The magic of pinches of spices

by Devanshi Mody

When I heard about the World Spice Festival, curiosity brought me all the way to Sri Lanka to check out what it was.

Well, I discovered that it was a week of gastronomic festivity (14-21 September) during which guest international chefs, especially flown over for the event, titillated Colombo's taste buds with the exotic culinary specialities of their nation over The overwhelming response to the first Spice Festival established Colombo's taste for international cuisine. So the city's top culinary destinations indulged the nation anew with delectable dishes from their signature chefs.

Participating hotels and restaurants included: Cinnamon Grand (Moroccan), Trans Asia (Vietnamese), Holiday Inn (Moghul), Galle Face (Mexican), Galadari Colombo (Arabic), Taj Samudra (South African), Ceylon Continental (Indonesian), Colombo Hilton (Chinese), Water's Edge (Singaporean), Mount Lavinia Hotel (Thai), The Gallery Cafe (Thai), Raja Bojun (Sri Lankan) and The Mango Tree (North Indian).

Cinnamon Grand truly captured the spirit of the festival. Their decor was unrivalled: Morocco was re-created with stuffed camels, traditional Moroccan bits and bobs, a belly dancer et al. Chef Isam Sedouk from Dubai's prestigious Madinat Jumeirah explained that Moroccan rasse al hanout and mrozia mixtures, essential garnishing for his staggering range of dishes, comprised between 15-25 spices. He revealed that saffron was more expensive than gold and quipped that indispensable mint tea, was "the whiskey of the Arabs"

Fit for a Maharaja

At Trans Asia, subtly spiced Vietnamese cuisine and tangy tofu salad was complemented by the sweetest service. Mr Wendel Rebeira, the dynamic and youthful new F&B Manager, with experience in the world's leading hotels and resorts, ensures that his staff offers world cuisine with world-class service.

Mr Rebeira has been especially summoned to oversee the re-launch of Trans Asia as Cinnamon Lake. With an exciting new concept and imaginative team behind it, Cinnamon Lake promises to be the place to be next year.

The Holiday Inn seduced with a most sumptuous spread- a meal fit for a Maharaja. A packed restaurant attested to the culinary prowess of in-house Chef Santosh Chaniyal and the perennial popularity of Indian cuisine.

Chef Chaniyal, who comes from the Himalayan State of Uttaranchal, elaborated on the unique flavour and fragrance of each of his wondrous creations, which comprise the entire gamut of spices: cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, cumin, nutmeg, turmeric, pepper... and declared that the secret of his cooking was about getting proportions right: "The magic of pinches. Pinches of spices." With a formula like that, you cannot go wrong!

Amongst the most impressive visiting chefs were at the Gallery Cafe. Their Thai green curry was the yummiest thing this side of Bangkok. The Thai stall in the garden blended seamlessly with the enchanting outdoor setting. The Cafe throbbed, even on a Tuesday night, with Colombo's cream (including Rosy Senannayake) sipping Thai cocktails, relishing spicy cinnamon and ginger ice cream and tapping their toes to hip music.

New avatar

Galle Face's quaint colonial aura took on a new avatar during the Spice Festival, when waiters sporting colourful Mexican ponchos added an air of gaiety. But the magical old world charm of this legendary institution ever pervaded, even as guests revelled and reeled from a surplus of Tequila shots offered during the promotion. The young chef who prepared some super spicy concoctions said I would never forget him. I shan't!

The Galadari's authentic Arabic cuisine was very nice- what lovely falafels, mmm... And they had a wonderful selection of gorgeous sweetmeats, not too sweet (unusual for Colombo...). Indeed, the desserts elicited praise from tourists. Someone was heard gushing, "They have used so many real nuts!"

Certainly, there was no compromise on the quality and quantity of the finest ingredients used. At the Taj, one discovered the curiosity, South African cuisine. One wondered why the Taj did not host an Indian festival when the Navaratna arguably serves the country's finest Indian cuisine.

At Ceylon Continental, dressed for dinner were not just guests: staff exhibited stunning Balinese costumes whilst Balinese dolls lent an exotic air, as did a bewildering array of desserts of all colours, shapes, sizes....

There were oodles of noodles at the Hilton where the Beijing Chef delighted audiences with demonstrations of his noodle-making skills. Water's Edge went global: besides the Singaporean cuisine they were promoting, was everything from kottu rotti to naan and pasta.

The festival, which is held annually in September, is a wonderful opportunity for tourists to savour the cosmopolitan flavour of Colombo. Next year's World Spice Festival promises to be spicier still, for those who like it hot. Oh yeah!