Green Cabin is one of those restaurants that has been around for the longest time. I decided to hop in one Sunday afternoon for their “Sunday Special”, as they are known for their rice & curry buffet.

Food

The Sunday Special offers two types of rice (red rice and white rice, duh!), four vegetable curries, two sambols (gotukola and pol), chutney, dried fish thel dala  and good old papadam. If you cannot let a meal go by without meat, you can choose from their curries (fish, chicken and pork), but for an additional charge.

The vegetable curries that were on the buffet were some rice and curry classics – yellow curried lentils (basically, dhal), tempered beans, breadfruit kirata, more often known as dhel and stuffed pathola. The pathola was one I was rather skeptical about because I am not all about the fancy veggies.

Fun fact: Pathola in English is snakegourd (not luffa). Now you can sound very posh. You’re welcome.

With true Lankan spirit, I piled my plate up with every single thing on the buffet and ordered a chicken curry because rice and curry without chicken is like a chocolate biscuit pudding without cashew nuts.

The curries were cooked with the competence that has helped Green Cabin stay up and running for the past few decades. The dhal was neither too runny, nor was it too thick.

The breadfruit kirata (dhel) did live up to its name as the creaminess of the coconut milk was very apparent,  cutting through the tangy taste of the stuffed pathola, which I must admit was something I’d try again. Kudos to Green Cabin for not overcooking the tempered beans, and which retained their crunch.

Preparing pol sambol and gotukola sambol, let’s face it, is not a Byzantine task. So, obviously, nothing could go wrong in that avenue. However, what was slightly disappointing was that the papadum wasn’t very crispy. All you papadum lovers out there know it’s a mighty problem when your papadum does not let out that oomph-y crunch. #FoodWorldProblems

The chicken curry was satisfactory, and did blend in well with the dried fish which added some salty zing.

The Sunday Special was indeed very special with kiri pani as the dessert of the day.

Despite being a favorite among many, kiri pani does not really appeal to me, but I did take a few bites of it. It was good, so good that I took a few more bites. It was the treacle – it was sweet enough to down a little bit of the sourness from the curd.  Since Sunday is the day for extra pounds on your body, I opted for a piece of caramel pudding too.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is one you must have even if diabetes stops you. 
It was creamy and rich with the perfect shade of brown on top. Definitely worth every single cent of my 175 rupees!

Service & Ambience

Given that this was a buffet, the need for waiters was partially eliminated. We were entertained by an employee in the kitchen who was probably practicing for Sirasa Super Star.

If you’re the type that doesn't enjoy loud, unexpected singing, this might come off as unprofessional. To me, it was just hilarious. The rest of the staff laughed along which made the whole experience very warm. 
I wasn’t made to wait too long for my dessert. So, +1 for that.

CONCLUSION

The rice and curry is not very budget-friendly, especially if you’re used to having a buth packet for Rs. 200. The veggie version is priced at Rs. 580 and chicken would cost you an additional Rs. 210. 

Overall, Green Cabin serves decent rice and curry complete with a sweet course and ample seating. While it’s slightly high on the price spectrum for basic rice and curry, if you are in the mood for some good Lankan on a Sunday afternoon, you might want to check it out.