A little bit of Sri Lanka in Thailand

By Ranee Mohamed

Most Royalists are dar-ing. But classmates Ayub Muthalip, Manju Ariyaratna and Chaminda Perera take the cake!

Otherwise would they dare to open a restaurant in the heart of Bangkok where culinary delights of all sorts are simmering day and night.

And these three Royalists have taught the Thai gourmets that there is much more to Sri Lankan cuisine than rice and spice. The inside of Ayubowan, so appropriately titled is alive with the Sri Lankan spirit — with scenes of tea pluckers and carvings of the Sigiriya itself and masks and several other mural paintings that are essentially Sri Lankan.

Pla Muk Yak of The Bangkok Post recommends the Kalu Kukul Maluwa, spicy chicken with black curry and the Elu Mus Boreta.

Wines and orders of Lamprais are all part of the magic at Ayubowan which seems to be a hive of activity now. In this time of good  health and careful diets, Muthalip, Ariyaratne and Perera boast of an exclusive bar — a herbal tea bar.

Sri Lankans like Muthalip, Ariyaratna and Perera are a pride to the country. Enterprising they are in a patriotic sense. Of all projects at hand the trio seems to have chosen the most daring and the most demanding. Spices and most other ingredients have to be sent from Sri Lanka on a daily basis and even the stringhoppers and the appa and the pol roti are all there for the benefit of Sri Lankans who frequent Bangkok and for the Thais who wish to checkout what Sri Lanka is like, without having to come here.

“We have kavum and kokis too. The officials of the Sri Lankan embassy in Thailand have been very supportive and this is a very challenging and a heartening venture,” said Muthalip with a smile.

Ayub Muthalip of course has had the hospitality business as his main course in life. With his immensely successful Rasa Sayang Restaurant which began to sizzle in the 1980s, today Muthalip is also responsible for the exotic Malay Restaurant at Hill Street in Dehiwala.

“I have taken four five star Sri Lankan chefs and musicians who have worked at the Le Kandyan for five years,” said Muthalip.

The trio spoke of the similarities of Thai and Sri Lankan cuisine, but said that the food is cooked in different ways.

Situated at Kukhumvit (8) Road, Ayubowan seems a classy restaurant. It is said to be set in a spacious house with a décor of beige set alive by the essentially Sri Lankan motifs. Buddhist processions and elephants all seem to remind the diner that there are essential similarities between the two countries.