BISTROS OF MY CHILDHOOD

A quick ‘Google Search’ defines Bistro as a small and inexpensive restaurant. The ones we were treated to on rare occasions as kids were exactly that. Our parents could not afford to take us to hotels and fancy restaurants. In any case, there were precious few around. The ones we were taken to, did not have the word ‘Bistro’ associated in its name. In fact, it did not feature in our vocabulary. The ones we went to, had Cafe, Hotel de…., Bhavan or Lodge as part of its name. Very straightforward and uncomplicated. The patrons were never under the illusion they were dining at the Ritz.

If memory serves me correct, my first foray into a ‘Bistro’ was, when I was taken to the ABC Chinese Cafe in Trincomalee. It was the only such place in Trinco and it was located just outside the Dockyard. I cannot remember what we ate. But I distinctly remember the Egg-flip soup. I had never had an egg in a soup before. I was 4 or 5 years of age. Later, much later, my mother produced the same soup at home and it was gobbled down with great gusto.

Back in Colombo, the rare family outings for a meal was generally a dosai feed. The preferred destination was Greenlands Hotel, located in Bambalapitiya. Almost across the road was a similar establishment, Sarasvathie Lodge. Both served vegetarian South-Indian cuisine. The only difference was, Greenlands was larger and could accommodate large groups. So, that was our choice. Upstairs they had several family rooms where several families could eat without disturbing others. The chairs were metal and the tables too were metal. The table tops were marble slabs (off-white with dark-gray streaks), No table cloth. This was the general decor at all such establishments, in and around the city. All plates and tumblers were stainless steel. Each plate was insulated by a banana-leaf. This too was common to all such establishments. Some establishments dispensed with the plate and simply served food on to the banana-leaf. The choice of food was, to put it mildly, mind boggling. Various dosai, rice dishes, vadai, Idly and the Aloo-Bonda. After a meal, one went to the sink (located conveniently nearby) and washed one’s hands. To wipe your hands, you were provided with cut-up newspaper. It was all part and parcel of the experience and no one complained. After my bachelor party, my friends and I ended up at Sarasvathie Lodge, at 2AM in the morning having Kottu-Roti and Coffee.

For an “American” experience, one visited Fountain Cafe. It was located on Union Place and owned by Elephant House. It was very popular family cafe. They had a large play area for kids with various rides, merry-go-rounds, slides, swings, etc. Although there was a dining area, I cannot remember whether we went inside. The adults sat around while we played. The highlight was their signature hotdog with their special sauce. I am yet to taste anything better in this country. For afters, we got ice-cream in cones – one or two scoops. Their Iced Coffee with scoops of ice cream was legendary. We kids were not allowed to have coffee So, we got orange juice with scoops of ice cream. As long as ice cream was an ingredient, we did not complain.

Later, Fountain Cafe moved to Slave Island. As young executives we used to go there for hotdogs and iced coffee (with the ice cream scoops of course). They also had a dining area and they served a wonderful rice & curry meal at a extremely reasonable price, back in the 80s. Years later, Fountain Cafe moved close to its original location, on Staples Street. I am told that the quality of the hotdogs and the iced coffee has not diminished. They also offer hotdogs delivered home, I am told. I shall (vey soon) avail myself to that service, purely for research purposes.

As a kid with bad teeth, I was a regular visitor to the Navy Sickbay, down Flagstaff Street. As a reward for enduring the picking and drilling of teeth (and the occasional extraction), my sister and I were treated to a visit to Pagoda Cafe. It was located on Chatham Street. It was a large establishment with many tables for in-house dining and a section where you could sit and eat ‘short-eats’. We always sat there. They had a high ceiling and lots of ceiling fans to keep the city heat at bay. All the waiters wore crisp white sarongs and a white coat with their logo. It was an outline of a pagoda with two ‘Rs”, which stood for Rodrigo Restaurants. A tray of assorted short-eats were placed in front of you. A stainless steel gravy boat with tomato sauce and a spoon was always present. The tray generally had an assortment of buns, pastries, rolls and cutlets. Once you had your fill, the waiter counted the uneaten items. This way he knew what was consumed and the cashier made the bill accordingly. To me, it was unique and most effective way to tally what was consumed. As I grew older, I noticed that even other smaller establishments used the same modus operandi. For dessert, we always got ice cream with a wafer as garnishing. This was something we were not used to and loved it. Another little place in Thimbirigasyaya also served their ice cream with a wafer. It was called Coco’s Cafe.

The best place for a good Biriyani feed was Hotel de Buhari in Maradana. They too had family rooms upstairs. But I remember sitting downstairs, mostly. As school boys, when our wallets were heavy (after a birthday or Sinhala-Tamil New Year), we treated ourselves there. The centre piece was always the long oval tray carrying the Biriyani with a row of boiled eggs on top and roast chicken on the sides. As growing boys, we only left the chicken bones (stripped clean) as evidence of our handiwork.

When our wallets got lighter and started to compete with helium balloons (which was 98% of the time), we opted to patronise the smaller bistros located between the Maradana Police Station and our school, Ananda College. These served South-Indian vegetarian cuisine and were known as Bawans. Ananda Bawan was our favourite. Banana leaves were the ‘plates’ and stainless steel tumbles to drink water or tea. The main item we chose were string hoppers or dosai. The accompanying gravy (Sambar) was brought in stainless steel pails and dished out using a ladle. While it may sound (and feel) terribly unhygienic, none of us ever had a bad reaction. It only went to strengthen our immune system. Once we took two classmates who had never eaten at a bawan. They were horrified by the general atmosphere and even more horrified by the fact they had to eat on banana leaves. After much cajoling, we put their fears to rest and they enjoyed the experience. On the way out, one boy whispered into my ear and asked me “machan, do they wash those leaves and re-use them?”. Needless to say, they never joined us on our future culinary escapades.

In addition to South-Indian fare, we also had other specialities representing the various cultures in the country. Jaffna Hotel served steaming hot rice with a fiery crab curry or prawn curry. After a lunch there, very little work was done in office, post lunch. The Malay Hotel was where we went for satay, nasi goreng or for a good beef curry. We also had many Matara Bath-Kadeys, which served red-rice and a variety of ‘gamey kaema’. Although a bit more pricey, a well patronised establishment you went to enjoy German fare, was the Bavarian. Its sawn off tree-trunk tables and their quarter pound steak was its signature. Yet another inexpensive little cafe which we patronised often was Wimpy Corner. It had beer on tap. Their signature dish was the Wimpy Burger, topped with a fried-egg. It was real value for money. Not surprising why we went there often, as young executives.

During our O/Ls & A/Ls, we ventured out to other bistros, away from school. One such place was Green Cabin (their iconic location closed down on 31st July, 2018). This was also owned by the same people who owned Pagoda Cafe. It had two sections one, where you could have proper meals and the other, an outdoor section. We mainly sat in the outdoor section. It had several open booths. It was here that courting couples sat, murmuring sweet nothings to each other. I don’t think they were too thrilled by a bunch of over active school boys and girls watching them. Green Cabin had some of the best pies I have ever eaten. They also had a succulent chocolate cake, that was simply out of this world. And then, there was the Green Cabin Lamprais. They only sold it on weekends and it was over by mid day. After I started working, it was this lamprais that we bought, whenever we met at a friend’s place or company outing. I used to visit the establishment, pay in advance and collect it on the appointed day. Once, on a Sunday, I visited them and collected my order. While I was packing my order into a rigifoam box, a rather harassed lady rushed in and wanted to buy some lamprais. The cashier politely told her that there was no more. Then she spied me packing my booty. She wanted to know how come I had got the lamprais. The cashier informed her that I had ordered in advance. If looks could kill, I would have been dead a long time ago!

While there were several ice cream parlours, Piccadilly Cafe, Carnival Ice Cream and Gillo’s were the ones we mostly frequented. Carnival Ice Cream was a family cafe and its was full until late into the evening. Gillo’s came into being relatively later but they introduced new menus and presentations. As a result, it was a very popular place, even though the space was limited. As with most things, they eventually ran out of steam and closed up, a few years later. Piccadilly Cafe & Carnival Ice Cream are still going strong.

Galle Face Green had its own version of bistros, in the form of Food Trucks. Nana’s was one such truck. These trucks were parked at various locations on the green and later, made to park in a particular place to bring some order. All of them had small generators which lit its interior in bright florescent lights of different colours. They served a wide variety of food from Chinese to Indian to Kottu-Roti. Each truck had a few tables and chair for its patrons to sit. Most people took their food and walked away, eating. It was fascinating as one could have a full meal by going from one truck to another and end up for dessert, near several ice cream trucks. For appetisers, there were small vendors selling gram prepared in different ways. There also the vendors selling spicy vadai. While all this gourmandising was taking place, vendors were selling all types of toys and kites to the children. All in all, a fully rounded family outing.

Today, we have a galaxy of bistros/cafes/bars/pubs which have sprouted all over the city and its suburbs. Some even have a branch-network. They represent local and international names such as Pizza Hut, McDonalds, Burger King, Taco Bell, Subway, Barista, Big Bite, SenSaal, Paan Paan and Bread Talk. While they are not ‘inexpensive’, strictly speaking, they carry a tantalising array of food and beverages to titillate one’s taste buds. Many of them specialise in specific types of food such as sandwiches, burgers, pizzas, biriyani, bakery items, cakes & something called fusion food. As for beverages, some offer varieties of coffees, teas, cocktails and a dizzying array of alcoholic delights. The present generation seem to take to these new fads like ducks to water. These establishments are well patronised and thrive, despite the variety and competition.

While some of the bistros of my childhood is no more, a majority of them still exist and continue to co-exist with the new bistros which have come up.

Despite the various religious, ethnic, communal and race related issues which continue to plague our little island-nation, the one thing that is a great leveller is our food. We set aside all our differences and patronise different food outlets, as and when our taste-buds demand.

There is still, hope for us.

A Colombo-based IT consultant and social change campaigner, Nalaka occasionally likes to immerse himself in the art of writing in keeping to the traditions of his family of writers. You may contact him at nalakadevendra@gmail.com