Located at: Astoria Building, 418 R. A. de Mel Mawatha, Colombo 03, Sri Lanka

Visited on: 22nd November, 2023

Astoria is a Chinese-owned entity in the heart of Colombo. So, it comes as no surprise that The Emperor’s Den serves authentic Chinese cuisine.

From their soups, we selected the Butterfly Prawn Soup for three persons (LKR 3,888). There was actually more soup than three portions of their individual soup bowls, and it tasted really good. Plenty of egg-drop, black fungus mushroom and seaweed, with six sizeable prawns in a nicely seasoned broth.

For starters, we ordered a portion of Chilled Black Fortune (LKR 3,688). Now this, was excellent. I’ve always liked the bite and crunch of black fungus, but what I absolutely loved about this dish was the dressing. Packed with punchy citrus, garlic and cilantro flavours with a slight chilli hit, it danced a waltz on the palate. As weird as this might sound, I could have sipped on the broth alone with the chopped garlic and cilantro that was in it. Definitely a must-try if you visit the place.

Pork Dumplings (LKR 1,288 for a portion of six pieces) was our choice of steamed dumplings for the afternoon. This was pretty good, too, with a nice bit of flavour and seasoning in the filling. As much as the black fungus dish outshone this one, the dumplings were certainly not to be undermined. To be fair, the former would probably outdo most dishes on the menu.

For our main course, we went with Stewed Pork (LKR 4,888), which comes with a bit of bok choy. As expected, there was a fair bit of fat on the pork, but the saucy gravy was really good and an excellent savoury accompaniment for the Steamed Rice (LKR 600 per portion) that we ordered. The meat itself was seasoned well, too, and had been cooked just right.

We were keen to try their Steamed Grouper with Soya Sauce, but were told that the smallest whole fish available was over a kilogram in weight – which was too large for us. So, instead, we tried their Dried Pan Fish (LKR 6,888) which came in the form of battered and fried pieces of fish with a garnish that included cut chilli, some sesame seeds, garlic and cilantro. While the dish was alright, it was, for me, the least impressive of the dishes we tried. A bit on the oily side, I felt like the fish itself could have used a touch more seasoning.

Wok-fried Mixed Vegetable (LKR 2,488) was our choice of veggie dish. This came with carrot, cabbage, bok choy and a couple of types of mushrooms including black fungus – which was a good mix of textures. The sauce, like that of the pork stew, was good with the rice, although with a slightly less intensity of flavour.

The fresh juices that we ordered were on point. The Papaya Juice (LKR 900) was viscous and fresh, while the Mandarin Juice (LKR 1,900) was absolutely delish. Clearly, they’d managed to get their hands on some very good mandarin as, without any added sugar, the juice had a natural fruity sweetness that would put a smile on anyone’s face.

They do need to work on their washroom facilities, however. The restaurant itself does not have a washroom, and diners are escorted out by a member of a staff with an access key to the washrooms at the adjoining shopping complex. While there is one cubicle marked for The Emperor’s Den customers, the whole set-up can be accessed and used by everyone, possibly due to which they’re not very welcoming. Not the most pleasant experience for diners, and certainly something that the management should put more thought into – particularly when patrons pay a premium amount to dine at their restaurant.

Yummy rating: 4.0 / 5.0