stumbling upon the good life – savoring food, discovering wine, and exploring places
From the monthly archives:
Shopping and eating – two of my favourite things!
The Gallery Café is an oasis in the busy city of Colombo in Sri Lanka. Situated within the former office of Sri Lanka’s renowned architect, Geoffrey Bawa, the Gallery Café is part restaurant, part boutique, part art gallery, part gift shop.
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A gem of a boutique hotel overlooking Lake Koggala
A few miles from Galle City Center lies a truly special retreat, Kahanda Kanda. Amid a lush tea plantation, Kahanda Kanda sits on 9.9 acres of tropical tranquility. 5 villas are elegantly and tastefully decorates in that distinctive style of Sri Lanka. Yet somehow George Cooper, the owner and also an interior designer, has done Sri Lankan style one better with the integration of modern classics like Barcelona chairs and distinctive architectural features like the magnetic saffron wall dividing the property. [keep reading…]
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Chill beachside over heaping plates of seafood, curries and cold beer
In between tea plantations and the Galle fort, we needed a spot of lunch. Having heard the Wijaya Beach Cottage was recommended…and on the way to Handunugoda Tea Estate, this seemed like a perfect spot to chill seaside and grab a bite to eat.
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A 140-year old white tea plantation, spice and rubber tree farm
If you visit Sri Lanka, you will certainly be tempted to visit a tea plantation. And there is probably none more famous than Handunugoda – the legendary tea plantation that used to produce the famous “virgin” white tea for the Chinese Emperor Tsong. Only virgins harvested the tea, never touching it with their own hands, but instead using golden scissors and bowls to collect the tea leaves. The emperor lips were the first to touch the tea. [keep reading…]
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Thanks to everyone who came for making our second Accidental Epicurean Event a great evening. Also a big thank you to our sponsors for the evening. Suresh and the staff of El Toro Restrobar provided a cool, calm, and casual venue for us…just the right Latin vibe we needed for the night. Chris from PengWines was informative and the wines were wonderful. Anyone who can get their hands on the King from PengWines needs to do so quickly before it runs out, it’s a true stand-out wine. (pics after the jump)
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This week’s Epicurean Concept is the current “in thing” for hipsters shopping at overpriced delis and cutting edge restaurants… and oddly enough comfort food for the poor and downtrodden – Offal.
Definition from the folks at Merriam-Webster:
of·fal
Pronunciation: \?o?-f?l, ?ä-\
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, from of off + fall
Date: 14th century
1 : the waste or by-product of a process: as a : trimmings of a hide b : the by-products of milling used especially for stock feeds c : the viscera and trimmings of a butchered animal removed in dressing : variety meat
2 : rubbish
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Hey all,
We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at the Sun House in Galle, Sri Lanka. One highlight of the stay had to be the Sunday Curry Night. Our hosts were gracious enough to not only show us the kitchen during their preparations but also to share a few recipes to pass along to our readers.
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From charming colonial hotels to lovely gift shops
Please don’t stay in Colombo if you go to Sri Lanka. Even 3 days is enough to explore historic Galle and the surrounding areas. Here’s our cheat sheet for how to spend 3 days in and around Galle. [keep reading…]
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A charming retreat in colonial, seaside Galle
We are starting to stretch ourselves a bit. Having already seen a great deal of Asia, we looked at the map to see what would be within a 3-4 hour flight from Singapore. Frankly there is no shortage of options, but we wanted a new adventure…which country had we not been to this year? Sri Lanka popped up on our radar – a 3 hour and 45 minute flight from Singapore. And so it was, that we found ourselves exploring the seaside colonial town of Galle from the vantage point of the charming Sun House hotel. [keep reading…]
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For Italian food in Bangkok, most Bangkok expats have a few options top of mind – L’Opera, Zanotti, Spasso, etc. For some reason Giusto is not necessarily first recalled as an option for most… a shame as this modern Italian restaurant on Sukhumvit Soi 23 is not only a good value, but some of the best Italian food the city has to offer.
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