Cilantro

The art of Thai cuisine  

Cilantro is one of the newer Thai establishments in Colombo. We had high hopes for the place, one because it’s directly above Pho Vietnam and two, because it seemed to have embraced Thai culture to its core. The place is actually quite small, with very strategically place chairs and tables on what was clearly once a 3 story house. Pho Vietnam has occupied the ground floor and Cilantro has occupied the first. The setting of the place was quite mediocre, although the prices reflected a fancy to fine dining restaurant.

We weren’t as impressed with the place as we thought we’d be, partly because their service was a massive disappointment.

Drinks

The prices displayed on the menu are inclusive of taxes, and they don’t charge for the service (as far as we were told). So you don’t have to worry about “extra” charges for your food.

Thai Ice Tea – Rs. 450 

The Thai Ice Tea was a major letdown. It tasted like someone added milkmaid to an overdose of tea and somehow added some ice cubes in with the thought that it’ll all get better. But it doesn’t! Such a waste of money.

Lychee Ice Tea – Rs. 450

The Lychee Iced Tea on the other hand, was better than the unfortunate experience we had with the Thai Ice Tea. Albeit, it wasn’t as great as the one we had at Nara Thai, but it wasn’t a letdown. The drink was garnished with some sloppy mint leaves, but overall it had the right amount of refresher magic in it.

Appetizers

Mixed Vegetable Spring Roll served with Thai sweet palm sauce – Rs. 590  

In terms of presentation, the Mixed Vegetable Spring Rolls seemed sad and depressing. All we got to our table, were three lousily made spring rolls with a spoon of sweet palm sauce. As a fortunate turn of events, we were super impressed with how the spring rolls tasted. Even though the presentation was a letdown, the taste really stepped up for that curve-ball. It tasted amazing, you can actually taste the chunks of mushroom and cauliflower that were wrapped in a crispy film and gently fried. A definite recommend, because you can absolutely look past the presentation!

Lurb Gai (Rs. 690) with Sticky Rice (Rs.250)

We loved that their menu highlighted the differences between Thai salad varieties; Yum, Lurb, Tam and Phla. We decided to try the Lurb Gai, which is Chicken mixed with fresh herbs and spices. Lurb is one of the internationally well-known salads from Thailand. The spicy and sweet style of Lurb is from Laos and the one from the Northeastern Thailand has a tangy nutty flavor. We chose sticky rice as a side because the waiter recommend us to, and we were very happy with it. It was served in a small Palmyra bowl and had the right consistency and texture. The Salad though, I wouldn’t recommend you try on its own, it’s a version of slightly larger and cuboid mixed chicken bathed in some very strong flavours. It was quite spicy too! Pair it with the sticky rice, and you’ll have a treat.

Mains

Phad Thai – Rs. 850

The Phad Thai was actually pretty mouthwatering. The noodles were cooked well, and were tossed in a wok with an abundance of other ingredients. We wished it was a little heavy on the meat though. We picked the pork Phad Thai, but you can either choose to go with seafood, chicken, beef or vegetables.

Thai Style Biriyani – Rs.750

The Thai Style Biriyani was another story to tell. The dish was served in a ceramic clay pot along with raita and an onion sambol. The minute that lid comes off, the flavorful aroma from the biriyani seems to waft into the small room. The biriyani was packed with lots of flavour, the flavours were completely Mediterranean borrowed. The rice grains; much smaller and a cous cous look alike, were sticky and had absorbed the spices of the biriyani (this, probably was the Thai take on it). The beef slices placed strategically like the shape of a four leaf clover, were tender and delicious. Everything was fun and games, until I found a piece of hair in my biriyani……

Stir Fried Chicken with a Thai holy basil – Rs. 850 

The Stir Fried Chicken was actually a show stopper. Given our not so amazing experience with the salad, we did not have high hopes with the chicken. But we were completely taken aback by how amazing it tasted. The chicken was topped with a half done sunny side up, and the runny egg yolk paired with the chicken and the beans complemented each other so well. Even though Thai food is very heavy on their green beans, this dish did not overpower the beans to chicken at all.

Stir Fried Bok Choy with Garlic Oyster Sauce – Rs. 480

The Bok Choy was incredible. The portion was pretty satisfactory and so was the taste. The Bok Choy was lightly stir fried and tossed in a pool of oyster sauce. It worked well with the Phad Thai and the basil chicken.

The place, although small and prevailingly mediocre, was not that bad at all. As you walk in, you have an outdoor barbecue stand out in the front verandah of the corridor that follows into the dining area. We liked the overhead music, which was lively and full of spirit.

What was a massive letdown to us, was the service. The waiters were inexperienced and it showed. I don’t know if the “no service charge” was the reason for their inefficient service, but for whatever it’s worth, we really hope that their service improves. The food took way more than 10-15 mins to reach our table.

This was followed by the strand of hair I found in my biriyani, which again, was not a pleasant experience.

Have you dropped into Cilantro yet? Let us know what you think of it in the comments below! Is there anything we’ve missed?

Tip: Eat the food before it gets too cold. Cold Thai food ain’t a delight.