La Rambla – Reviewed

by Nishara Fernando

What’s up foodies! If you’re pondering upon places to visit for your next Instagram post, you must check out La Rambla! Located down Hotel road, this is a spot that you have to drop in if you are in/around Mount Lavinia (be it with family or with your machangs).

Ambience

La Rambla sits right in front of the church of St. Francis of Assisi. Giving you the very homely vibe, we felt extremely conformable sitting down for dinner. They even have little tables outside if you want to grab some fresh air. Although the place is usually very busy, the staff are very friendly and hospitable, and will do everything they can to assist you despite the crowd.

Drinks  : Pineapple Passion (Rs.390), Lemon Grass Ice Tea (Rs.390), Sure Shot (Rs.390)

As someone who loves drinks as much as the food it comes with, these drinks had me impressed from the start. If you happen to pass La Rambla on a sunny day, I suggest you make a quick stop to quench your thirst with these refreshing drinks.

My personal favorite was the classic lime and mint soda (Sure Shot). Nothing brings out your love for lime like this drink (other than your amma’s lunu miris of course).

Second to the soda was the lemon grass ice tea, which was probably the best I’ve ever had. The lemon grass didn’t overpower the drink, which I believe is something to look out for.

However not having much of a sweet tooth, I wasn’t very fond of the Pineapple Passion since it was somewhat thick and far too concentrated with pineapples to my liking (thus the passion for pineapples, right?).

Starters :

Meat: Thod Man Pla  (Rs.790), Satay Kai/Moo (Rs.840), Khanom Pangnom Kong (Rs.890)

Salads: Som Tam (Rs.740), Yam Nuea Yang/Moo (Rs. 790)

Soup: Tom Yam Goong (Rs.740)

For starters, we were given a variety of meat (fish, chickens and prawns). Thod Man Pla had a slight crisp in contrast with its mushy interior of fish. The ingredients were well balanced and cooked well.

The Satay Moo wasn’t really appetizing. The chicken didn’t carry much taste (if any), leaving all the work to the peanut sauce it came with. The sauce however was amazing and really worked up our taste buds. Khanom Pangnom Kong was an absolute game changer. The prawns come enveloped in crunchy toast with sesame seeds, which makes it the ultimate go-to finger food.

Switching to salads, I preferred the Som Tam (papaya salad) than the Yam Nuea Moo (beef salad). The papaya was emerged with some sauce and the dash of peanuts added to the crunchy texture. They also had green chillies that cut through the mild sweetness, adding a little spice to your dish (and life).

As great as the Papaya salad was, the Yam Nuea Moo however was overwhelmed with what I believe was lime. The acidity robbed the dish of what it could have been.

Tom Yam Goong is your classic Tom Yam soup with prawns floating around. The prawns were very soft and the soup was light on the stomach.

Mains :  Gaeng Kiew Wan Chicken (Rs. 1390), Pla Yam Sam Rod (Rs. 1690), Choo Chee Goong (Rs. 1890), Pla Muek Thod Kratian (Rs. 1600), Pad Makua Yao Gai  (Rs. 1380), Khao Pad Pak (Rs. 740)

As the core of the main dish, the fried rice was cooked to perfection! You could eat this without any side dish and still be extremely satisfied. The Sea Bass (Pla Yam Sam Rod) was extremely moist and succulent, that you don’t even have to fight to break off a piece of meat. It really brings out the flavor of the ocean on your palette. Although slightly salty to my taste, you should definitely try this out if you’re a fan of sea food.

The prawns (Choo Chee Goong) put me straight back to my kitchen where I’d watch my mum make that amazing prawn curry that we would later whack for lunch. It was just the right amount of spicy with all the spices blended well in the curry. We got two types of chicken which were very different in taste. I wasn’t fond of Gaeng Kiew Wan because it was overwhelmed with lemongrass. The Pad Makua Yao however was very moist and succulent. The final side dish we had was the Hot Butter Squid, which needless to say, had nothing wrong with it.

Dessert : Khao Niew Ma (Rs. 760), Woon Gati (Rs. 540)

La Rambla does a great job with their desserts. We got the mango sticky rice (Khao Niew Ma) and the coconut jelly (Woon Gati). The coconut jelly was infused with coconut and the mango sticky rice was condensed with sweet milk and came with fresh slices of mango. I’d definitely recommend the sticky rice, 10/10.

All in all, La Rambla sure does know how to satisfy their customers. Let us know in the comments below if we missed anything or simply let us know how your experience at La Rambla was!