Friday, January 4, 2008

12. Sri Lanka: Rashnaa

307 Wellesley Street East
(
at Parliament)
416 929 2099

This unassuming Tamil restaurant is somewhat off the beaten path. A large part of their business is take-out and this detracts from the dining room experience. We asked for water which took a long time to materialize. The mango chutney and poppadoms we ordered never did arrive.
The rectangular wooden tables have no table cloths. Background sitar music & traditional art work add to the ambiance but the rather tatty menus need replacing.
All that being said, the food was excellent and the portions generous. Our starters - Ulunthu Vadai (crushed lentil donut shaped dumpling, deep fried and served with coconut chutney), 2 pieces $3.45 and vegetable samosas (potato, carrots, green peas and spices in a savory pastry deep fried and served with a sweet spicy sauce), 2 pieces $3.45 were very good.
Our main courses were equally tasty: Butter chicken - Tandoori marinated barbecue chicken cooked in a tomato based sauce flavoured with a touch of butter and a dash of cream
$9.95; Vegetable Delight - Ghee basmati rice, aromatic with curry leaves and accompanied by dishes of kalla curry (eggplant, breadfruit, potato), cashew and green peas curry, potato in a mild creamy gravy and achar) $8.95; String Hopper Kottu [pictured here]- Red (roasted) rice flour noodles chopped and sauteed with onion, green peppers, eggs, spices and vegetables $7.95
We round out the meal with coffee, chai tea and Vatalapam - a scrumptious flan with Kitul syrup (made from the sap of a palm tree) shredded coconut and cardamon, $3.25. The house red wine, at $12.25 for a half-litre, was acceptable.
Total cost for three was $71.49 - $83.00 including tip. Overall, well worth visiting for the food.

Rating:
Ambiance (2)
Service (2)
Food Presentation (3)
Food Quality (4)
Value for Money (4)

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