MTR pitch

“Genuine flavours of Sri Lanka here in Hong Kong. Aren’t we lucky?! If you want to try something different and you’re craving some heat, Hotal Colombo is the place for you. This clever menu allows you to sample the variety of dishes one can find on the streets of Colombo.”

Break it down now

For those who have never sampled the delights of Sri Lankan cuisine before, you must visit Hotal Colombo. The waiting staff are ON IT and they can seriously explain exactly what all the dishes are (despite the funny teenage ninja turtle outfits which are trying to be ‘Sri Lankan/street’).

The real talent in the Hotal comes from the kitchen. If you are lucky enough to sit by the pass, you will have quite the show whilst eating your dinner and watching them. They serve comforting flavours from the Indian sub-continent that come hot and quick!

The restaurant is well-geared towards patrons who are new to Sri Lankan tastes (without compromising on the masala), as the clever menu lists a great selection of small taster/tapas size dishes. This allows you to try a bit of everything; and sharing is caring! You won’t regret it. EVERY DISH TASTES WILDLY DIFFERENT.

If you’re a complete virgin to this, we recommend the Idli and Dosa dishes which are served with the hug-in-soup-form sambhar. The Kothu dishes will also knock you for 6; the spice blend is authentic and, if you close your eyes, you can just imagine a street-vendor smashing the ingredients onto their hot plate. It’s like teppanyaki but sooo much better. To be honest, everything on the menu is an experience (even down to the rice which tastes and smells like the fat, wild rice you can feast on in Sri Lanka). Our bill was even served with a refreshing mocktail-shot. Nice touch. Palate cleansed.

So, what are you waiting for? Ah – actually – that reminds us. Hotal Colombo is busy so do go early, pop your name down on the list and come back after a pre-drink elsewhere. Trustttt, it’s worth it.

Asian Pan likes…

• Chicken Kothu
• Idli, sambhar, podi, coconut chutney
• Devilled shrimps