Being an island nation, we Sri Lankans have a fine culinary heritage in terms of enjoying seafood. In the recent past seafood has been somewhat expensive in the local markets, be that as it may, our desire for the delights of the oceans depths compel us to indulge in seafood! At the Ocean Restaurant you are really given an extensive choice for lunch or dinner. Located on the ground floor, the restaurant takes in an intense view of the sea. The dark blue and light blue chairs seamlessly convey the “aqua” essence to the venue, in contrast to the large stone wall on the left. As one enters the Ocean a wine cellar encased in glass captures your focus, as the bottles display some of the refined wine from across the globe. Again, we as a people are not too keen to pair our salmon fillet with a glass of wine, but we must enjoy food the right way. The table décor was somewhat unique, blue roses! Though dyed it was a nice way to maintain the “blue” atmosphere.
Glancing through the menu I was amazed to see the choice of seafood, presented in the cooking style of Thai, Japanese (72 preparations), Italian, and Sri Lankan. The venue serves both, a la carte and cooked to order dishes (as per grams desired). The latter is chosen from a lovely wooden ark complete with a mast and tiny seaman’s lamp, which has a large glass panel wherein reside prawns, seer fish, modha, salmon, maduwa, mud crab, lagoon crab, red snapper, lobster, tuna, cuttle fish, octopus and fish roe (eggs). Octopus has yet to capture the minds of local gourmets, but it is a good source of nutrition.
A small glass tank has a pyramid of oysters, the best way to hold them until chosen for the plate.
Behind this counter the glass panels allow you to witness the cooking area where chefs clad in blue are busy, as many executives were already seated for lunch.
Under the guidance of Executive Chef Kithsiri, the team beautifully captures the essence of live cooking. After placing my order I opted to have a king coconut mocktail induced with watermelon, a good choice on a very hot afternoon.
The appetizer of Japanese seafood with wasabi sauce arrived. The plate could have had a bit more colour, but the taste was authentic.
The main course items were fish roe cooked in black pepper, mixed Thai seafood (with oysters, mussels and prawns) and a grilled fillet of modha.
The fish roe in black pepper sauce was brilliant, maintaining the softness of the hundreds of tiny tender eggs inside yet cooked finely on the outside. It was a real treat as one does not get to eat fish roe for lunch!
The Thai dish was also well balanced, again the mussels were nice- not a seafood element one eats often. The grilled modha could have displayed a bit more golden brown but was good. Having concluded this meal which was served in the right portions, dessert was a small portion of Belgium chocolate tart encrusted in sauce.
Having won a global award recently the Ocean offers a refreshing seafood experience.