Kandy food tour

KANDY FOOD TOUR - Kandy was the last great stronghold of Sri Lanka's kings, a mountain-ringed capital where ancient Sinhalese traditions survived long after much of the island fell under European rule. Indigenous rice varieties, coconut, jackfruit and native herbs meet the spices that made this island famous, while centuries of South Indian influence left their fragrant mark. Beyond the sacred temples and colonial façades, the real culinary treasures are often tucked away in the lush hills surrounding the city.

Our four-hour tuk tuk feast of 15+ tastings leaves the usual tourist trail behind, zipping out of central Kandy to hunt down roadside kitchens, family-run eateries and little food specialists scattered around the surrounding hills.

Begin outside the historic Bake House, where we're warming up with wandu adai, soft steamed rice cakes, sticky-sweet jam paan buns and a steaming cup of kiri thé, Sri Lanka's famously strong, milky tea. Ceylon tea may have conquered the world, but it tastes considerably better on home turf.

Then jump aboard our tuk tuks. We'll buzz past Kandy's historic clock tower and escape the city bustle for winding roads, tropical greenery and occasional glimpse of the lake.

First up, a small women-run cooperative dishing out old-school Sri Lankan breakfasts. Slurp down kola kanda, a nourishing herbal rice porridge made with leafy greens, before unwrapping helapa, a sweet finger millet cake steamed inside a leaf. There's kiribath, creamy coconut milk rice traditionally eaten at celebrations, and crisp ulundu vadai, savoury lentil doughnuts begging to be dunked into fiery chilli and coconut sambals.

A roadside king coconut provides a refreshing pit stop before we hit the next round.

Attack golden polos cutlets, crisp jackfruit fritters, followed by sambala pittu, steamed rice-flour cakes with a satisfyingly crumbly texture. Then comes string hopper kottu, a glorious tangle of delicate rice noodles chopped and tossed with vegetables, accompanied by piquant kade sambol and rich tomato curry. Pair it all with diwul kiri, a creamy, sweet-tart wood apple drink that tastes like nothing else on earth.

Back into the tuk tuks. The roads twist through thick greenery, with the hills rising around us and Kandy's lake occasionally flashing between the trees. We're heading for Sujika's hut, where coconut rotis are still cooked the old-fashioned way over an open fire. Watch the dough blister and char before tearing into the warm flatbreads with spicy sambal and comforting parippu, Sri Lanka's fragrant red lentil curry. No fancy equipment. Just fire, flour, coconut and know-how.

But we're saving the heavyweight for last. Pull up a chair for a Sri Lankan banana-leaf spread. Fragrant curries arrive alongside nutty sahal red rice, rich slow-cooked beef, fresh pennywort salad and crisp papads.

There's just enough room for one last raid as our tuk tuks roll back into central Kandy. Dive into the bustling Central Market for exotic tropical fruits, before finishing with gloriously indulgent buffalo curd drizzled in golden homemade treacle.

Kandy's temples and royal history might draw the crowds, but its food story stretches far beyond the city streets. This is a tuk tuk-powered raid on the kitchens, stalls and backroads most visitors never discover.