Sigiri

91 1st Ave/ 5th & 6th St, 212-614-9333

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Cost per person: $25
"YGWYPF" factor: 8.5/10 (you get what you pay for)
Food: 8/10
ambiance: 7/10

So close, yet so far! Being an India, Sri Lanka is just "across the pond" for us - yet, it was refreshingly surprising to taste this cuisine for the first time here in New York (and here at Sigiri), and find out just how different and interesting it really is!

The food starts off as something you can probably get in Indian restaurants - but then, like a good short story, has a twist, which completely alters the end result and hits the "exotic" mark. Though the food is loosely based on South Indian cuisine, it's not purely vegetarian, a big plus. I haven't tasted Dutch cuisine - but that's what people say have influenced this.

Soma and I were joined on this occasion by Kanishka and Ranjita - so it made a good sized group to try out some options "risk free" - if one of them turned out not so good, we still had three others.

Let's jump to the food. The Sri Lankan Fish Spring Rolls (4pcs) Breaded, deep fried crepes with fish and potato filling were awesome for starters - we did not try any of the rest. The Chicken Lamprais A Dutch influenced "special occasion" dish of flavored rice served with chicken, fish cutlet, ash plantains and egg, baked in a low oven after it is wrapped in a banana leaf to give this dish a unique flavor was the star of our dinner - a must-try. We also tried the Devilled Grill Specialties Spicy grilled meat and seafood tossed with sauteéed onions, capsicums and Sri Lankan herbs and spices and Aapa (aap-pa ~ Hoppers) Wafer thin, bowl-shaped pancakes made from a fermented batter of rice flour and coconut milk (includes: 3 plain hoppers and 1 egg hopper with a choice of sautetéed onion sambol or *coconut sambol) and found them really interesting, full of flavor and warmth!

All in all, a definite recommendation for people who like spicy food on the lines of Grand Sichuan and Meskerem Ethiopian.