He ordered the cutlets and what they called devil Chicken. When ordering, he remarked to the waitress that the cutlets were like fish balls in order to show he was familiar with the cuisine. She acknowledged that, though he didn't think she was thrilled by his comparison. When they came to the table they were flattened and looked more like fish cakes. Overall, he was pleased with them and the red sauce accompaniment. They were tasty, although they could've been warmer in the middle, he noted to himself. When ordering the main course, the devil chicken, the waitress inquired as to the spice level. White man said, don't hold back, make it spicy. To which the waitress said, it will be extremely spicy. White man said, "ok".
He would've ordered the devilled cuttlefish if they offered it. He might've ordered the devilled shrimp instead, but there was no price next to it. He wondered why they call it "devil" not "devilled". The devil chicken arrived. He was surprised by the chicken. Taking full bites of it, he found that it was not boneless. He wished he had a knife, but the fork and hands would suffice. He thought the chicken was tasty though. He also felt that the sauce was spicy, but certainly not extremely spicy. He thought to himself, why would someone go into a sri lankan restaurant alone, make it clear he knew about sri lankan food with the fish ball comment, and yet still be doubted when he asked for his food spicy? Alas, it was a little spicy.
The white man observed that slices of red onion were used, instead of chunks of the small shallot-like bombay red onion. He realized that those onions mustn't be easy to find, but that chunks of shallot would be an adequate substitute. But those are a lot of work to peel, he thought.
He deemed that there was a nice mixture of spices in the sauce, but that it was sweeter than he remembered it. It tasted somewhat like General Tso's chicken, they must be catering to american taste buds, he mused. Surely he likes general Tso's chicken, but that's not what he came for. He also thought, a lot of sauce, wish I had some rice, but then it'd be even more like general Tso's. But the worst offense to him was that there were sliced bell peppers in it instead of capsicum peppers. Maybe they can't find them here, but they could've used jalapenos or the like, he thought. He wasn't happy with the presence of tomatoes either. He believes that Asian cuisines do not know how to handle the tomato, and that it should not be in a devilled dish. And he was saddened, but certainly not surprised, to realize that it was not cooked with coconut oil.
All in all, it was Ok, but he wasn't wowed. "Bell peppers!", he sighed.
