Rice and Curry, the Quintessential Food of Sri Lanka

We arrived in Galle late yesterday afternoon, and were able to walk around the Fort a bit before dark.  (Being near the equator, the sun sets around 6:15 and then rises again about 12 hours later.)  We were looking for a restaurant to have dinner, and found that the vast majority cater to westerners, and only offer western food.  We came across a very small cafe with only three tables and a limited menu but with Sri Lankan food and very inexpensive.  Last night I had Kottu Rotty which is basically a stir-fry of sliced up roti (flat bread) and vegetables and spices--delicious!  We had a chat with one of the two young men who run it--a year ago he took a leave from teacher's college to open the business, and since then he has become fluent in English as a result of the number of foreign patrons.  I enjoyed the meal so much that I persuaded Lloyd to return for lunch today and I had Rice and Curry Vegetables.

About to enjoy a delicious lunch after a hot and sweaty morning walking around the fort!

Rice surrounded by dahl, lotus, beans and salad, and presented with a fork and spoon so that I don't have to use my hand!

I have had Rice and Curry at many places--all different.  One of the challenges is that it's usually way too much food for one person, but this little cafe was different.  This was a much more reasonable size.

An added bonus was that at the end of the meal, we had a pleasant chat with the owner of the building who was on the verandah with his grandson.  He says he has been very happy to see this little cafe do so well, especially because it's the only place within the Galle Fort walls for Sri Lankans to eat their preferred food at good prices.  Before this, they had to leave the Fort and go into the "new town" if they wanted a meal out.  And then he invited us into his home to have a lesson on precious gems.  He is a gem wholesaler, and loves to talk about his stones.  And because he's a wholesaler, he's not interested in selling to the public.  We have been invited back to view his jewelry collection.

We're enjoying Beach Haven Guest House so much so that we've decided to stay an extra 2 days and bypass Colombo.  The WiFi connection is good here too hence this posting so soon after the last one.

Tomorrow I'm taking a bobbin lace workshop all day!  We came across a shop called Shoba that is an artisan collective, and they offer one-on-one workshops.

And now we're relaxing in our room under the fan in the heat of the day...