This article comes with good news for those living in Kandy. One thing I found very hard to find in Kandy was the mouth watering Sri Lankan-Chinese food that you can find in Colombo. During my 5 years of living in Kandy, I have tried many places hoping to find that wonderful Sri Lankan-Chinese taste you get almost everywhere in Colombo but ended up in disappointment every time.
I came across a new restaurant named Kumbuka a few months ago. Located in the heart of Kandy, this restaurant is unique due to its location, decor and food. This was the kind of place you would take someone who was visiting Sri Lanka or friends visiting from out of town, as it would give you a real feel of the unique dining experience in Kandy.
When you first walk into this restaurant, you have to climb down a flight of steep stairs which reminded me of when I climbed Adam's peak. These uneven steps lead to a beautiful restaurant.
Located right next to the gushing waters of the Mahaweli river, this restaurant is a social distancing dream as each table is placed inside a handmade mud hut. What I loved about Kumbuka was that every single hut in the restaurant was built from scratch by the hands of its owners. I got the chance to have a short chat with one of the owners. He mentioned that he and his partner would visit the site in the morning and start building each hut with their bare hands before heading off to work. Being personally made by the owners of the restaurant, every single hut had a beautiful story of its own. Each hut can accommodate up to eight people.
You would expect a place of such beauty to have some flaw but no, the food here is out of this world.
I have visited Kumbuka nearly 10 times, and each time I have ordered their signature River Fish dish. The fish is incredibly fresh and is fried to perfection. It comes with a side of onions and lime sambol. I would recommend this dish even to those who don't generally enjoy eating fish.
My recommended dishes at Kumbuka are the River Fish, Singapore Noodles, Hot Butter Cuttlefish and Devilled chicken. They also have special dishes such as wild boar available on certain days. They have a wide menu with a variety of cuisines ranging from Chinese, Indian, Malaysian and Sri Lankan.
One of the best parts about this place is that it's BYOB. We would always take a couple of beers with us to enjoy while having our meals, and you can also take a dip in the river before or after meals.
I must admit that I am glad that we finally have a place in Kandy where we can go with our friends, family or kids and just relax, have a drink followed by a dip in the river and enjoy a reasonably priced good meal.
