‘Grazing’ at Hilton

By Madushka Balasuriya

As part of the first phase of its lengthy refurbishment project, the Hilton Colombo last month unveiled the latest jewel in its culinary crown: GRAZE Kitchen. 

On the surface, like many competing establishments, GRAZE offers a selection of cuisines, five to be precise – Western, Japanese, Indian, Sri Lankan, and East Asian – each of which have their own dedicated kitchens and chefs. Yet dig a little deeper and the underlying concept becomes a clearer.

“It’s a journey, you will be grazing. It’s not done in the way of a typical buffet,” noted Hilton Colombo Executive Chef Kazi Hassan, highlighting the absence of “big chafing dishes full of food”. “You need to walk around. People will mingle, people will try the food, that’s how it is done.”

The first thing you notice is that the restaurant is long, easily accommodating 200-plus diners. The food stations are scattered along half the length of the entire area, while the rest is allocated for seating. Two private dining rooms are also available, with one seating up to 40 people.

It is also clear that a great deal of attention was paid to the decor. From the metallic gazelles adorning the wall near the entrance to the strategically-placed stone structures above the food stations, there is a distinct feeling of wandering through sub-Saharan Africa.

Salads

As you enter the restaurant, the first aspect that catches your eye is the salad corner, as the freshness of all the ingredients with their vibrant colours perform an admirable job of whetting your appetite for the evening ahead. 

Along with your expected salad ingredients, GRAZE offers a selection of dehydrated fruits, dehydrated coconut, as well as nuts and even sun-dried tomatoes, a majority of which are home-grown. 

With an empty bowl in place at the counter for diners to toss their own salad, patrons are urged to try and mix and match the various ingredients on offer. But for those who don’t want to go through the hassle, there is a selection of small individual pre-assembled dishes, which can be devoured in a few mouthfuls.

We tried a couple and the stand out was easily the Prawn, Avocado and Orange salad. Coming in a close second was the Thai Papaya Salad, with its surprising peppery kick instantly bringing to mind an old childhood favourite in achcharu.

Mediterranean

Right next to the salads is the Mediterranean section where you get a selection of Western foods; gourmet is definitely one of the first words that come to mind when tasked with describing the range of items on offer. There was a choice of pizzas, carved meats, pastas, a rotisserie and grill offering a selection of made-to-order items, as well as casseroles, roasted vegetables, and enchiladas.

The pastas also came in cute rustic, terracotta dishes, which had the dual purpose of ensuring that your main plate wasn’t filled up while at the same time controlling the amount of pasta you would eat in one go (“We don’t have chafing dishes full of pasta.”). 

As far as flavours went, the Spaghetti Bolognese was good enough to eat on its own, while the Penne with white sauce proved slightly bland on its own, but I feel that was by design, as it provided the ideal accompaniment to the Tandoori Marinated Roast Lamb, the Lemon and Thyme Marinated Roast Chicken and Oriental Spiced Crispy Pork with Kochchi Mayo, which were some of our favourites.

Japanese

Continuing along on our graze we came to the Japanese section which served freshly-made sashimi, maki, and nigiri, along with individual portions of Japanese salad. “The look we try to give here is more in line with the Japanese theme,” explained Chef Kazi and it was certainly the case with the rustic accents of the Mediterranean section replaced by traditional Japanese porcelain.

We tried the sashimi and nigiri, as well as the prawn salad. The Prawn Salad was by far the highlight, but that’s not to take away from the Tuna Sashimi and Nigiri, which when paired with some fresh wasabi held up extremely well when compared to other chains in Colombo.

Indian

Right next to the Japanese was the Indian section. Served in giant, gold-plated metal pots, you’re instantly transported to thoughts of a grand Indian palace. To make the experience more authentic, also on offer are special metal bowls and plates to organise your own personal naan and curry feast, with large wooden rays at hand to carry your entire selection back to your table. 

I preferred the roti parata to the butter naan in terms of flavour, while the two dishes I tried – Paneer Kofta and Mutton Rogan Josh – were ideal fodder for my vegetable biriyani. But the item that really blew me away was the Lamb Kebab, with its tenderness truly something to behold; managing to fall apart at the slightest provocation, it yet somehow held itself together while on the skewers. The mint chutney accompaniment we tried it with proved to be the ideal flavour foil.

We also tried the tandoori chicken, which was crispy on the outside and juicy and tender on the inside. Absolutely no complaints.

Sri Lankan

“It is tasty food. One of my favourite sections. As a foreigner I get really excited with these things,” gushed Chef Kazi. 

Looking at the selection on offer, he wasn’t kidding around. While we were unable to try any of the items from the station, the coconuts, cinnamon, spices and even jackfruit which decorated the station helped create a truly Sri Lankan feel. From the standard rice and curry to sweet potato with coconut shavings to a veralu achcharu, nearly every savoury Sri Lankan delicacy was on offer.

East Asia

The final station was East Asia, combining both Chinese and Thai cuisines. Much like the rest of the stations, all the expected elements were present; the dim sum in particular was delicious, and that was little surprise as Chef Kazi raved about the Sri Lankan Chef in charge of the station as making “some of the best dim sum I have ever tasted”. Can’t disagree there.

The Thai food was equally impressive; we tried the Double Cooked Pork, Honey Glazed Chicken, Thai Omelette and Shrimp and Corn Fried rice, all off which complemented each of the other items perfectly. The crispiness and flavour of the omelette in particular makes it a must-try.

Desserts

GRAZE definitely offers one of the more varied selection of desserts in Colombo, with a whole section dedicated to purely Sri Lankan items. But by the end of the meal my companion and I were stuffed to the brim, meaning we only tried a couple. 

The ones which stood out were the Creme Brulee, and really anything with chocolate. Hilton know their chocolate and GRAZE is no exception from the Chocolate Mousse to the Chocolate Dome and Chocolate Brownie. 

The Tiramisu too deserves a shout, which could only be described as an introduction to Tiramisu; it’s much creamier than the tiramisu you might be used too, but it makes it accessible for someone who might not be too keen on an overpowering coffee flavour.

Recommendation

The concept GRAZE provides is an interesting one. My companion and I spent three hours on our dining excursion, and I feel that is the way to approach it. If you try to restrict yourself to just one cuisine you might end up disappointed, as there’s no large spread of just one type of cuisine. The recommendation would be to mix it up, get into the concept of grazing and try and really enjoy yourself. As Chef Kazi says “You finish one section, have a drink, relax, and then move on to the next. That’s grazing.”