Lamprais is a classic Sri Lankan meal, of Burgher origin. It is a trip in a dish – shrimp paste from Indonesia, Afrikaner frikkadels, Sri Lankan curries. It’s like an edible history of the Dutch East India company. The packet has evolved and taken a sort of static, classic form in Sri Lanka. It’s often one of the first things people getting off a plane will seek out and what they’ll miss on the way out. So where do you get a good lamprais at short notice? Through YAMU we tried to find out.
You should read the whole article, written by Savan. It’s a good long essay and meditation on the venerable lump. The same article was printed in this Saturday’s FT with the addition of some sidebars on Burghers and lamprais in general. What follows are my impressions.
First, we only reviewed lamprais that were available on two days notice and in small quantities (1-2). The absolute best could be venerable ladies like Jean Daniels or Jennifer Ingleton, but many of the home cooks only cook in large numbers and with significant notice. We were only looking for lamprais you could pick up, like, now.
The ones reviewed were:
- The Dutch Burgher Union – Rs. 430 – (258 4511, Thumulla)
- The Colombo Fort Café – Rs. 660 – (243 4946, Dutch Hospital)
- The Dutch Grocer – Rs. 360 – (770173062, 82/1A, Stratford Avenue)
- Mrs. Warusawithana – Rs. 360 – (257 3908, Pedris Road, off Thurstan)
- Green Cabin – Rs. 320 – (258 8811, 453 Galle Road, Kollupitiya)
- Bars Café – Rs. 420 – (478 6678, 24 Deal Place)
What really stuck out was the gap between the classic lamprais and the commercial ones was huge, especially in a blind tasting. I won’t reveal our winner, you can read the article for that, but the losers were quite clear. If it’s got a lump of chicken it’s probably not a good lamprais. If it’s wrapped in plastic, probably not good either.
Tasting blind, what really stuck out was the intangible alchemy of a good lamprais. Though two packets may have the same ingredients, there is something about the way they knit together in a really elegant lamprais that’s quite unique. The rice alone, cooked in stock, has rich flavor, and combined with mixed meat, brinjal, seeni sambol and prawn paste (belacan, or blachang) there really is a magic spot that certain packets can hit. But I’ve said enough. Check out the winner on YAMU.
Sorry to throw a spanner in your ranking system but one of your bottom ranked lamprais’ is actually supplied by one of your top ranked lamprais makers so either they are cheating their customers (one of the bottom ranked guys) by supplying them with substandard goods or the judges skills in identifying a decent lamprais have been rumbled – you should ideally have had double blind trials like all good scientists do
Maybe you should actually mention who’s supplying whom?
not my place to give that info but it is the truth
the tasting was completely blind. Even if it is true the supplier is the same quality need not be the same.
I’ve heard it said that its beter to get the DBU laprais from the DBU rather than direct from the supplier as she gives her best work to the DBU….
Also storage and freshness is an issue. A final basting and heating with coconut milk can also make a difference – its a complicated business lamprais tasting but I tihnk our methodology was fairly sound….
Well your first comment is pretty pointless then. All six lampreis were quite different and distinct to each other, so unless the mysterious supplier you speak of is going out of his/her way to disguise things, it seems a bit unlikely. Either way, who really cares? You take your choice, pay and eat.
Sigh,the pointless thing is getting into a needless argument with you DB, this was a lamprais tasting after all.
So as not to upset your delicate Burgher sensitivities further, it is most likely that the supplier is doing a pretty shoddy job, since I have no reason to doubt that these lamprais were distinct in flavour, of differentiating so distinctly between the lamprais offered directly for sale and the one’s through a 3rd party. It gives the appearance of short changing the latter of a quality product.
Your turn
didn’t you check the lumpraise by the divine? I see it in their menu very often
Since this supplier’s name seems to be a matter of national security to you, I fail to see what this piece of non-info actually adds to the above review. We already know the bottom three aren’t very good. Did you have a point beyond that?
There’sno need to be racist as well as insufferable, Abu. Since this supplier’s name seems to be a matter of national security to you, I fail to see what this piece of non-info actually adds to the above review. We already know the bottom three aren’t very good. Did you have a point beyond that?
Are you saying that Mrs. W supplies the DBU? I don’t think she does, and we ranked her lamprais #3. Blacker ranked her #2. The list above isn’t a ranking, it’s the order we tasted in.
The lowest scorers were Green Cabin, BARS and Fort Cafe, and I don’t think they supply the DBU.
They aren’t all that divine… trust me! :)
Lorraine Bartholomeuz supplies the DBU with lampreis. I think Abu’s claim is that she, Dutch Grocers, or Mrs Warusawitharna supplies Bars, GC, or Ft Cafe. I kinda doubt it.
Wow!!! When majority of the people in this country cannot afford 3 square meals a day, you guys are having “LAMPRAIS TASTING CONTESTS”. AWESOME!!!
So what’s next???? The best “Burgher Joint Contest”????
Keep up the great work. Really awesome!!!
What is a “lampreis tasting contest”?
Come on Blacker, you know exactly what I am talking about. When there are MILLIONS of people who cannot figure out how to survive the next day, you guys are having “double-blind” experiments (as if it is a big deal) to figure out who has the best Lamprais packet. I don’t have any problem in you guys doing this sort of thing, no matter how shitty it is, BUT do you have to let the entire world know about it by blogging it??? This is NOT America Blacker. I don’t why you did not follow your illustrious burgher ancestors to Aussie. I mean, Australis is your HOME LAND, right???
Hi Heshan,
This is Indi’s blog not Blacker’s .
LOL. I’m pretty sure Citizen Silva here is the same Sinhala Gemunu who was troubling us a while back. A racist fucktard who thinks that his inability to work hard to survive each day means that he should bring down anyone and everyone who does.
Mr Silva, please disconnect your internet and use that money to feed yourself. Stop bringing to your shitty level, all the other hard working people who actually suffer.
Seriously? A lamprais costs about Rs. 300, compared to Rs. 120 for your average bath packet. And the average household income in Sri Lanka is about 30,000 a month. It’s not easy, but half of the country isn’t starving and it’s insulting to portray us that way.
Mr. Indi you and your lamprais eating pals are clearly in some lamprias equivalent alice in wonderland, where you have lamprais, buriyani and burgers flying around.
Here are some hard stats about ”hunger” in this country:Sri Lanka, 4 million people suffer from hunger. A “Food Justice Campaign”-> http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Sri-Lanka,-4-million-people-suffer-from-hunger.-A-Food-Justice-Campaign%E2%80%9D-22981.html
World’s hungry billion and Sri Lanka’s increasing malnutrition crisis – http://sundaytimes.lk/101017/Columns/eco.html
300 may be nothing to you, but that 300 is about 3000 to a poor person.
Just because you ”work-hard” (this is also relative u know), does not give you any moral right to do “anything” you want. Of course, to figure that out, you have to have morals and awareness and sensitivity to others. You have to think about the “society”. It is not good manners to have things like “Lamprais tasting’ when millions of people are hungry in this country and millions more just exist without any hope of the future . This shows complete lack awareness of your surroundings. I think you people are not part of the Sri Lankans society. You live outside of it in your own little worlds.
Hunger is a terrible thing, and Sri Lankans do go hungry.
I don’t think not talking about lamprais is the answer. If you’re worried about our lamprais tasting, you should check out the Ministry Of Crab review (English / Sinhala). That place is actually quite expensive.
Lamprais actually evolved as a working class food for people working the rails. It hasn’t suddenly become a luxury.
Citizen, what is Australis?
Blacker is a Sinhalese??? I thought he was a burger????? Crazy!!!
Million can’t eat because the bloody government is robbing us blind, taxing taxing and taxing.
Why are you posting a pic of your mum in her new sari, Charles? Btw, tell her you borrowed her blouse.
Wow, so 1 in 5 people in this “ascharya” of a country are “statistically” hungry. You know what that means??? That means, of the guys in this lamprais tasting trial (since there were around 6 or 7), 1 was actually hungry??? Hic hic :-D
Wonder who that could be???
It was me.
You should eat all the food on your plate because there are starving children in Africa…