Located at: 24, Dharmapala Mawatha, Colombo 07, Sri Lanka

Visited on: 17 March, 2022

Robata Grill at Mövenpick Colombo serves up an array of Asian flavours that cover Japanese, Malaysian, Thai, Vietnamese and other Far Eastern cuisines.

We started off with some Tom Yum Talay (LKR 790). It was quite spicy, but good to get our tastebuds going. The fresh coriander leaves were refreshing to have between spoonfuls, and the seafood in it included shrimp and cuttlefish. There was a generous serving of mushroom in it too, which was good in terms of both taste and texture.

The Thai Green Papaya Salad (LKR 750; LKR 890 with prawns) looked great and had been put together nicely, but unfortunately had a bitterness which seemed to come from lime pith. Shame.

The Teriyaki Barramundi – served with stir fried vegetables (LKR 1,950) was delicious! The teriyaki sauce on the fish was excellent, and the stir-fried mix that included beans, peppers, carrot, sautéed onion, cabbage and onion leaves was wonderfully prepared to make the perfect accompaniment for the barramundi.

Not far behind was the Pad Thai (LKR 950 with chicken; LKR 1,100 with seafood). I went with the chicken option, and it certainly ticked all the boxes. There was plenty of peanut to give a bit of crunch with every mouthful, and a generous portion of diced chicken had been mixed into the noodles. The noodle itself was light and flavoured beautifully. Definitely a dish to enjoy!

The third dish we tried was the Penang Curry (LKR 990 with fish; LKR 890 with chicken), served with steamed rice. This too was quite nice, and the curry came with quite a bit of fish and veggies that included carrot, capsicum, cauliflower and aubergine. It was a tasty curry not just to have with the rice, but with the pad thai, too.

Both of the beverages we tried were great. The Virgin Achcharu (LKR 790) is probably not for everyone, for it comes with a bit of spice and salt (on the rim) that are consistent with an actual achcharu. However, it was well-balanced and quite enjoyable for someone who likes that kind of flavour. The Virgin Berry Breezer (LKR 790) was delightful, with plenty of blueberry and strawberry incorporated into it. It was sweet, but refreshingly so. A great pick, I thought.

I was keen on trying out their Crunchy Sweet Wonton (with date and nut filling and pineapple coconut compôte), but unfortunately it was not available on the day. Next time, perhaps. But until then, we got acquainted with quite a few dishes to enjoy when we return to Robata Grill.

Yummy rating: 4.0 / 5.0