I met a Social Media Marketing Consultant recently and he asked me if I could do a review of a Sri Lankan Cafe in Petaling Jaya and try out their crabs. Hearing the word 'Crab" I quickly obliged! The cafe was aptly named Lankan Cafe, located at Petaling Garden, Petaling Jaya.
Prior to this, my two experiences eating at Sri Lankan restaurants were at Aliyaa in Damansara and Serendib Restaurant at G Tower. Both restaurant's fare did not impress me and at the same time they were quite pricey. These two are like fine dining Sri Lankan restaurants. Sri Lanka is well reputed for their crab dishes.
Lankan Cafe is cosy and simple. It did not have much frills and was simple, cooling and comfortable, not cramped up like how some restaurants are
Lankan Cafe is cosy and simple. It did not have much frills and was simple, cooling and comfortable, not cramped up like how some restaurants are
We did our food review of Lankan Cafe on a Sunday morning.
The cafe is on the same row as Raju's Banana Leaf Restaurant and Shanar Curry House two very well reputed restaurants. In fact it is located right above Shanar Curry House, the staircase going to the First Floor of the cafe is right in between two- shop lot Shanar Curry House.
The cafe is on the same row as Raju's Banana Leaf Restaurant and Shanar Curry House two very well reputed restaurants. In fact it is located right above Shanar Curry House, the staircase going to the First Floor of the cafe is right in between two- shop lot Shanar Curry House.
My instant thought was, the cafe has to be really good to be right smack near these two very well reputed restaurant in the Petaling Garden -Petaling Jaya area..
As I waited for my fellow reviewers, I noticed an early lunch crowd coming by and they were all heading up that little staircase to Lankan Cafe. Being a Sunday the crowds were made up of mostly families.
What better testimony can a Sri Lankan restaurant get when on Sunday it is filled with Ceylonese families.
It made me wonder, why would they want a review??? . It was obvious, everyone was there for the food.
As I waited for my fellow reviewers, I noticed an early lunch crowd coming by and they were all heading up that little staircase to Lankan Cafe. Being a Sunday the crowds were made up of mostly families.
What better testimony can a Sri Lankan restaurant get when on Sunday it is filled with Ceylonese families.
It made me wonder, why would they want a review??? . It was obvious, everyone was there for the food.
When we got to the cafe we went through their extensive Menu which revolves throughout the day as they cater for Breakfast, Lunch, Tea and Dinner! Since it was a review the owners had pre ordered their signature dish and the chef had his off day cancelled because of us. No way i was going to ask to take pictures with the chef after knowing that fact!
On Sunday's they serve a buffet for RM38.00 only WITH UNLIMITED CRABS!
Cooked Jaffna style, the crabs were very similar to the Chinese Style Black Pepper Crabs but packed with a little more Sri Lankan spice!. No wonder the place was packed as we watched diners enjoy "home cooked" Ceylonese food and whack the delicious Flower Crabs.. Just like in Singapore the cafe used Flower Crabs which are easier to handle and tasty in my personal opinion.
We stole some crabs from the buffet and it was really good. Before the main dishes prepared for the review came we already dirtied our fingers and were enjoying the crabs.
The food at the buffet was quite tasty, but it was obvious many came for the crabs and Mutton with the Bone Marrow.
We started off by sampling the famous Egg Appam (RM9.00 for 2) and Plain Appam (RM7.00 for 2) which is usually a favourite appetiser or for breakfast in Sri Lanka and South India. These appams were quite delicious with the milk and brown sugar.
For the Appetiser we were served what tasted like spicy fish cutlets that were quite good and woke up our taste buds.
A signature dish at Lankan Cafe was the mutton with the Bone Marrow. For those who are experts at getting every gram of meat of the bone this is a real trip! The end this seemingly pleasurable experience by getting at the marrow with a straw or knocking it out on the plate. The Mutton was delicious, I stayed away from the bone marrow stuff but no less than 10 people in the restaurant was knocking the bone on their plates try to get the marrow out and they were totally into it!.
The next signature dish that was served was a crab dish prepared Colombo style where the curry was much darker due to the spices that were used. They used mud crabs here, i think... As we whacked more of the crabs, we used the pol roti to dip in the dhall and crab curry. The Pol Roti is roti stuffed with coconut.
The Lankan Cafe have some very nice rolls that you may wanna try during tea time. Its not to heavy and just nice for a snack if you just happen to be in the neighbourhood.The rolls go well with the curries too. It their version of the Murtabak!
The next dish that was served was Prawns cooked Sri Lankan style, it is deep fried then put in a spicy paste. If you like your prawns not too well done inform the server before you order them.. The prawns are prepared "eater friendly" as the skin easily come off,
Cooked Jaffna style, the crabs were very similar to the Chinese Style Black Pepper Crabs but packed with a little more Sri Lankan spice!. No wonder the place was packed as we watched diners enjoy "home cooked" Ceylonese food and whack the delicious Flower Crabs.. Just like in Singapore the cafe used Flower Crabs which are easier to handle and tasty in my personal opinion.
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| The Dishes that were part of the buffet for RM38.00 with Unlimited Crabs. |
We stole some crabs from the buffet and it was really good. Before the main dishes prepared for the review came we already dirtied our fingers and were enjoying the crabs.
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| The Crab we stole from the buffet cooked Jaffna Style. - Simply Delicious. |
The food at the buffet was quite tasty, but it was obvious many came for the crabs and Mutton with the Bone Marrow.
We started off by sampling the famous Egg Appam (RM9.00 for 2) and Plain Appam (RM7.00 for 2) which is usually a favourite appetiser or for breakfast in Sri Lanka and South India. These appams were quite delicious with the milk and brown sugar.
For the Appetiser we were served what tasted like spicy fish cutlets that were quite good and woke up our taste buds.
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| Spicy Fish Cutlets |
A signature dish at Lankan Cafe was the mutton with the Bone Marrow. For those who are experts at getting every gram of meat of the bone this is a real trip! The end this seemingly pleasurable experience by getting at the marrow with a straw or knocking it out on the plate. The Mutton was delicious, I stayed away from the bone marrow stuff but no less than 10 people in the restaurant was knocking the bone on their plates try to get the marrow out and they were totally into it!.
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| The Delicious Mutton Dish With Bone Marrow. |
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| Very little oil in their Mutton Bone Dish |
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| It Takes sill and patienc to finish a mutton bone. |
The next signature dish that was served was a crab dish prepared Colombo style where the curry was much darker due to the spices that were used. They used mud crabs here, i think... As we whacked more of the crabs, we used the pol roti to dip in the dhall and crab curry. The Pol Roti is roti stuffed with coconut.
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| Pol Roti goes well with the excellent Dhall Curry and Crab Curry, Pol Roti is the Sri Lankan version of Mantau ! |
The Lankan Cafe have some very nice rolls that you may wanna try during tea time. Its not to heavy and just nice for a snack if you just happen to be in the neighbourhood.The rolls go well with the curries too. It their version of the Murtabak!
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| We sampled the Rolls with the Crab Curry too |
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| Pol Roti with the Crab Curry |
The next dish that was served was Prawns cooked Sri Lankan style, it is deep fried then put in a spicy paste. If you like your prawns not too well done inform the server before you order them.. The prawns are prepared "eater friendly" as the skin easily come off,
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| Prawns Sri Lanksn style. |
At the end of this review i simply had to include the picture of one of our reviewers who is quite an expert on Indian cuisine. Watching him you could tell we had a great time reviewing the Sri Lankan fare from Lankan Cafe.
The have string hoppers or Iddiyappum and Putu too. If we had enough space in our tummy I would have loved to have tried the putu and banana, something my mom used to make. The Pottu Kottu Mutton is another mouth watering dish. For those who don't fancy rice you can have puttu, pol roti or iddiyappum with the various curries.
The Menu here is quite extensive and priced quite reasonably and competitively compared to the other two Sri Lankan restaurants mentioned above.
Lankan Cafe Menu:
If you're planning to come over, prior reservations is recommended. especially on weekends to avoid any disappointments.
.
Lankan Cafe is simply A Must Try! For Home Cooked Ceylonese / Sri Lankan Food especially the Crab dishes!
They are open for Breakfast, Lunch, Tea and Dinner.
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Other signature dishes include:
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| Pol Roti |
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| Kolayal Rice |
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| Mutton Paal Pooriyal |
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| Mutton Rolls |
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| Mutton Bone Marrow Varuval |
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| Lunch Tiffin Set |
They have a good variety of drinks with their Speciality Tea's and Coffee, Milkshakes, Mango & Strawberry Lassi and much more.
The Menu here is quite extensive and priced quite reasonably and competitively compared to the other two Sri Lankan restaurants mentioned above.
Lankan Cafe Menu:
If you're planning to come over, prior reservations is recommended. especially on weekends to avoid any disappointments.
.
Lankan Cafe is simply A Must Try! For Home Cooked Ceylonese / Sri Lankan Food especially the Crab dishes!
They are open for Breakfast, Lunch, Tea and Dinner.
Lankan Cafe,
388, 1st Floor, Jalan 5/59,
Bukit Gasing, PJ, Selangor.
Hours: Tues – Sun, 10 am-10 pm.
Tel: +603-7772-2575
Sri Lankan Cuisine in the Klang Valley:
Serendib Restauran and Bar at G Tower and Aliyaa are two fine dining & pricey Sri Lankan/Ceylonese restaurants in the Kuala Lumpur area.
The other two Sri Lankan restaurants are Restoran Yarl in Brickfields and Rasai Machan at SUNWAY.
All I can say is Lankan Cafe serves almost like" home cooked" food,making it one of the best places for Sri Lankan cuisine. Basically Authentic Sri Lankan cuisine at affordable prices
Stars:
The lost a star simply because of the simple decor.
The owners were serving us, so the service was excellent.
Reviewers: Datin Narena Nasrudin Mrs International World 2018 and Basil Douglas Anthony
388, 1st Floor, Jalan 5/59,
Bukit Gasing, PJ, Selangor.
Hours: Tues – Sun, 10 am-10 pm.
Tel: +603-7772-2575
Sri Lankan Cuisine in the Klang Valley:
Serendib Restauran and Bar at G Tower and Aliyaa are two fine dining & pricey Sri Lankan/Ceylonese restaurants in the Kuala Lumpur area.
The other two Sri Lankan restaurants are Restoran Yarl in Brickfields and Rasai Machan at SUNWAY.
All I can say is Lankan Cafe serves almost like" home cooked" food,making it one of the best places for Sri Lankan cuisine. Basically Authentic Sri Lankan cuisine at affordable prices
Stars:
The lost a star simply because of the simple decor.
The owners were serving us, so the service was excellent.
Reviewers: Datin Narena Nasrudin Mrs International World 2018 and Basil Douglas Anthony
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| The Owners of Lankan Cafe Suganthi (Left) and Theeba (Right)with one of the reviewers Mrs International World 2018 Datin Narena Nasrudin (Middle) |
