it’s thursday night.

i’m at the kanmathee shop to fuel myself up on some coffee, and get a can of hundred plus for later, to take the edge off.

the women behind the counter are boisterous tonight.

‘a guy came to buy a bunch of tonic water earlier,’ says one.

‘ah,’ says i.

‘i asked him why he needed so much,’ she smiles knowingly.

oh dear.

‘he said it’s great with a slice of lime and asked me to try it,’ she continues, her face barely containing her delight. ‘so i got some tonic and asked sleyman at the back to get me a lime and a glass, while the guy’s still around. and when the drink was in front of me, he said ‘i’ll come back later tonight with the secret ingredient.“

and she lets loose a guffaw, while the other belts out long, screeching peals of laughter.

funny women.

anyway, i’m on a special mission tonight – i heard on the grapevine that the somerset does an exceptional sri lankan buffet on thursday evening. and that’s where i’m headed.

i meet ganesh at the hotel – he’s the general manager, a young, shrewd sri lankan who’s been there since the female gm departed many years ago.

‘glad you could make it,’ he says grabbing my arm in the lobby. he’s casual tonight, but fresh and clean in a snug t-shirt and jeans.

i spot head chef wicum by the live hopper stand.

‘can i take a video of the chef?’ i ask.

‘you’ll have to wait for him to put some makeup machan,’ says ganesh.

funny man.

the buffet is magnificent. i decide on a combo of chicken curry, tempered potatoes, dahl, caramelised eggplant, gotu kola salad, and yellow rice.

at my seat, i look around and see the bistro has attracted some high profile people, who look and speak comfortably enough to be regulars. i can hear them from my table at the far corner. they sound exuberant.

one of them walks past me.

‘husenfulhu!’ she says. ‘what are you doing here?’

of course, my presence in a bastion of the elite might raise a few eyebrows, it certainly has hers.

‘i’m here for work,’ i tell her. she seems satisfied with the answer.

‘what do you do now?’

‘the same thing,’ i say.

she nods – it’s an answer she can accept and she waddles her considerable girth across the oatmeal tiles towards her quarry for a second round.

meanwhile, i make short work of my first. the combination is a charmer – the sweet eggplant counters the heat of the curry and potatoes while the dahl rounds it off with a deliciously thick, grainy texture. and little, concentrated bursts of flavour come through the gotu kola salad. this is next level sri lankan.

‘how was it?’ asks ganesh as i leave.

‘i’m coming back next week,’ i say.

‘your blog is only worth one free meal machan,’ he responds. ‘bring ten friends and i give you one dinner, no charge.’

so if any of you want sri lankan this thursday…