Cafe Colombo
On Thursday, 11th June, Nisha Dobberstein hosted our June 2026 ENAK at Café Colombo, located in The Exchange TRX. The restaurant is Sri Lankan with a focus on the fusion of traditional Sri Lankan flavours with the culinary influences of the colonial era.
Dining at Café Colombo was not just a lunch – it was a flavourful banana leaf experience steeped in culture together with a warm and attentive hospitality.
Sri Lanka is an island nation located in the Indian Ocean just off the southeastern coast of India. It is separated from the Indian subcontinent by the Palk Strait and the Gulf of Mannar.
Serving food on banana leaves has been a cherished part of Sri Lankan culture for centuries, shaped by the island’s agricultural traditions and its long-standing cultural and trade connections with South India. Readily available, biodegradable, and naturally hygienic, banana leaves provided an ideal serving surface long before plates became commonplace. The practice has become closely associated with family gatherings, temple festivals, weddings, and community celebrations.
The Sri Lankan banana leaf meal evolved to reflect the island’s rich culinary heritage, featuring fragrant rice accompanied by an array of curries, vegetables, sambols, and coconut-based dishes. While it shares similarities with South Indian banana leaf dining, Sri Lankan cuisine developed its own distinctive character through the use of roasted spices, curry leaves, pandan, cinnamon and fresh coconut.
Today, the banana leaf meal remains a beloved tradition, symbolising hospitality, generosity, and the joy of sharing food with family and friends. As the world grapples with environmental challenges, the tradition of serving food on banana leaves serves as a powerful example of how ancient practices can be harmonized with contemporary concerns. Café Colombo offers a taste of that heritage, with unlimited servings of rice, vegetables, and gravies, complemented by a choice of main course – Tempered Chicken, Mutton Uppu Curry, Fish Curry or Tofu in Coconut Curry. Twenty six Enak members and two guests paid RM50 each to savour our beautifully set lunch.
We were welcomed with a special green bib souvenir to protect our clothing and a refreshing, sparkling berry soda, followed by a delicious savoury Rasam drink. The servers were very attentive and kept replenishing our food. We had plenty to eat. I opted for the fish curry which was absolutely sublime. The dessert was a delicious but not too sweet appam. The vibrant green colour of the banana leaves add an aesthetic appeal to the presentation and the arrangement of different dishes on the leaf was done with skill and precision. Each item of food has a designated spot on the leaf, and the layout is symmetrical and visually appealing.
At the end of the meal, we were all given another souvenir, a Café Colombo drinking cup to take home.
I will definitely recommend Café Colombo to friends. I want to try other appams, the various cutlets, tacos and the famous dish, Lamprais, an iconic Sri Lankan recipe with Dutch Burgher origins. This dish, famously meaning “a lump of rice” is an aromatic combination of rice and mixed curries, wrapped in a banana leaf and slow-baked.
I love the subtle differences between Indian and Sri Lankan food. This experience has inspired me to seek out more Sri Lankan restaurants and I will definitely return to Café Colombo.
Review with many thanks to Annetta Gerrard
