Latest news with #ChefCeylon
Sydney Morning Herald
23-06-2025
- Sydney Morning Herald
Don't miss the ‘chopped roti' dish at this Sri Lankan eatery in western Sydney
At Chef Ceylon, it spans gentle dahl, starchy chilli-speckled ash plantains and sweet lively ribbons of beetroot curry. Rice might come with kale mallung, animated with fresh coconut and shredded greens, or what I'm told is 'famous' eggplant (wambatu moju), technically a sweet and sour eggplant pickle. Deep-fried eggplant wedges – hit with mustard and fenugreek seeds, steeped in a syrupy vinegar, chilli and sugar mix, and served with crisp onions and green chilli – are reduced to confectionery-like shards of caramel and spice. I savoured this with every rice grain. 'Chef Ceylon's kottu roti crackles with deep-fried curry leaves and coconut shreds.' Sri Lankan food has dynamic range: it can be gently spiced, tangy or feature a roaring amount of chilli that hits like an intense weather system. Mango lassi is a good tonic, as is a Sri Lankan ginger beer. The fridge is also filled with rose-syrup pink faluda, a drink of Persian origins that's topped here with ice-cream and rainbow sprinkles. On one visit, I walk by an indecision-plagued customer. I suggest the eggplant, but he says his wife often cooks it at home, a little too often – a 'problem' I'd love to inherit! In a household without wambatu moju on regular (or any) rotation, I'm glad there's Chef Ceylon for my cravings.
The Age
23-06-2025
- The Age
Don't miss the ‘chopped roti' dish at this Sri Lankan eatery in western Sydney
At Chef Ceylon, it spans gentle dahl, starchy chilli-speckled ash plantains and sweet lively ribbons of beetroot curry. Rice might come with kale mallung, animated with fresh coconut and shredded greens, or what I'm told is 'famous' eggplant (wambatu moju), technically a sweet and sour eggplant pickle. Deep-fried eggplant wedges – hit with mustard and fenugreek seeds, steeped in a syrupy vinegar, chilli and sugar mix, and served with crisp onions and green chilli – are reduced to confectionery-like shards of caramel and spice. I savoured this with every rice grain. 'Chef Ceylon's kottu roti crackles with deep-fried curry leaves and coconut shreds.' Sri Lankan food has dynamic range: it can be gently spiced, tangy or feature a roaring amount of chilli that hits like an intense weather system. Mango lassi is a good tonic, as is a Sri Lankan ginger beer. The fridge is also filled with rose-syrup pink faluda, a drink of Persian origins that's topped here with ice-cream and rainbow sprinkles. On one visit, I walk by an indecision-plagued customer. I suggest the eggplant, but he says his wife often cooks it at home, a little too often – a 'problem' I'd love to inherit! In a household without wambatu moju on regular (or any) rotation, I'm glad there's Chef Ceylon for my cravings.
