Ekamuthu Kaema at the Coconut restaurant at Cantaloupe Aqua

Sharing food and playing host is an important part of Sri Lankan culture, with the bulk of social events and celebrations centered on food. Sri Lankans in particular are known to splurge regardless of the occasion. Ekamuthu Kaema at the Coconut restaurant at Cantaloupe Aqua harmonises cuisines of several ethnicities to make a tantalising treat that unites people.

“Sometimes our only real connection to a person from a place very far away or from a different ethnicity is through cooking or food in our culture. It’s also amusing how Buddhists often like wattalapam and Muslims crave for kiribath and yet none of us know the exact taste of a fine lamprais,”said Imran Naufal, General Manager at Cantaloupe & Co

Ekamuthu is the Sinhalese word which means unity. Cantaloupe & Co, which places a great deal of emphasis on celebrating ethnic diversity and unity, has decided to use food as a medium for people to connect.  This rationale led the culinary team to cook up a dish that shows ethnic diversity through local cuisine.

“Ekamuthu Kaema is a multi-cultural culinary feast served on a long banana leaf. The banana leaf has been used by cultures as a serving medium from Sinhalese, Muslim, Tamil and even the Dutch inspired Lamprais. The Banana leaf creates the platform of unity and presents varieties of meats, vegetables, and carbs prepared in different styles and presented tastefully on the leaf,” said Chef Nandana Wanigesekera, at Coconut. He added that the essence of Ekamuthu is to mix and match different culinary styles and dishes to be paired in ways where they complement each other. 

Coconut Restaurant at Cantaloupe Aqua is a feast for your senses, and the menu will tease your taste buds with a selection of Western, Asian fusion and Thai cuisine, including plenty of ocean fresh fish and seafood.

Blessed with spectacular views of the ocean, the beach front restaurant in Galle is open all day for drinking, grazing and dining. Inside, tables sit beneath colorful photographs of Sri Lanka whilst at night tables spill onto an elevated deck, open to the skies which feels like the hull of a boat. 

Nandana, Cantaloupe Hotels and Coconut’s Executive Chef, just returned after completing a culinary course at the world famous, Blue Elephant Cooking School. Fusion-fare is Coconut’s forte. When describing Chef Nandana’s technique, the characteristically shy Chef, becomes vividly animated by his passion. 

In this world, there is no greater medium than food to unite people of conflicting natures. Whether the difference is philosophical, political or even dietary, just about everyone will put aside differences to come together and eat. Coconut is setting the trend for connecting communities culinary-wise!