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| The tables all set |
Simoundou is the name that was originally given to our island Sri Lanka by the Roman mathematician, astronomer, geographer, astrologer and great poet Ptolomy (Claudius Ptolemecus). Today, derived from that name, Semondu makes a return with SriLankan Catering to the place that is very much the talk of the town - The Dutch Hospital.
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| CEO Sarath Fernando talking to the media |
Semondu opened its wings to the public three weeks ago at the former Dutch Hospital which has now transformed itself into a restaurant cum shopping arcade located right opposite the World Trade Center, Fort.
"We want return clients and for the past three weeks that Semondu has been in function, we have had many satisfied customers returning to the restaurant," SriLankan Catering CEO Sarath Fernando said.
We don't want to call it a fine dining restaurant as the first impression that comes to a person's head when they say 'Fine Dining', is that it's expensive and not affordable to their wallets.
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| Chef hard at work |
But that is not the case here. Our prices are very reasonable and we want to keep it that way.
We serve an international menu with a twist of oriental Sri Lankan fusion. The chefs dish out an array of fusion cuisine, mixing flavours and tasting the different spices in each dish.
The restaurant is open for lunch from 12 noon to 2.30pm and then for dinner from 7 pm to 11 pm. With seats ready to accommodate around 64 guests, the 31 staff that have being trained straight from the SriLankan Catering Kitchen at Katunayake are ready on the go to serve the guest inside as well as outside verandah, Sarath added
Guests who always love to see how what they have ordered is being prepared have the chance to sit at the bar and just observe the master chefs at works through the open kitchen. They also have a wide choice from starters, salads, soups and main courses. The restaurant not only speaks food but it speaks of a history many have forgotten. There are picture hung on walls of the ancestral times giving us a glimpse of how Sri Lanka was then.
As one enters the restaurant the feeling of old and modern architecture hit one immediately. Looking up, one sees the massive teak beams that hold the ceiling and the cement walls that remind one of how the Dutch built places.
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| Semondu as you enter Pictures by Sulochana Gamage |
The flooring was done by the team of SriLankan and the modern young ones would get the immediate reaction to a night club when they see the glass floor changing colours. Along with the ceiling fans on request they have made the air conditioner to come from underneath.
The airline's catering unit provides on-board catering for airlines that operate through Colombo. Its state of the art flight kitchen has a production capacity of over 25,000 meals per day, in a 24-hour operation, 365 days a year.
SriLankan Catering manages the 24-room Serenediva Transit Hotel at the Katunayake International Airport, and also runs a state-of-the-art, mass-scale laundry facility situated in the SLC Complex in the airport, capable of laundering up to 15,000 pieces per day.
