Lunch at FLOW

An executive lunch, an excellent spread!

​Hilton Colombo Residences offers memorable dining experiences in the newly built multi-cuisine restaurant, ‘FLOW’. The ‘open kitchen’ concept was introduced to Sri Lanka for the first time with the launch of the restaurant. The food is cooked right in front of the guests and is served right away. The restaurant offers buffet and an A La Carte menu and is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner daily.

Their lunch buffet is served at LKR 2950 per head and is worth every rupee, and is tailor made for corporate lunches and the environment settles in to provide you with that ambience. They’ve also got a Private Dining Room that is ideal for lunch meetings, private dinner parties for family, or simply for a gathering of friends for groups between 15-20 guests. Additionally, they have a Chef’s Table that can host up to 14 guests;it is a private dining room where the hotel serves tailor-made four to six course menus with a dedicated chef cooking for the guests.

Buffet

They have a massive spread ranging from Western to Sri Lankan, to Japanese to Chinese to even Indian! Below is a little recap of it all…

​Western Spread

Soup: Crab and Corn soup and Roasted Pumpkin soup

The Crab and Corn soup tasted incredible. There were chunks of crab, which is a first for soups served in Sri Lanka – which almost always only contain measly quantities of meat. The soup had a subtle smoky taste that worked incredibly well together with the chunky crab.

The Roasted pumpkin soup was a great alternative too. It had a subtle hint of sweet that we loved.

Bread

The different types of breads and croutons need an honorary mention, too, because they were so fresh! There was a dish of spiced croutons that tasted impeccable and they were a great accompaniment to the soup.

Salad bar: Chicken Salad, Creamy Pasta Salad, Chicken Curry Salad and Confit Eggplant

The Chicken Salad and the Chicken Curry Salad tasted distinctly different from one another. But in both cases, the chicken was soft, creamy and very well-seasoned. The Confit Eggplant was a first for me, and one that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Spread: Roasted Chicken, Roasted Baby Potato, Pork Stew, Crab and Fish Wellington, Grilled Vegetables and a pasta station.

The Roasted Chicken was such a treat to have. The chicken was super succulent on the inside and it wasn’t super oily either – like normal roast chicken would be. The crispy skin was definitely the highlight. This skin was so well seasoned with Sri Lankan spices that instantly added a whole new layer to the taste of the meat.

The baby potatoes were adorable! They were super crunchy on the outside and moist and soft on the inside.

Firstly, I was quite impressed to find pork stew at a buffet. The pork chunks were massive and the creamy tomato sauce it lay over was super yummy.

Now you’d usually find a Beef Wellington or a Chicken Wellington at a buffet. It’s unlikely that you’d find a crab and fish one. Unlikely, but a great match together. The texture of the crispy pie and the soft meat on the inside really put the pie to the test.

Sri Lankan Spread

Spread: Red Rice, Black chicken curry, Thumba Karawila curry, Chickpea and Cashew curry and an array of sides

The Sri Lankan spread was much grander than expected. We batted away on the curries the minute we got to our table. A special mention to the spicy and thoroughly marinated Chicken Curry and the crispy sprats! They had a whole ton of sides, ranging from achcharu to fried sprats to papadam.

Japanese Spread

Sushi bar: Mango Sushi Roll, Tempura Prawn Sushi and the Crab Sushi Roll

All three sushi rolls were commendable and were great. The little sushi bar was super cute too! I’d definitely come back for the tempura prawn sushi roll.

Chinese Spread

Make your own soup: Chicken stock with prawn, mushroom and leeks

We even got to make our own soup that tasted incredibly delicious. The most fun part was actually making it. You can either pick udon noodles or rice noodles. We chose udon noodles and seasoned it with chilli paste. Loved it!

Dumplings: Vegetable Dumplings and Pork Dumplings

The vegetable dumpling was green!! The tempered vegetables inside were coated in sauce that was absolutely delicious. The pork dumplings though – YUM!

Spread: Nasigoreng, Vegetable Noodles, Pepper Beef

I wish I had started with the Chinese spread instead of anything else. The Nasigoreng, the Noodles and the different curries tasted delicious. Chinese spices were tossed over the rice and the noodles and they tasted quite unique and authentic. The Pepper Beef too was moist and not too tough, and the sauce it sat on tasted really good with the noodles.

Indian Spread

Spread: Naan, Beef Kebabs, Chicken Kebabs

The making of the Naan is quite interesting to watch. However, the Naan was a little too doughy for my liking, but when accompanied with some curry and the kebabs you were instantly taken on a trip to North India.

Dessert

Ice Cream Kottu, Chocolate Waffle, Baked Cheesecake and Chocolate Mousse

Ice Cream Kottu, what even! So it’s basically like rolled ice cream, but instead of the whole task of layering ice cream and rolling it up, the ice cream is layered with added extras of your choice – I went with chocolate beans, cereal and nuts, and then is chopped up in a kottu-like motion. They are the only place in Colombo that offers Ice cream Kottu which is a treat to watch and have!

The Chocolate Waffle was heart-shaped and adorable. Albeit, not the best I’ve had, but it was a treat none-the-less.

I’ve heard good things about their Baked Cheesecake and it completely lived up to all expectations. The crusty base and the soft center of this cheesecake was a trip to cheesecake heaven!

The Chocolate Mousse sat in a small dense cup on top of a thick raspberry puree like sauce, and stole our hearts. The soft, rich chocolate mousse and the slightly bitter raspberry balanced the flavours of this dessert so well.

Flow is the best place for a working lunch and the buffet and ambiance is tailor made to give you a great experience!

Have you tried out the buffet at Flow yet? Let us know what you think of it in the comments below! Is there anything we’ve missed?

Tip: This is the best place for a working lunch and the buffet at Flow is tailor made for just this!