Volcano - Tempura Prawns, Avocado, Tobiko and Crab Stick
Sometimes Colombo can be a place full of culinary contradictions. For instance the best Chinese food I have eaten comes from an Indian Managed hotel chain. Of course I am referring to Golden Dragon by the Taj.
And now I realized the best sushi I have eaten is at a sea food restaurant. Yes it is better than the Sushi I have tasted in Japan or any other Japanese restaurant in town including Ginza Hozen which till now was the number one Japanese food destination for me. Even though it was pricey no one else can came close to the flavor and freshness of the food… till now.
The seafood restaurant I am referring to of course is the newly opened Ocean restaurant at the Kingbury. I must confess I am not too impressed with the so called opulence of that hotel. In fact I think it is a bit… hmm the word I am looking for is Godey I guess. To me it is a classic example of how all the money in the world cannot buy a person good taste. From what I know they had put in a whole load of money behind this project as they wanted it to be a luxury hotel. Now for those who do not know a luxury hotel is supposedly beyond a 5 star hotel. Hotels such as the four seasons are considered luxury hotels. When I too am a politico I shall experience them. I must also state that my observations here are made after visiting the lobby areas and the restaurants. Maybe the rooms are different but guess I will stand to be corrected when the hotel gives me a complimentary night.
Oops I am digressing. Let me get back to the main subject matter once again.
The décor of the ocean restaurant in complete contrast to the rest of the hotel is amazingly lovely and out of this world. The food is damn good too. Even though on my first visit I did the wrong thing by ordering food which I was familiar with at the lagoon. Which was the wrong thing to do as it did not measure up to my expectations. However on my second visit I tried something different and also followed the advice of a friend to try the sushi which as described by her was “out of this world”… and it was.
Even to call is Sushi is a misnomer. Hence the reason of titling this post as “Fantasy Sushi”. The Kingbusry have brought a special chef down who specializes in the art of sushi. Instead of just reproducing the standard type of sushi which all of us are used to this gentleman does his own creations. Yes they are creations because they are lovingly rolled and hand crafted by this guy and served in the most beautiful manner. I actually had the opportunity of talking to him and his you can see the passion in his eyes when he talks about how he comes up with his creations. You cannot believe that so much love and effort can go into something which sells at roughly 750/- a dish. Even though each portion holds only six pieces they are quite big in size and could be described as extremely generous. But before I forget I must mention the flavors he manages to infuse into the sushi is astonishing. If my tongue had a life of its own it would have got down on its knees spread out its arms and looked heaven words and screamed halleluiah at the top of its voice. Trust me it is that good. He cal also do Sashimi even though it is not on the menu.
I found the service at the Ocean excellent too. All the chefs come out and mingle with the people and everyone is extremely friendly and nice. And the waiters and managers are very attentive. Sometimes the niceness can get a bit sickeningly sweet but it is all good. For the first time in my life I had a valet telling me “Thank you for visiting the Kingsbury”! I nearly fainted but it was still impressive.
Anyway the point is I can’t wait to go back to the Ocean to experience more of the tantalizing taste of their Sushi than their sea food.
Salmon and Ebi - Fresh Salmon, Prawns, Avocado, Cucumber, Chives, Red Onions and Plum Sauce
