Mama Pudditat’s offerings on wheels
View(s):By Arrenga Nadaraja
The aroma of cakes fills the small, cosy space, accompanied by the sound of music, all under one roof at Mama Pudditat – a pink, portable metal lorry by the roadside offering freshly baked goods.
Sathya Wimalasooriya, a design graduate from Moratuwa, and her mother, Shantha Wimalasooriya, whose “passion is baking,” launched Mama Pudditat in April 2024.
So what’s behind the name? Sathya explains that it is connected with her childhood and very nostalgic for her. As a little girl, her father had bought her a book about a mother cat with three kittens. The mother cat enjoyed baking and had decided to start a home baking business to “earn money to feed her children.”
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- Baking their passion: Sathya Wimalasooriya and her mother, Shantha Wimalasooriya
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- Freshly baked butter cake
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- Chocolate Cake or Chocolate Castella with ice cream and chocolate
The Mama Pudditat concept comes from Studio Ghibli films, Japanese art and food, and how they utilise space, says Sathya, adding that her inspiration for the shop’s colours – red and pink – is from Japanese anime.
Their main focus is cake, “freshly baked cakes,” Sathya says, adding “we bake here, with no preservatives, no margarine, just butter.”
‘We care about quality,’ Sathya tells the Sunday Times Magazine, mentioning that one of her specialities, a ‘special’ cake called the Japanese Castella (a fluffy cake), has proved to a customer favourite.
The food is displayed on round stands, placed in old ovens painted in shades of pink. Pink, you guessed it, is Sathya’s favourite colour.
Mama Pudditat also offers savoury bites, such as fish patties and egg sandwiches, as well as serving hot and cold beverages like teas (ginger tea, cinnamon tea), and homemade iced coffee (infused with cardamom), “my mother’s recipe,” Sathya adds.
Sathya mentions that this is their first location, although they had previously conducted business online. She shares that since commencing operations, customers have remarked that Mama Pudditat is relaxing, adding that people say they don’t feel they are near the roadside.
When asked why this location, Sathya replied, “I was actually thinking, it’s quite a developing area, Thalawatha and Thalawathugoda; and I thought, regarding the quality of the product and the price range, that there would be a set of customers here.”
When asked why a lorry, Sathya explains that searching for places to rent was a challenge, and a lorry was the best solution for that because it isn’t a fixed option, and it’s a ‘sustainable idea.’
Sathya mentions that her parents have been a massive support, and she couldn’t have done this without them.
Mama Pudditat is located at
no. 442 Battaramulla, Pannipitiya Road, Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte 11222. Open from
10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday.
Follow them on Instagram and TikTok at Mama Pudditat or
call +94 777 359 130
for more information.
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