For those of you living in Mount Lavinia and having studied at S. Thomas’ College, the Old Thomians' Swimming Club or OTSC as it is better known, is a popular haunt.

The few times I’ve visited the OTSC however, the food hasn’t been memorable but it looks like that is changing thanks to Margie’s Kitchen.
Using their mum, Margie’s recipes, Natasha Billimoria Abeynaike and her brother Hans Billimoria create some delicious fare ranging from Black Pork, Fried Lingus, Pol (Coconut) Sambol and Fresh Bread, Pork Supreme (a sandwich with Black Pork and Bacon) and even desserts like Home Made Cookie Ice Cream and Chocolate Arrack Cake with Vanilla Ice Cream.

Apart from the food being delicious, there is also a feel good factor as 50% of the profits of the sale of the dishes, go to The Grassrooted Trust (http://grassrooted.net/), which works in the fields of HIV, Drugs, Gender, and Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights. Their mum also had a catering business, also titled Margie’s Kitchen, in the late 80’s and early 90’s and Natasha explains that from a young age, she helped her mum while she cooked,  which enabled her to pick up all the tricks of the trade, so to speak.

Margie’s Kitchen also does private catering of which Paan Parties are the most popular. If you do have a paan party your feast will include, Coconut Sambol, Black Pork, Lingus Curry, Dhal, Potato Curry and Fresh Bread with Anchor butter! They also do Sunday Lunches which come in individual packs. The Sunday Lunch includes Chicken Curry or Black Pork Curry with Yellow Rice, Brinjal Pahi, Ala Thel Daala, Ambarapu Sambol, Dhal and Pappadam. During the week, you can order lunch packs (which need to be a minimum of 25). You choices include Pork, Chicken, Egg or Vegetable and they are served with Red Rice and Half-the-Rice with Dhal, Pol Sambol, Two Seasonal Vegetables and Pappadam.

When we visited Margie’s Kitchen @ OTSC on Monday we were served Black Pork with Roast Paan and Butter, Hot Butter Cuttlefish and Crumbed Fish with Tartar Sauce. The Black Pork was soft, smoky and delicious while the fresh bread complimented the pork well. The Hot Butter Cuttlefish was crunchy and pretty tasty, while the Crumbed Fish with Tartar Sauce, even though such a simple item was so full of flavour. A few nibbles from these three dishes left me stuffed but I had just a little room inside my tummy for Margie’s Kitchen’s delicious Home Made Cookie Ice Cream. The cookies were softened just right while the ice cream was creamy and smooth. The Chocolate Arrack Cake with Vanilla Ice Cream was also a super treat on the senses with that perfect marriage of arrack and chocolate.

If the OTSC is going to be on your list for the weekend, you should head that way tomorrow (June 20). As they will be having an Australian BBQ Night which kicks off at 7pm. Chefs from Australia will be dishing out some delicious meats off the barbie, which will include, Steaks, Gourmet Sausages (Pork, Chicken and Beef), Pork Spare Ribs and Barbecue Chicken to name a few, all served with a special Aussie barbecue sauce.

Natasha and Hans’ mum would say, “Always give them more child” and with this firmly grounded in their thought process, they have made sure that the portions are large, making it value for money. Similar to clubhouses overseas where families spend time together over good food, Margie’s Kitchen has created the perfect family atmosphere at the OTSC especially over the weekends and with the delicious array of food on offer it would be the ideal place to take your family to or to even hang out with your friends.

Margie's Kitchen is on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Margieskitchensl

Price Range:

Bar Food - Rs 150 – 500
Noodles and Rice - 300 – 375
Daily and Weekend lunches - 180 – 350
Kottu - 400 – 550
Grilled Sandwiches - 250 – 450
Desserts - 150 – 300
Milk Shakes - 250 - 400

Ratings:

Value for money – 5 stars
Friendly staff – 5 stars
Variety of food – 4.5 stars
Taste – 4 stars
Cleanliness – 4 stars
Parking – 4 stars

Address: De Saram Road, Mount Lavinia

Hours of operation:
Monday to Friday – 6 – 11pm
Saturday and Sunday – 10am to 2pm and 5 – 11pm (If you are not a member of the OTSC, remember to walk in with one)

By Natasha Fernandopulle
Pics by Kanishke Ganewatte