We've
seen Marina! Not the beach, but the restaurant. Lovely place, isn't it?. And then there is
Lagoon which is Marina on steroids! While Sri Lanka is known for sea food,
didn't except a scene like this in a 5 star hotel. I mean there was a full big Sting Ray on display! Phew.
Simply
the size of the fishes and crabs on display were mind boggling. The restaurant
being packed, we were happy to be seated outside by the mini stream filled with
fishes and the air with fishy odour. I guess that set the tone for the dinner
and the evening. One poor guy who was vegetarian for that night (or month) was
stuck with us and while all of us felt sorry for him, no one wanted to give him
company. He did enjoy some Kala Kung
with some green curry on his own.
Back to
the plot. Our host in Sri Lanka went all out on his orders. Cuttle Fish batter
fry, crabs, lobsters and prawns were on the table. I think our friend's heart
was also on the table, though we couldn't see it, we all felt it. Our brains
didn't, though. He said that for the
torture we were giving him and for his sacrifices, he is surely going to
heaven. And he was equally sure that we were headed to hell! Like straight!
The
Cuttlefish batter fry was an instant super hit and was washed down by all! The
fish had a slight squid-ish texture which was lovely for a batter fry, so while
the batter had the crisp, the fish was chewy and together gave us a nice combination
of textures. The prawns and the lobster thermidor were the usual with a nice
garlic butter marinade for the prawn and the usual thermidor.
The next
hit dish was the crab. The crab was not monstrous, but was large and the photo
doesn't do any justice to the size. It was about 1.3 kg and at (LKR)
Rs.700/100g, it wasn't cheap. The chilli gravy in which it was cooked had
seeped into the crab and lended its flavour a little bit to the crab!
We
finished off sharing three desserts, a simple chocolote brownie and two
different custard puddings, one with their traditional 'Seeni Sambal' on top! The meal cost our host about Rs. 35000 (LKR) which is about Rs. 16,000 for 7 of us. Yes, expensive!
Lagoon is at Cinnamon Grand, Colombo at one level below the lobby, by the swimming pool and fishy garden!
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