The newly opened Jetwing Hotel in the city has a lovely rooftop lounge on level 13, aptly called, Ward 7- offering you a pulsating 360 view of Colombo city, which looks lovely at night. The cozy sofas really cushion you with comfort and the cool breeze drifting in, aids you to unwind. The menu here captures the essence of sharing: which connects people and increases fellowship.It’s one of the few venues in town which has a cool selection of smoked and cured items, including smoked beef and chicken –both done in house. I also noticed the menu had thoughtfully identified some dishes with an N (showing they contained nuts)- as some folks are allergic to various nuts used in food preparation.
I tried the baked jumbo prawn with squid, served on a bed of smoked eggplant puree. The chef had brilliantly inserted the squid into the shell of the prawn. The color of the prawn was baked to perfection. I also observed the menu had a sous vide lamb saddle. The culinary style of cooking by sous vide (French meaning under vacuum, was first adapted by Georges Prallus in 1974), is not seen in many hotels. Sous vide enhances any cut of meat, cooking it evenly and retains the succulent juice. To continue my dinner I went downstairs to the main restaurant, designed by a Singaporean architect. I was mesmerized by the massive display rack, filled with an assortment of clay pots- not something you expect to see in Colombo.
Another cool feature was that the table décor was natural- tiny plants grown in earthenware pots- a refreshing contrast to plastic flowers inserted in a vase! For my main course I tried the thalapath fish served with crab thermidor, toasted broccoli and almonds. The plate was radiantly garnished and captured the freshness of the seafood.
It was good to see thalapath served in this refined manner. The menu also has Australian beef tenderloin. The in house vanilla ice cream completed my dinner. The creaminess was nice to relish and was different, although the ice cream was mildly runny. Overall, the restaurant has a very homely feel, encourages “relaxed dining’ and the dishes reflect the culinary dexterity of the chef.