Good Chinese, This Chinese New Year

2017 Jan 29

by Ridhmi Subaseela

So we’re almost a month into a brand new year and it’s safe to say that our NYE hangovers have been nursed, the list of potential celebrity deaths rewritten and those whimsical fantasy New Year resolutions of losing weight already taking their final dying breaths. Now we can hunker down and accept the lack of a “new year, new us”. But wait, what’s this?! Another New Year you say?! A Chinese New Year?! Well surely we must celebrate! And what better way than feasting on every plate of greasy, scrumptious plate of Chinese food we can get our grubby paws on? Pulse is here to show you just a few places to satisfy your Chinese food cravings, because you know, this is totally to pay respect to the Chinese New Year and not at all  because we need to drown our sorrows in soy sauce and ajinomoto.

Before we move further, the writer would like to state that she is no food critic and the following is all a matter of personal opinion.  

For the traditional experience

• Peach Valley

With (relatively) cheap and decent food, Peach Valley is one of the places in Colombo that does Chinese right. Their noodles are great and you can always depend on them to serve up large portions. They’ve fixed up their furnishings and décor but if you’re not a fan you can always take out.

• Moon River

One of the few spots that offers authentic Cantonese food, Moon River is cheap and has a good variety of food to choose from, which is probably the reason for it always being full. However, their interior isn’t all that great and the chances of your meal being accompanied by another table’s conversation is high. Probably best to take away here.

• Min Han

This place has been a bone of contention between me and my friends for a while now. While they agree that the place itself is pretty shabby and grungy, they claim that the food is excellent. Even just the rice there is really quite good; you can even have only that by itself. It’s cheap and provides you with a nice mix of Sri Lankan and authentic Chinese food to choose from.

For date night

If you feel like spending this Chinese New Year with your significant other and want something that meets the mark in terms of ambience and good food, these restaurants are for you.

• Tsing Tao

This one of those places that manages to perfectly strike up a balance between fancy enough for a date and not making us cry over our empty wallets at the end of the meal. Its long glass windows overlook the rugby pitch on one side and the (at night) serene Colombo streets, which adds to the cozy ambience. Their extensive menu provides you with a brilliant selection of flavoursome Chinese food. It’s quite a fancy experience and the closest yours truly will get to fine dining.

• Loon Tao

Coupled with mouth-watering seafood dishes and a great beachside location, Loon Tao in Mount Lavinia is legit. Its cuisine is slightly more authentic than the typical Sri Lankan Chinese food that we usually get. The beautiful interior is just perfect for date night and even for a nice dinner with the fambam, or really anyone looking to get their seafood craving fix.

For those who fancy a social lubricant

This Chinese New Year falls on a weekend and if you’re in the mood to have a few drinks with your friends alongside your dinner we’ve got you covered.

• The Station

A pretty chill, beachside restaurant, known for its cheap prices and signature Hot Butter Cuttlefish. Their food is consistently well made and combined with its location overlooking the Dehiwala beach, makes for a perfect place to pair a nice cool bear (the best beers are the cold ones) with your dinner.

• Mintage

Mintage is one of our favourite eateries, with its cheap booze and casual ambience. Its Chinese food is always quite good and their portion sizes are nothing to complain about. The succulence of the food, the affordability and the fact that it’s not too fancy at all ticks off all the right boxes. It gets crowded very fast though, especially on a Friday night so make sure to book table beforehand.

For the couch potatoes

Feeling lazy and asocial this Chinese New Year? No worries, just get the food delivered straight to your home from these places which are best suited for take-out and delivery for the most part.

• Silver Spoon

Silver Spoon is a small-ish place in Pelawatte that started off as a nice family restaurant. Now, the place looks run down and sad but what hasn’t changed is the quality of the food. Super flavourful, spicy when needed and with their massive potions, this place really hits the spot in terms of their food. Pick it up or have it delivered and have yummy leftovers for the next day.

• Shandong The Chinese Kitchen

Shandong has a simple set up and does good Sri Lankan Chinese food, with a few authentic dishes available on the menu as well. The ambience leaves much to be desired but their selling point is the delivery; cheap, punctual and far reaching.  

• Chinese Dragon

One of the classics, it serves up reliable Chinese food even though it may not always be top notch. Stellar delivery though and it really delivers to almost anywhere. Its Pelawatte branch for instance delivers all the way up to Polgasowita (truly the middle of nowhere).

A bit of everything

• OakRay Flower Drum

With chili paste being its apparently winning quality, the food at Flower Drum has been serviceable for a while now. It’s been around for a long time and even though standards of the food haven’t been maintained all that well, it’s still a quick and easy Chinese food fix.

• Xilaton

Xilaton is somewhere you can get plentiful potions of really good Chinese food. It has abundant parking and easy access considering its right on High Level road.  The food is tasty and well-made but it can be a bit on the pricey side.

And there you have it. Let’s thank the Gods for the excuse courtesy of the Chinese New Year, for us to stuff our faces with some of the best Chinese food Colombo has to offer.