings was its vivid green colour. Having a low tolerance to spice, the green colour reminded me immediately of wasabi, but upon biting into one, I realised my fears were unfounded. We are not sure if the colour came from adding vegetables to the dumpling dough or food colouring, but regardless, they were pan fried to perfection. Soft on the inside and slightly crispy on the outside. The filling was juicy – made with Chinese five spice, soy sauce, and sesame oil – and they had to be eaten in one bite to avoid spilling its delicious insides. With this weather we’ve been having, there’s nothing like a pack of warm dumplings. We must say though, these would have paired perfectly with a spicy chillie oil, rather than the soy sauce it was served with.
Having never tried bao buns before, we had nothing to compare it to, but the experience blew our minds. Upon first glance, the first thing that popped into our heads was a cloud: soft and mellow; the bun wasn’t too chewy, and was on the sweeter side, but the chillie sauce added the kick it needed. The fish cakes, made with prawn and shrimp, although soft, worked well with the equally tender bun. All the elements on the dish lean towards the sweeter side, but just before the sweetness can get overwhelming, the heat from the chillie oil kicks in, so you could never really get sick of these buns.
Now, personally, I am a huge fan of anything Korean so obviously I loved the noodles. The thick-cut noodles come with generously bite-sized pieces of prawns and cuttlefish with the usual carrots, spring onions, and sweet corn. Again, as most Korean dishes do, it leaned more towards the sweeter side, but the gochujang (Korean chillie paste) cut through the sweetness, adding the spice it needed. The pickled veggies also added a hint of sourness. It was clear that The Social has truly mastered the art of playing with flavours. For the Sri Lankan tongue, the dish may lack spice, but it’s still an amazing dish to try, and we would definitely recommend it.
Not only were the dishes an experience for the taste buds, but once we had a look at the menu, we realised how good the pricing is as well. The portions were quite generous taking into consideration that each dish was under Rs. 1,000. But don’t take our word for it, try it out for yourself – they are available on Uber Eats, PickMe Food, and Eatts.
Instagram: @thesocialcmb
Facebook: @thesocialcmb
