Ceylonese are Food Addicts and there are a lot foods for everyone's taste.
The list is numerous and all the types of food and delicacies from the City of Kandy.
Let me make some provisions.
I stop eating rice for a very long time.
There are at least 5 poisons in each grain of rice and I was reacting to one or many of them for long time. When I stopped eating even milk rice I recovered from my malady.
Second reason is I stopped drinking all types of liqueur. That helped the taste buds that were damaged to recover. Along with that I used to taste of every type food I tasted to make good the rice deficit
What is relevant in Ceylon is we are an Alcoholic Nation and spend more on alcohol than food. Big rice meal with chicken became our life style. Except for bread ordinary people would not try anything other than string hopers and hoppers. That is the sad part.
This coincided with foor portion becoming smaller and prices going up by leaps and bounds.
My simple example is wade.
Prawns omitted first.
Umbalalakada disappeared next.
Spices omitted thirdly.
Ultimately size and shape.
It was true of Egg Buns.
Full Egg became Half an Egg.
Half an Egg became Quarter of an Egg.
Ultimately the bun was just called Egg Bun without any garnish of egg at all.
Strangely, none of these happened during internal conflict
I would only list my favorites.
All these were tasted long before food and economic crisis.
1. Cashew Nuts with Karapincha (curry leaves) from Queens Hotel's Side Bar, which no more.
2. Ceylon Tea with Cheese Cake or Cheese Sandwich from Mesna Tea Center.
Earl Grey Tea at Mesna Tea Center
There is no Mesna Tea in Australia.
Cinnamon Tea at the Air Port.
By the way, I HATE Thai Tea
Heladiv Tea
Now owned By George Steurt and Company Limited
Heladiv commenced operations in 1990 as HVA Lanka Exports Pvt. Ltd., an affiliate of a Dutch-based agricultural development company, Handels Vereniging Amsterdam (Amsterdam Trade Association).
In 1993, the company reverted to 100% Sri Lankan ownership.
In 2001, they introduced the concept of Tetra Paking of Iced Tea in Sri Lanka.
In 2007, the company received an ISO 22000 accreditation by Bureau Veritas and was awarded the Lanka Star, for Packaging Excellence from the Sri Lanka Institute of Packaging, and a Soorya Sinha Award from the Mawbima Lanka Padanama.
In 2011, the company was publicly listed on the Sri Lankan stock exchange.
The brand name, Heladiv, is derived from the word "Heladiva", which means our land.
The Heladiv product range includes ice tea, regular tea bags, flavoured tea bags, green tea, flavoured green tea, herbal infusions, leaf tea in pouches, pet jars, metal canisters, wooden boxes and gift packs.
The company operates over fifty tea cafes across in China and a tea lounge in Colombo.
The brand Heladiv is registered and sold in over 40 countries.
This was the first Peach Tea (under Rs.50/=) Drink.
I believe it was a One Man Company, long before others ventured into the market.
He produced a Flavoured TEA in glass bottles (not in plastic containers) which can be diluted to taste.
It was fabulous.
Of course, this changed due to practical and economic issues.
Yes Lipton and Dilmah are here in Australia but they can never match with HelaDive.
I promote Ceylon Tea world over and wish them good luck.
3. Hoppers at ARPICO Food Stall
4. Fish Kottu and Masala Wade at Royal Mall Food stall
Of course Spring Rolls, bread, cakes sweets (Cheese Flan), Thala Guli (Gingerly Rolls), milk and poll toffees and good cup of Ceylon Coffee
Not to forget the long queue at the Liquer Bar on Saturday, evening.
5. Vegetable Rotty, Kimbula Banis, Croissants, Doughnuts and French and English delicacies from Kheels Super Market (located near Royal Mall) in Gatambe.
6. Then the String Hoppers with lovely "Amu Miris Sambol and Pol Mallum" from the lady who comes to Kandy City acrossing the right side of the Mahaveli River.
I think she came from a place in between Sirimalwata and Tennekumbura. That was the best Pol Sambol in the City of Kandy.
7. Prawn Wade and Masala Wade from Devon Restaurant.
Chees and Egg Kottu included.
8. String Hoppers with "Alahodi and Pol Sambol" from Bentota Bake House.
This restaurant has a Tall Tower like (in a Singapore Hotel) structure.
It has a open rooftop and I avoid the lovers time.
I go to the top floor and have a Superb Yogurt drink.Some time I have an off hour Beer (allowed for foreign tourist) when string hoppers are late to come. The guys who run this hotel come from my village.
Alcohol is banned for locals and I have to wait till 4.30PM to enter bar at ARPICO for a Sweet Wine.
With Mangala Samaraweera as Finance Minister one peg went up from Rs.190/= to Rs.420/=. I had two pegs and gave one peg to the bar tender and ordered big sized omelette with chips and dished our Rs.2000/=. No balance requested.
I drink alcohol and not taxes and abruptly stopped drinking all types of liqueur.
I still thank Mangala for my courage and never tasted any except only once on a grand birth day party. That is also a type of spirits I had never tasted before and I was staggering to the toilet on that occasion.
9. Then Balaji Samosa, Dosai and Pol Sambol.
10. The best of course, the Paper Dosai and Masala Dosai made by an Indian Cook in Captain Cook Corner at Devons Hotel's Top Floor.
I have to wait until 6.30PM when this special cook comes on duty.
I am happy I gave my Tamil lawyer a good meal at this place. He did not know it existed. He enjoyed it very much. I think it was a special booked lunch. I did not want him to go home late. His brother had a jewellery shop at Colombo Street. Lately, I did not see him, too. May have transferred his deeds to somebody else with no money coming from his brother.
Strangely he passed away after a rotten (sepsis) tooth abscess. I met him on the way to Peradaniya Hospital. I volunteered to take him to Dental Hospital but he declined.
There are a few more places that I used to visit.
1. Queens Pastry Shop and Queen Bar
2. Bentota Bake House
3. Devon Bakers Best
4. Central Bake house
5. Casamara Hotel (very rarely before it changed the location, it was situated near Senanayake Library, before and for Rs. 250/= we had a lovely meal and beer). I think they changed the name, too.
6. Hotel Topaz
7. Oak Ray of course for Beer and Hoppers
8. Mahaveli Reach Hotel for Billiards or Snooker game
9. Suisse Hotel for Billiard or Snooker game
All these are concentrated in The City, yet if you go down 5 to 10 kilometers away from the city one cannot find a good place to dine and wine.
Below are how Kandy City turned in to village setup.
1. Ampiya, Katawala, Lewla, Thalathuoya, Godamunne
2. Tennakumbura, Gurudeniya, Haragama and beyond to Mailapitiya
3. Kundasale, Balagolla, Kengalla, Digana, Teldeniya and beyond to Karalliyaddha
4. Mawilmada, Polgolla, Madawala Manikhinna and Kundasale
5, Gatambe, Dangolla, Rajawatta, Gakaha Junction, University of Peradeniya, Mahakanda and Hindagala Temple.
6. Peradeniya, Panideniya, Kossinna, Angunawela and Gelioya
7. Katugastota, Akurana, Nugapitiya Alawatugoda and Ukuwela.
8. Nugawela, Aladeniya Hadeniya turn off before Galadgedra to turn to Walalhenna Junction to Warakagda and Bokkawela
9. Aladeniya, Weuda, Galagedera, Pilessa, Mawatagama, Mallawapitiya and Kurenegala
10. Hadeniya off Arambekade Junction, to Walathenna Junction to Warakagoda, Ambaruppa off Harankahawa Junction to Molagoda Maha Viyalaya.
The last place is where I went to see one of my relative and an elder brother, before leaving Ceylon. He left to Canada week after my departure. I do not think he will come back.
We had a lovely meal at Kadyan Arts Restaurant where I stayed overnight from where I left to the Katunayake Airport. I was worried the Van Driver who picked me up would miss our house in Panideniya. I had one on my old time school mates to accompany me from this hotel to the airport.
I booked a room for him but he did decide to come in the morning. He did come from Mawilmada and it was a considerable distance.
He did not want me to spend money. However, I have him my Ceylon Surveyor's Map as a souvenir since I probably want write another book on Rivers and Water Falls of Ceylon. There are over 100 rivers and revelets in Ceylon and many of them are drying up, one by one every year.
Tragedy!
In fact, he walked to the hotel in the morning. He is marathon walker and walking is his hobby. I used to walked to Kandy to catch early morning train when I was at Aruppola.
Marathon running was a speciality in our Ampitiya St.Marys School. Nobody except teachers in this school new I was medical guy.
One of my wishes was to address current students (get some in to the University) but even though the Principal was a family friend, it never materiallised.
He was a middle distance runner and I was a short (100/200) distance runner we never compete against but joined in relays.
I go first he goes last and there is time to change spikes in between.
I did not have a pair of spikes and my father won't buy me one, let alone even a running short. It was the Burgher lady next door who made me a lovely velvet running short.
I used to hide the Championship Cup of Under 12 and Under 14. I used to do only 100 Meters and Long Jump as a Senior. I was not good in 200.
With Hop Step and Jump, I could barely touch the pit, at the Standard Set for the age.
Only, one jump (Hop Step and Jump), win or lose and that is usually my best and enough to get a place.
Long Jump is different.
First to Qualify.
Second to get the marking.
Third the Full Jump.
Skip Fourth and Fifth.
Last or the Sixth Jump to make it, a sportsman like finale.
Only once, I bettered my Third Jump in a Qualifying for Russians Tournament.
It was my best jump all my life and I could have qualified to Go to Russia but I let it slip through since, I was well below the International Set Standard.
I had my Final Examination and I could have waved it off and sat the repeat and got better results overall. That meant I miss the first Merit List and miss my batch and join the rest.
Come to think about it the best guys in our batch were in the second Merit List.
Could not fathom it, then.
I was caught in the Rat Race. However, in latter years I paced myself down to easy pace and I did my research work well past 50, mature enough to do Real Research which includes Linux which I am persuing to this day.
I was STUPID, I should have gone to Russia then, which was one of my lifetime dreams which I would not be able to fullfil in this life.
I had some hoppers at the Kandyan Arts Residency for my last dinner.
Hoppers are for my last meal whenever, I go abroad for a long stay.
