The Ultimate Sri Lankan Supper Club was a collaborative effort between Demi Perera (a London blogger of Sri Lankan heritage) and The Coconut Tree (a Sri Lankan restaurant in Oxford). I was fortunate to be among those seated at this invitation-only feast earlier in the month.
Before wading too deeply into my review, I should disclose that Demi is a longtime contributor to this blog and that I was invited to the event as her guest of honour. According to Demi, I was “the first person to give [her] a chance as a writer.” The honour was all mine, though, as evening was a total blast and a delicious one at that!
The supper club featured more than a dozen traditional Sri Lankan dishes. I liked everything I got to gobble. But tastiest highlights included an egg hopper (bowl-shaped coconut pancake) with a variety of hot (and hotter!) sauces; hot battered cuttlefish; and cashews slow-cooked in coconut oil with onions, garlic, mustard seeds and crushed chillies. As I understand it, most (if not all) of the food presented are regular items on The Coconut Tree’s menu.
Speaking of The Coconut Tree, it was a lovely venue. Set up in old pub done up to accommodate folks more keen to dine, it had a welcoming and pleasant air about it. I especially enjoyed the air around the bar, if I’m honest, and relished the opportunity to sip my way through a page or two of the cocktail menu. The restaurant’s TCT Old Fashioned (Bulleit Bourbon, Coconu Arrack, simple syrup, chocolate bitters and a coconut water ice ball, £7) was most memorable – not to mention one of the most refreshing and refreshingly inspired drinks I’ve had this year.
Says Demi about Sri Lankan food and her idea for a supper club:
Sri Lankan food is finally having a well-deserved moment. It’s one of the healthiest diets in the world. Things like lentils, chickpeas, jackfruit, moronga and coconut oil are very much a part of the every day diet in Sri Lanka. However, this is the first time that the cuisine has managed to move out of the local ethnic take-away setting that it has remained in for the last few decades here in London. I’m really excited to be at the forefront of that change.
Demi also wants folks to know she’s working on another supper club but that this next one will be in London and will a different chef. Your best bet for keeping abreast of the details for that is to check out Demi’s blog: girl-travelsworld.com.
In addition to the chance to taste a cuisine I’m not so familiar with while indulging in a terrific tipple or two (or three), the good excuse to visit Oxford. I hadn’t been in years. During my day out I dropped by one of my favourite museums (Pitt Rivers Museum), tried another excellent restaurant for an early lunch (more on that in a future post) and had a lot fun roaming around one of England’s most pleasant and historic cities.
The Coconut Tree is located at 76 St Clement’s Street, Oxford OX4 1AW. There’s a sister outlet in Cheltenham as well. Find out more at thecoconut-tree.com.
