Time was when the only Sri Lankan food you could find was at a tiny restaurant in Karama that over the years had seen a precipitous quality decline. Thankfully, that time is past and there’s now actually pretty decent fare from the Resplendent Isle here in the UAE, although you do need to trek to Jumeirah Lakes Towers to tuck in.
And it seems many people do. The restaurant is third on the Dubai Food Festival shortlist of Hidden Gems (vote at Visitdubai.com), I find myself following the spice trail (with a JLT resident friend as tour guide) to the al fresco hotspot late one Thursday night.
Straightaway we feel right at home. Although busy with a catering job, the staff came over and put us at our ease, offering a choice of authentic Sri Lankan or local libations (we tried the sweet-sour antioxidant-rich ambarella juice). They’re aware of food allergies, and in true ambassadorial style, know the extensive menu inside out.
Not too hot
Yes, there’s a lot of seafood but vegetarians and meat lovers will also find enough to pick from. We sampled a variety of dishes and amazingly, nothing was over-the-top spicy. A crispy starter of Chinese-inspired prawn triangles on toast, for instance, was flavoured with ginger and garlic, and set the stage for fierier flavours. Some of these were on the Sri Lankan thali, which is a great way to try a range of items, and ours featured fish curry, mashed dal, beetroot, cabbage, long beans and coconut sambal, my favourite — grated coconut and onion sprinkled with chilli powder and lime or lime, it was fantastic with plain white rice.
Unusual fare abounds — Kotthu, for example, is a shredded paratha served with chicken, fish or egg that my JLT native friend compares it to a bread upma. It’s a popular dinner dish, and as with the fish curry, we continue eating long after we were full.
Everything is served home-style, so the fish isn’t filleted and there are no offbeat ingredients or fancy plating. But with its unpretentiously hearty fare, we can see why Ayubowan attracts diners from across Dubai and the other emirates.
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Check it out!
Ayubowan, Lake Point Tower, Cluster N, Jumeirah Lakes Towers.
Cost: Dh125 for two people.
On Tuesday, February 27, the restaurant is offering a Dubai Food Festival meal for Dh25 per head.
