Delectable Royal Thai Business Lunch

Dilanka Mannakkara

Sri Lanka surprisingly has a handful of Thai restaurants and the undisputed King of them all, Royal Thai at Cinnamon Lakeside Colombo, has been the gourmet diner's place for exclusivity, superior quality, delectable taste and fantastic ambience.

Royal Thai has exceeded many a discerning diner with their authentic and scrumptious Thai delicacies and has launched their Business Lunch yet again for those busy executives yearning for a quality Thai meal.

Dining at Royal Thai gives you the same feeling of being at the Land of Smiles with soft Thai music and elegant décor magnifying its Royal Thai presence.

The set menus are matched perfectly with a starter, a soup, a delicious main meal with two meats and vegetables and a yummy dessert to finish it off. Chef Aree Jitman, well known to diners as 'Mama' presents each and every flavorful dish which symbolizes the poignant Thai touch. The flavours you expect from authentic Thai - lemongrass, kaffir lime, ginger, cilantro - all come out well in their dishes and are nicely balanced.

Soup and Starter

A tamarind juice was first served by the excellent and courteous staff at Royal Thai. The tamarind juice which is a favorite in Thailand was both salty, sweet and the tanginess wasn't over powering. The set menu which I savored included a Mango salad and Chicken spring roll as appetizers. The Mango salad (Som Tum Mamuang), the sister version of the famous Som Tam (Thai papaya salad) is a winner and is excellent. They also serve Chicken satay and seafood doughnuts as appetizers.

Then the soup was served and I opted for a chicken soup which was absolutely delicious. The soup was a thick milky soup full of flavor and there were generous portions of chicken strips.You also have the option of selecting a 'Clear soup " as well.

Mains

The main meal mean usually includes fried rice/noodles or steamed rice, two meat items and a vegetable. I opted for the more extravagant fried rice which was one of the best Thai fried rice dishes I have tasted. The fried rice has a tad bit of spiciness than usual Chinese fried rice and is more flavorosome. Royal Thai's signature Red curry chicken is an accompaniment and is a MUST TRY. The red curry over the years at Royal Thai has had the same texture and flavors and has crowned glory as the best Red curry in Sri Lanka.

Have your red curry with a bowl of steamed rice and trust me it's heavenly. The Mixed vegetable green curry is another famous dish which is also included in their Business lunch menu and is best eaten with a bowl of steamed rice.

The other meat options are Cuttlefish and Fishand not to worry Vege lovers, there is an exclusive Vegetarian menu for you'll which includes delightful dishes such as Kangkung and Long beans. The Business lunch has an array of desserts to choose from including fruit salad, candied banana with Vanilla ice cream and Thai Mung Bean Cake. The Thai Jelly with sweet coconut sauce which I had is a favorite of Chef Mama and isn't overly sweet or heavy.

The business lunch is too good an offer to be missed, so head your way towards Cinnamon Lakeside to grab that quick lunch while entertaining your client to discuss the next big deal!