What to eat in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka's cuisine is one of the country's major drawcards. It has been heavily influenced by Sri Lanka's history, with Dutch, Indonesian and Indian cooking traditions all leaving their mark. The result is an often spicy, always tasty variety of foods.

These are just a few you need to try on your Sri Lanka tour:

  1. Curry
    Curry, curry, everywhere – Sri Lanka is known as the Spice Island for a reason and its national dish is undoubtedly rice and curry. Fish, chicken and mutton are the most popular, with spice levels ranging from a slight tingle on the tongue to an apocalyptic burning of the entire mouth.

  2. Hoppers
    Also known as appam, hoppers are generally a breakfast food, kind of like a Sri Lankan pancake. They’re made with rice, flour and coconut milk and come in various forms, like egg hoppers and string hoppers. Don’t miss them or you’ll be…hopping mad.

  3. Lamprais
    Introduced by the Dutch Burgher population, lamprais consists of a couple of curries, meatballs, rice and sambol, all wrapped up in a banana leaf and baked in an oven. Unwrap the leaf and behold the tasty mish-mash of goodness.

  4. Watalappam
    As fun to eat as it is to say, watalappam is a coconut pudding made with coconut milk, cashews, spices and jaggery. It’s a creamy dessert that’s popular with young and old all over the country – dig in.

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