I have never had Sri Lankan cuisine in Singapore, Kotuwa will be my first taste of Sri Lankan cuisine outside of its home country. Even though I have been to Sri Lanka, I don’t remember of what I ate there except there’s lots of curries.
Kotuwa moved from its original location at Wanderlust Hotel to the newly-renovated New Bahru, taking over the old school (pun intended) building of Nan Chiau High School.
What to order
This is Kotuwa’s menu, for your reference.
Crab Cutlet [S$16] is Sri Lankan style croquettes, filled with spiced crab brandade. You can taste a hint of the sweetness crab meat in the filling.
Poricha Erachi [S$26] reminds of the Chinese dish Sweet and Sour Pork, but using beef cheek instead of pork. The beef cheek were deep-fried before stir-fried with sauce, giving the beef cheek a slightly crunchy texture. It has a deep aroma from the aged vinegar which eliminates the greasiness.
I thought Crab Curry [market price] will come in the form of shelled crab meat in curry, but it’s actually a whole crab tossed with either cumin, fenugreek, chili and coconut or garlic butter, green chili and Ceylonese pepper. We opted for the cumin, fenugreek, chili and coconut sauce which totally overpowered the natural sweetness of the crab.
Remind me never to eat crab in restaurants, it’s gets really messy. Thank goodness they provide cute crab-design bibs and plastic gloves so your clothes and hands don’t get dirty.
Wattaka Kalu Pol [$18] which is butternut squash cooked in blackened coconut gravy remind me of something not too appetizing but tastes surprisingly delicious. It goes really well with either the Plain Hopper [S$5] or Egg Hopper [S$7].
Hoppers are popular Sri Lankan street food which is known as appam in Indian culture. It is a thin pancake made with fermented rice batter and coconut milk. It’s soft in the centre and crispy around the edges.
Another dish that goes well with hoppers is Wambatu Moju [S$8], Sri Lankan spiced eggplant pickled in coconut vinegar. It’s sour and slightly spicy, not suitable for weak stomach.
The only dessert available on the menu is Coconut Sundae which sounds so ordinary. I happened to see a new dessert on their Instagram which is not on the menu yet – Jackfruit Fritters with Vanilla Ice Cream. The contrast between the hot freshly-fried jackfruit fritters, jackfruit mousse and cold creamy vanilla ice-cream is a match made in heaven.
Kotuwa
Address: 46 Kim Yam Road #01-03 Singapore 239351
Telephone: 65184278
Opening Hours: Monday – Friday 5pm – 11pm, Friday – Saturday 12pm – 12am, Sunday 12pm – 11pm
Website: https://kotuwa.com.sg