Going nuts for coconut at  Hilton Colombo

By Madushka Balasuriya

If you had to pick one ingredient to sum up Sri Lankan cuisine, ‘coconut’ would most likely be it. The versatile fruit/nut/seed (strike out according to preference) is ubiquitous across the entire spectrum of Sri Lankan cooking, be it in a flavoursome ‘pol sambol’, in a simple curry, or merely as a desiccated accompaniment to a healthy breakfast.

As such it’s quite fitting that for the whole of October, the Hilton Colombo will be celebrating the multifaceted coconut as part of its #EatDrinkHilton promotion, which is now into its third month.

Overseen by new Executive Chef Robert Mujagic, who started his apprenticeship as chef at a small Gault Millau & Michelin Star rated fine dining restaurant and now boasts 28 years of experience, the Colombo Hilton’s Graze Kitchen is serving up a special à la carte and set menu (Rs. 3,888 nett) up until 31 October, with four specially-made coconut-infused dishes on offer. Daily FT, alongside several others in the media, was given a sneak peak earlier this week at what you can expect, and we certainly liked what we found.

Welcome drink: Coconut, Passion and Mint Breeze

To start off our meal we were presented with a simple three-ingredient beverage concoction: coconut, passion fruit and mint leaves. With the base of the drink being king coconut or ‘thambili,’ there was no need for any artificial sweeteners, while a spoonful of passion fruit pulp – seeds included – and an aromatic hit of mint completed this delightful refresher.

Appetiser: Shrimp and Young Coconut Cocktail

Served in a coconut shell, with a generous helping of coconut copra chips, this was a dish as satisfying on the palate as it was on the eyes. The vibrancy of the delicately cooked shrimp was elevated by a liberal sprinkling of diced mango; the burst of orange and red tints on the canvass of milky white young coconut was a visual delight. In terms of flavour, coconut and mango are no strange bedfellows and complemented the shrimp exquisitely, though it was the addition of the copra chips that truly elevated the dish both in terms of flavour and texture.

Soup: Drumstick and Coconut Cappuccino (with Pol Sambol and Cheese on Kurakkan Toast)

Rarely do you associate cappuccino along savoury lines, however that’s exactly what we were presented. With drumstick and coconut the primary ingredients, Chef Mujagic and his team also somehow managed to infuse a pinkish-red hue to the soup. This added a lovely surprise element to the ensuing burst of flavour.

Served alongside the soup was a rectangular slice of kurakkan bread, topped with pol sambol and cheese, flavours every Sri Lankan would be familiar with. The pol sambol was among the best this writer has ever tasted, each subtle flavour on point with an extremely satisfying hit of spice at the end, and needless to say this combined with bread and cheese was a winner from the outset.

Main course: 

Thai Temptation

Now of course coconut is not only a Sri Lankan staple, it’s also heavily embraced by our Asian neighbours, most notably in Thailand. As such for our main course we were treated to Thai Chicken Green Curry Cooked in Coconut Cream, Coconut Rice, and Thai Style Fried Egg accompanied with Vegetable Pickles and Thai Fish Sauce. And if you thought the description was a mouthful, wait till you try the dish!

In terms of first impressions, my gaze was immediately drawn to the vivid and intense colour profile of the green curry. It then swiftly moved on to the rest of the plate which was littered with several varieties of pickled vegetables – which in all honesty made the dish rather intimidating to eat.

Enter Chef Mujagic, who informed us that the best way to enjoy it was to generously pour the rich, creamy green curry over all the components, mix it up, and get the entire gamut of flavours in each spoonful. This advice quite literally transformed the dish in terms of flavour, as having each ingredient on its own did not even come close to encapsulating the complex flavours Chef Mujagic and his team had incorporated throughout the entire plate.

Dessert: 

Honey Coconut Panna Cotta

Unquestionably the most visually pleasing of the dishes, it consisted of Coconut Panna Cotta with Manjari Cremeux, Coconut Passion Macaroon and Honey Comb. The glaze on the panna cotta at the centre of the dish is something to truly behold, as it lays on a bed of crunchy honeycomb, but these are not the only stars; the soft, chewy finish of the macaroon is beyond reproach, while the Manjari – oh my, the Manjari! – a thick, indulgent, crème chocolate made from Madagascan beans, is unreal both in its boldness of flavour and its richness. We simply couldn’t get enough.

In the end each element stands apart on its own, but put together – or mixed and matched – they still work. It’s a dish that can be enjoyed, yes, but more importantly it’s one that should be experienced. All in all, a consummate conclusion to a five-star meal.

Pix by Daminda Harsha Perera