Eating in Galle

Galle abounds in family-family restaurants and cafes and there were even several halal restaurants. The only problem that we had was to choose where to eat. It goes without saying that most of the restaurants within the Fort were primarily catered for tourists but unlike many of the tourist-targeted restaurants in other other towns/cities, the food offered here were really good - partly contributed by the fresh ingredients used.

1) Pedlar's Inn (No. 92, Pedlar Street)

We had our first dinner here. Ravenous after the train ride from Colombo, we were there quite early and managed to grab a quite corner on the patio. The place could get quite busy so its best to time properly.

The best pizza in the whole wide world,
according to Irf

Ordered grilled tuna and chicken curry between A and I, for what is a trip to Sri Lanka without trying the curries. Irf had the Pizza Margherita which he managed to clean off the plates all by himself. Dinner for the 3 of us cost Rs4,300 (approx. RM130) which I'm sure was expensive by overall Sri Lankan standards, but then again everything cost more within the Fort's walls. Our subsequent meals cost less than this (probably because we became more cost-conscious) but it's safe to say that a decent meal in the Fort for 3 people in a comfortable surrounding would be around the RM100 mark.

2) Crepe-ology (No. 53, Leyn Baan Street)

As the name implies, this place specializes in a variety of sweet and savoury crepes. It also offers wraps, salads and finger food and it's the perfect place to have lunch. You would have to go up a flight of narrow steps from a shop on the ground floor. We sat at a table on the cozy rooftop terrace but there's also an air-conditioned room (complete with a play area for toddlers)  if you've had too much of the heat.We did not need the air-con as the refreshing chillers on offer were more than enough to cool us down. The best feature of the cafe as far as Irf was concerned was its Mac n' cheese.

Hummus for lunch - not exactly
Sri Lankan, I know

3) Heritage Cafe (No 61, Pedlar Street)

Located at the corner between Pedlar Street and Lighthouse Street, the 400-year old building used to be a bakery. We ended up here on our 2nd day after  20 minutes of walking around looking for the best place to have dinner until we got to the point of I-don't-care-but-I-need-to-eat-now. Don't let the candle lights and the dim lighting deceive you. The place welcomed families and there's a wide variety of food to choose from the menu, from authentic curries to nasi goreng. Dining in the courtyard garden was a good way to unwind after a long and hectic day.

Fried squid with butter rice - the exotic sounding
vegetable turned out to be petola

4) Poonie's Kitchen (No 63, Pedlar Street)

I was adamant to try this place after reading the reviews on the net and anyway I was craving for something light and healthy for a change. This is not the place to go for rotis and curries, but more for vibrant-coloured salads, fresh juices and not forgetting the quirky decor. This courtyard cafe is accessible through a set of double doors in MimiMango boutique. With a koi pond, vases of heliconias, mismatched rustic furniture and turquoise colour theme,  it's one of the prettiest cafes I've seen. Food-wise, the selection for us was quite limited. The salad looked too healthy for A and they ran out of prawns when we were there. But the drinks were fantastic, especially the pineapple, guava, gotukola & mint juice which was served in a huge glass jar with a lemongrass straw.

Pink heliconias as table centrepiece

Tomato, feta and basil on wholegrain toast

On top of the food from the above cafes and restaurants, there were also the obligatory lashings of ice-cream and for that we had Dairy King Homemade Ice-Cream and Pedlars' Inn Gelateria to thank for.

Ice-cream pit stop at Pedlars' Inn Gelateria

The fairy tale-like shop that is the Dairy King

Suffice to say we stuffed ourselves silly in Galle, but gutted that I did not get to try Sri Lankan crabs.