Oct 09 2013.
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It proved to be a delight to find out which restaurant’s hot butter cuttlefish (being a personal favourite of ours) we would recommend to you.
Almost all restaurants that serve Eastern food are bound to have this crispy, spicy dish. With Chinese restaurants mushrooming, we were on the hunt for a good, reasonably priced dish. The dish is usually had as a starter, or with a choice of carbs, or perhaps as an accompaniment to beverages. But let us tell you that even if eaten on its own, it’s as good as it can be!
We have reviewed three places below, but apart from them we are aware that Long Feng at Cinnamon Lakeside happens to be having a superb version of the dish. Out of the places we tried, China Doll is our pick - they serve a perfect plateful!
On that note, it needs to be mentioned that a plate of hot butter cuttlefish that was recently tried at Mount Lavinia Hotel would have to be the worst one ever, the cuttlefish was so rubbery, and did not have any feature of a usual HBC whatsoever – it could have passed for an entirely different dish altogether! More on the ratings now.
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Hot Butter Cuttlefish China Doll (No. 08, Alfred House Avenue, Colombo 03) |
| Taste | * * * * * |
| Price | Rs.809++ |
| Value for money | High |
| Variety | Other cuttlefish dishes on the menu include the Tamarind Chillie (Rs.749++), Dry Red Chillie and Basil (Rs.689++), Malaysian Devilled (Rs.689++) and the Salt and Pepper Cuttlefish (Rs.809++). |
| Overall | The dish was served hot and a single bite ensured a delicious, hot, crispy bite along with a well-balanced chillie flavour. The cuttlefish wasn’t overly chewy and this was a positive factor in the dish. It wasn’t too salty or drowning in oil either and we mutually agreed that this hot butter cuttlefish indeed was a winner. |
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Deep Fried Cuttlefish in Hot Butter Sauce Eastern Wok (No.38, Walukarama Road, Colombo 03) |
| Taste | * * * |
| Price | Rs.835 + service charge and taxes |
| Value for money | Average |
| Variety |
There’s a Sizzling Cuttlefish in Hot Garlic Sauce and a Braised Cuttlefish in Oyster Sauce both of which are priced at Rs.825 + service charge and taxes. |
| Overall | We quite liked the flavour in this hot butter cuttlefish but it really did taste as though it had been fried with copious amounts of MSG. Despite the hot butter sauce drizzled all over the cuttlefish pieces, they were quite crisp and served warm. In terms of spicy flavour, this dish wasn’t too strong and was quite ideally balanced. The cuttlefish wasn’t too chewy, and we must note that the dish does look large because of a rather liberal amount of stir-fried onions, capsicums and shallots tossed in. |
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Cuttlefish in Hot Butter Sauce Flower Drum (No.26, Thurstan Road, Colombo 03) |
| Taste | * * * |
| Price | Rs.680 + service charge and taxes (small), Rs.1250 + service charge and taxes (large) |
| Value for money | Average |
| Variety | There are several cuttlefish dishes on the menu at Flower Drum, some of which include the Five Spice Cuttlefish, Cuttlefish Braised with Oyster Sauce and the Cuttlefish with Worcestershire sauce. |
| Overall | We were disappointed to find out that this cuttlefish wasn’t as crispy as we would have liked it to be and it was too chewy and soft. In addition, it wasn’t spicy at all but we agree that the portion size for the Small option was rather impressive. |
Hot Butter Cuttlefish - China Doll (No. 08, Alfred House Avenue, Colombo 03)
If the restaurant has a chain of outlets, the rating here is specific to the mentioned outlet. V Try – U Buy is not a connoisseur’s report, but is designed for the common man’s benefit.
By Sarah Kellapatha and Nivedha Jeyaseelan
0 Comments
Dharshi says:
Oct 12, 2013 at 12:00 amWeldone!!! Doing a quite good job and really appreciates gals. Keep going.
I would like to know the best Sri lankan crab curry in town with reasonable price.
I tried so many places but couldn't find the best one. Please help.