Hotels

A White House Mother’s Day at MLH

What’s the best place for food, wine, and entertaining to the White House and indeed especially for Mum? Mount Lavinia Hotel is all ready to captures the unique culinary creations served at the White House.’

“For the last eleven years, I have had the honour of doing daily what most chefs would be lucky to do once in their life time. That honour was serving the First Family of the United States”. These are the words of Walter Scheib as his forte lies in serving up a taste in stories and recipes of his eleven years as the White House chef under Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush from a unique vantage point.

The kitchen, which now will be presented to Sri Lanka on May 16 at the Mount Lavinia Hotel, where a state dinner inspired by Walter Scheib himself will be stately presented at the Empire Ballroom

The evening will consist of a mock oval office taking on the ambience and the highlight of the evening will be the American cuisine prepared to the simple family meals to elaborate and formal State Dinner recipe creations which dazzled and delighted White House guests including Nelson Mandela, Emperor Aikihito, Jacques Chirac, Boris Yeltsin, Vaclav Havel, Lady Diana Spencer, Tony Blair, Vicente Fox, and others, not to mention the thousands of congressional members, journalists and other House visitors who got to know his food.

Scheib’s White House achievement was his creation of a distinctly American repertoire for the nation’s First House. He will continue his repertoire in Sri Lanka with eloquence and pride about America’s bounty as well as White House remembrances that ranged from State Dinner Secrets to throwing the White House Birthday Party.

He will touch on concepts such as White House style cocktail reception, First Lady Luncheons, State Dinners and Outdoor ‘South Lawn’ barbecues and picnics and most of all the fascinating White House insider’s anecdotes, culinary insights, team building and bonding, as well as, exercises with a culinary twist; hands-on cooking demonstration and interaction.

“Scheib will go beyond the kitchen when he will share what it is like to be part of President Clinton’s motorcade (the ‘security bubble’) and inside the White House during 9/11, revealing how he first evacuated his staff and then comes back to fix meals for hundreds of hungry security and rescue personnel. Scheib will move on to describe his approach to meals ranging from the intimate (rooftop parties and surprise birthday celebrations for the Clintons; Tex-Mex brunches for the Bushes) to his creative approach to bringing contemporary American cuisine to the “people’s house” (including innovative ways to serve state dinners for up to seven hundred people and picnics and holiday menus for several thousand guests), “states Mr Anura Dewapura, General Manager Mount Lavinia Hotel.

“Scheib has proven that he can pretty satisfy any palette, and I had the privilege of working with him in an occasion in the US, which was an experience of a lifetime,” GM Anura Dewapura said.

The White House Dinner menu:

Sesame Crusted Sole Filet with Red Curried Sweet Potato Soup

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Roasted Baby Beet Salad, Arugola and Sour Cream

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Apple Martini Sorbet

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Trio of Tequila Glazed Smoked Angus Tenderloin, Free Range Chicken and Lamb

Warm Fruit Salsa

Chipotle – Corn Sauce

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Artisan Cheese Tart

Avocado, Orange and Sweet Onion Salad

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Peach and Blackberry Cobbler

Honey and Lavender Ice Cream

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Celebrating Mother’s Day

The idea of celebrating Mother’s Day the world over is to pay tribute to mothers for all their love and support and to make them feel special.

The Galle Face Hotel has made elaborate plans to celebrate Mother’s Day with a special and an exciting brunch with beverages for all Moms on Sunday, May 9 at the Verandah Restaurant from 11.30 am to 3.00 pm.

The special Brunch includes Chilled Juices, Cereals, Hors D’Oeuvres, Salad Bar, Soup with assorted Breads and a live cooking show station. Added to this a yummy and a delightful dessert buffet will be offered for all.

All Moms could savour Seafood cocktails, pan fried fillet of Fish, Prawn Balls in creamy cheese sauce, Char sui chicken, Mutton and Potato curry, Hot Butter Mushrooms, Mixed Vegetable Jalfrazi with Steamed rice and Braised rice during the brunch. Grilled Sausages with BBQ Sauce, Egg station with Condiments and batter fried Cuttlefish cakes with fish fingers will be on the cards too.

An extravagant Dessert buffet for all the lovely Moms will include fresh fruits, Tira misu, Bread and Butter Pudding, Assorted Mousses, Hot Chocolate Pudding, Fruit Triffle and many more.

Live entertainment provided blending the “Old world charm” to make all Moms feel at home. A welcome drink on arrival, A Rose and home made cookies will be presented to all Moms to make it a memorable day.

For more information call 2541010 ext: 2222

Sunday Jazz Brunch for Mom

When you’re in the mood for breakfast, but your friends are in the mood for lunch, the happy occasion of brunch is the best.

Who doesn’t love brunch? A little bacon and eggs, a little half-soup-half-sandwich and everyone is happy. Put that together with Mount Lavinia Hotel, the heritage hotel that never sleeps or cooks a morning meal at home, and you know you have some mighty fine brunch fare options available.

A Raw bar if you are into Oysters, fresh prawns, a fresh salad bar with creative salads too, a waffle and omelette station, a European bread display, a carvery corner and the variety of desserts and juices Desserts are just a few to journey through and indeed a nice way to make your mom feel precious so take her Mom’s Jazz Sunday Brunch at MLH.

The modern Mother’s Day is celebrated on various days in many parts of the world, most commonly in May, though also in March, as a day to honour mothers and motherhood. “We at Mount Lavinia Hotel celebrate it on May 9 with a Jazz troupe creating the ideal ambience to complement the occasion.”

As one MLH’s Sunday brunch lover states, “Nothing too fancy before noon, brunch for us means comfort food and informal settings. Mount Lavinia Hotel more than fits the bill.”

Piece of Brazilian Slow Food

The 10th Slow Food Night at the Mount Lavinia Hotel was indeed a night of celebration. Brazilian Slow Food at the Horizon Rooftop - a venue where the view of the Indian Ocean was remarkable, enticed many a clientele to a fabulous menu served by Chef Leo.

June Aldons and her friends who are die-hard fans of the MLH decided to make it an evening of celebration when they celebrated their brother, Rick Aldon’s birthday in the midst of the event. Brazilian food caters for all tastes and standards and indeed is very high in the scale of most liked food.

There are many traditional dishes and regional specialties, such as those developed by the Bahians, during the days when they had to cook scraps and anything that could be caught locally, together with coconut milk and palm oil and indeed the evening had some recipes that emphasized the Bahian influence.

The evening was celebrated with Brazil’s eclectic cuisine varied from Brazilain Style Stuffed Eggplant salad, Gaucho BBQ with Beef, Pork and chicken, Brazilian Beef Creole, Bahian Fish Stew, Feijoada (Black bean Stew) with Brazilian Style Rice and indeed Baked Banas with Rum and Brazilian Iced Chocolate to add that sweetness to the happy ending.

Jumbo burghers fiesta

The Galle Face Hotel – Yesterdays Charm for tomorrows comfort is hosting a luscious and mouth-watering Jumbo Burgher fiesta at the Hotel Pastry shop – Pasticcino from May 5 to the 31.

These mouth-watering delightful Jumbo Burghers with crispy French fries will be on offer during the month of May from 8.00 am to 8.00 pm at the Pasticcino. With this special fiesta, the Jumbo Burghers will be offered with crispy French fries, delightful large Cream Buns and chilled Juice or Iced Coffee to fulfill your taste buds.

So say no more and go ahead to savour the yummy juicy Jumbo Burghers like Seafood, Chicken or Vegetarian. The Jumbo Burghers are also available with additional cheese toppings if you wish to enjoy more cheese.

The Combo offer which is available for two persons will include a jumbo Burger of your choice, Crispy French fries, a large Cream Bun and 02 glasses of Beverage at the Pasticcino during this fiesta. Children can also come and enjoy a complimentary Ice Cream at the Pastry shop while their parents dine during the month of May.

For more information call Pasticcino on 2541010 ext: 3333.

Tapas and Wine

It is mid-year and the combined forces of the weather and hectic workdays probably make you long for a relaxing evening amidst cool and comfortable surroundings.

Cinnamon Lakeside Colombo now has the perfect solution for a calm, cool evening with wonderful live entertainment with Tapas and Wine at The Lounge!

The Tapas and Wine promotion will be on at The Lounge at Cinnamon Lakeside C Colombo from May 13 to the 22 from 7.30pm to 11.00pm. One could enjoy them with their friends while the great lobby bands create a welcoming ambience to keep one entertained through the evening. Perfect for great conversation and catching up!

For more inquiries call 2491956.

Harpo scores

Ishara JAYAWARDANE

It has been five years since Harpo’s cafe and restaurant took over the management of Commons.

Commons was established in 1998. Harpo’s Cafe and Restaurant took over this particular outlet on May 3, 2005 steered by Managing Director of Harpo’s cafe and Restaurant Harpo Gunaratne.

“We have grown from strength to strength and we are looking forward to take it to another level”, Director Operations Kishani Karunaratne said.

Commons has a very committed clientele. Amongst them are young ones, adults, expatriates, working executives, families and the business community.

They all patronize the Commons. The Commons also has a huge business clientele as well such as embassies, Non Government Organizations, business organizations and UN organizations. We have a very good clientele base.

“Commons was very small those days. It didn’t have so many staff, so once we took over we expanded Commons and introduced small things, got more staff and got them employment. It is all inhouse training.

I am proud to say that we have had some staff members who have joined Commons without any previous experience and with the training they received they are now employed overseas.

Another lot has come in now. Some have two years experience and some are freshers”, added Kishani.Kishani explained that most of the employees are on the job training. When they come they are briefed and they get into the routine.

Harpo Gunaratne’s take overs include Bay Leaf, Commons and one of his new introductions are Harpo’s pizzas in Maldives and all have been equally successful.

“The team at Commons is very close knit. Every month we have promotions towards the last week of the month, we have competitions going on to keep the customers excited. We have oversee guests who come looking for Commons,” Kishani said.

Culinary Journeys with Dharshan

Dulshani GUNAWARDENA

A ‘scrumptious’ journey into the world of culinary delights and sizzling taste buds with Culinary Journeys with Dharshan will soon be on air from May 10th.

Presenting the witty and feisty chef, Dharshan Munidasa, the thirteen episode series takes a twist on ETV Channel from the soft treaded path of labourious cooking woes.

Dharshan takes the the viewer from the seemingly simple task of picking the best ingredients to the daunting dilemma of preparing mouth watering dishes, with clear and concise guidance.

”When she heard I was going on air cooking, my fourteen year old daughter told me to throw away the apron,” Dharshan grins. “It was an order I willingly obeyed, wanting to be one with my viewers.”

Half Japanese, half Sri Lankan, Dharshan was the then owner of Nihonbashi, an ethic Japanese Restaurant at Galle Face Terrace.

Marking a first in the Sri Lankan television arena, Culinary Journeys take the audience on an exploration of locales, with shootings far flung from the Negombo Market to Japan and Singapore.

”We want to show Sri Lankans a Sri Lanka they have not seen” is Dharshan’s unofficial motto.

“For example, Sri Lanka has a bounty of fresh sea food, a bounty we rarely choose to appreciate!”

Viewers will be also able to access weekly recipes via the website, ww.etv.lk, email and SMS.