Generally, when I travel, I do some research, make a list of foods to try and things to see and do. The dishes places are well known for, plus a few off-the-beaten-track spots are always top of my list. Sri Lanka was no different, but I was struggling with Colombo – what I read online was basically “go straight to Negombo.” Our travel agent convinced me Colombo was worth it, and a good starting point. I’m so glad she did.
My food wish list for Colombo was short: hoppers, Sri Lankan mud crab, and lamprais. To cover what I had likely missed, I added a food tour to the mix — generally always a good idea to get a grasp on a city!
It’s hard to miss the colonial influences in Sri Lanka. They appear in the architecture and street layouts, in the markets, in the food, and in countless everyday details. Layers of Portuguese, Dutch, and British rule have left their mark, though reshaped into something uniquely Sri Lankan. It’s equally hard to ignore the social impact of these influences, or the political turmoil that has besieged the country in more recent times. Before our trip, I’d read Return to Sri Lanka: Travels in a Paradoxical Island by Razeen Sally, a reminder that the past is woven into daily life here. My focus isn’t on colonial dishes or the politics around them, but simply on recording our time in Sri Lanka.
Hoppers – a Sri Lankan breakfast of note at Aathma House
First things first: breakfast
Our first full day started with breakfast at the beautiful Aathma House, situated on a lake in a quiet, calm part of Colombo. This small boutique hotel blends seamlessly into the greenery and the bird-filled surrounds — an oasis where you’d hardly believe you were in a noisy capital city.
We ordered the hoppers for breakfast. Even though we had a food tour coming up, we had to. Top of the list! Crispy outside, soft chewy centre, aromatic fish curry, dhal, and rounded off with sambol* (a spiced coconut relish) … perfect, just what I had imagined and would certainly be having these regularly during our stay.
Hoppers (“appa” in Sinhala, “appam” in Tamil) are made from a fermented batter of rice flour and coconut milk, usually with yeast. They share ancestry with South Indian appam, especially from Tamil Nadu and Kerala, but in Sri Lanka they’ve become something distinct, bowl-shaped with lacy, crisp edges and a soft centre. Hoppers are eaten at breakfast, dinner, or as a snack, and are served with curries, sambols, or sometimes with an egg cooked in the middle.
Colombo Food Tour
Our first tuk-tuk ride in Colombo came with a driver who chewed betel nuts nonstop, drank from a recycled whisky bottle — fortunately just water, as we realised afterwards — and wove through the traffic with such erratic urgency that I found myself gripping the seat tightly.
Hurtling down the main roads of Colombo, we were on our way to meet our guide from @withlocals, Muditha, for an early morning food tour of Pettah Market.
Things were slowly opening, no urgency at this hour on a Sunday morning, with space to roam before the crowds descended. We found our guide and headed straight to a king coconut vendor, a wonderfully thirst-quenching first stop as the humidity and heat was already a bit warmer than anticipated. King Coconuts (thambili) are native to Sri Lanka and sold everywhere — and for good reason, other than their sweet, nutty flavour they are a great source of electrolytes.
Pettah Market has been operating since at least the early 1800s under British rule, though its trading roots stretch back further, with Moor, Tamil, and Sinhalese merchants. It’s a bustling commercial area.
Our tour took us past the striking Jami Ul-Alfar Mosque (1909), its candy-striped red-and-white façade impossible to miss, while vendors were opening their stalls and traders called out prices across the pathways. We sampled samosas, traditional sweets like bundi and jalebi, milk toffee, chewy fruit musket (a dried fruit and nut sweet), and a bright pink falooda. Cassava chips were definitely a new favourite alongside masala peanuts, and murukku, and tried Achcharu – basically fruit pickles : ambaralla(June plum), jambu (rose apple), and veralu (Sri Lankan olives). We even managed a bit of shopping! You know you have a good guide when he not only guides you through everything but also kindly helps you source a hopper pan to take home.
Parts felt like Morocco, parts like Bangkok, but mostly something uniquely Sri Lankan … the general franticness of a market when your senses head into overload. It was still early, not even that crowded, but already a lot to take in. We ended our introduction to Colombo with wade and a plate of delicious kottu — accompanied by the infamous ginger beer. A welcome calming agent for all that chilli!
The Ministry of Crab
Next up: Legendary Sri Lankan mud crab. I love crab but sadly don’t get to eat to much of it. In Morocco, we get long, spindly spider crabs with not much meat. In South Africa, I can’t really remember eating crab much at all.
We decided our splurge meal in Colombo would be a visit to the Ministry of Crab. I can definitely say I was lured by the sound of “Crabzilla” crabs (2kg and upwards) buy starting at around US$380 each – no thanks. Fortunately the menu had a wide selection of sizes and other dishes to try.
Founded in 2011 by chef Dharshan Munidasa with cricket legends Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara, the restaurant is housed in the Old Dutch Hospital — a beautifully restored colonial building turned lively dining complex.
Service was fast and professional, the attention to detail impressive, and above all … the crab and prawns were delicious. We settled on a prawn and avocado starter, two varieties of prawns and a small crab in a garlic chilli butter, accompanied with a side of pol sambol and freshly baked wood fired kade bread. Washed down with a delicious gin basil smash and a cool local Lion Lager to accompany our meal, which proved just right for the occasion.
Lamprais at the Dutch Club
Finally, lamprais. Lamprais itself was introduced by the Dutch Burghers. Its name comes from the Dutch “lomprijst”, meaning “packet of rice.” Inspired partly by Indonesian banana-leaf rice dishes from the Dutch East Indies, it became uniquely Burgher. A typical version will consist of rice cooked in stock, three-meat curry, seeni sambal, blachan paste, aubergine moju, frikkadel (meatballs), all wrapped in a banana leaf and bake and baked.
To try this dish we headed to the VOC Cafe at The Dutch Burgher Union. This local institution was founded in 1908 to support the Burgher community socially and culturally. Its clubhouse became a focal point, and the DBU continues today as a community resource and a venue for events and meals. They also serve a variety of other local dishes like rice and curry, hoppers, kottu and Sri Lankan buns and pastries.
Colombo had felt overwhelming at first — the noise, the tuk-tuks, the market stalls — but by the end of our short list of must-tries and a few other stops, the vibrant, chaotic city had lured us with its charm.
