Mirror Magazine
 

Serving many a flavour
What shall we have? Baked Crab or Chilli Orange Chicken? How about Bread Pudding for dessert? It certainly is a hard choice at Raffles. Ishani Ranasinghe finds out the latest at this much loved restaurant
Dining out… a way to catch up with your friends, fam-ily or just have a fabulous meal. One thing you can be sure is Colombo is not scarce of places to eat with eateries mushrooming every day.

Colonial charm
In existence a year, Raffles unlike most restaurants has not lost the charm that has become its signature. A colonial ninety-year-old house stands upright down Bagatalle road. Centrally located in an ideal setting, this houses Raffles Restaurant, where a beautiful garden adds to the ambience, making one feel quite at home.

Situated where Café Kent was located earlier, the restaurant can be accessed through the Galle road and the High Level road. Tony Bohoran, managing director, in association with Kent Holdings, launched Raffles Restaurant last May and it has grown to become one place everyone loves going to.

Something old, something new…
Those who will head to Raffles this month will see a few changes that have come into place as a step towards catering to a wider audience. “We will be introducing a new menu from next month,” says Mr. Bohoran, but for those of you who are worried about your favourite dishes being scrapped, forty percent of the old menu has been retained. Having decided to keep the dishes that are quite popular, you can still taste their signature dish Baked Crab along with Chili Orange Chicken, Cheese Cake and Bread Pudding.

Fusing flavours
Known as a restaurant that serves fusion food, at Raffles, east meet west where flavour is concerned. A pioneer in introducing fusion food to Sri Lanka, Tony Bohoran’s fine blend of continental and oriental flavours using the best of the fresh herbs and ingredients together teamed with unusual presentation is guaranteed to make one’s taste buds flow.

Thirst quenchers
The cocktail bar is another new addition to the restaurant. With a few specials the beverage list, it has a wide selection of cocktails, wines and other liquor. The irresistible tea cocktails Tony has created for Dilmah, is a special attraction among the few ‘mocktails’ (non alcoholic mixes). Through the bar you can make your way to the music room. With its orange rooms and the cosy black leather couches, “this is one place where you can try out your hand at singing.”

Garden Café…
Run independently the café operates on the concept of action cooking. “This means that the customer can see what is being done,” he said adding that they offer a wide variety of foods ranging from Mongolian BBQ, Sri Lankan and the regular stuff.

Bringing their delicious food closer to you is their catering division. Playing emphasis on the needs of the clients they have a wide range of menus, “You can even mix and match the menus,” says Bohoran adding that they are also specialised in doing sit down dinners and even caters to as few as six people.

When many hear the word Raffles they associate it with fine dining, “I think it’s more fine food.” A strong believer in the saying ‘value for money’ Mr. Bohoran feels his clients should get enough, and more than what they paid for hence what they have to offer have always been reasonably priced. With its charm and quaintness, combined with its great food Raffles is the place to keep in mind the next time you are thinking of your options for dining out!

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