Dragonfli – where culinary masterpieces, extraordinary cocktails and soothing ambience blend to create elevated dining experience

Dragonfli Co-Owner  Natalie Jayasuriya

Chef Malin De Silva

By Uma Chandrasiri

Dining in today’s world, especially in the cities, has become an immersive experience as opposed to a mere fulfilment of a bodily need. We linger over food, savouring each morsel, visually, texturally and for its flavour and if we’re in company, this ritual becomes a chance to create memories as we share our stories and laugh over even the mundane. Today’s chefs, the masters of their crafts, strive to create art with food that tells their own stories, and this feat was achieved to perfection by Chef Malin de Silva of Dragonfli as he weaved magic with his mind and his hands.

Dragonfli, taking inspiration from the elegant insect that flits through air and water, surpasses culinary boundaries and aims at exception in every sense of the word, in everything they do from the eclectic interior that is a pleasing surprise, to the attentive service staff and most importantly to the impeccable food that is a joy in its simplicity heightened by an abundance of flavour and creative presentation. Their cuisine seamlessly blends modern and classic Asian flavours with innovation to present a result that makes your taste buds sigh with pleasure, like a parched earth after a welcoming rain.

Dragonfli is certain to successfully capture the niche they seek with all the necessary elements seamlessly blending to perfection. A central location in the heart of Colombo 7, a beautiful and soothing interior that will enhance the dining experience, a magician for their chef and the innovation and expertise of the co-owners, Sheran de Fonseka and Natalie Fernando. 

Chef Malin is a bit of a magician as he certainly creates magic with food and tells us with his warm and gentle smile that “he tries to tell his stories through his food”. This unassuming man has been a semi-finalist at Masterchef Professionals 2019, worked for renowned establishments such as the River Restaurant by Gordon Ramsey at the Savoy Hotel, worked as the Head Chef at Paradise Soho, London and Kolomba London and second chef at Restaurant Fraiche by Marc Wilkinson, a Michelin starred and 4 Rosette awarded establishment yet manages to retain his authenticity, his roots and his passion for Asia and her flavours.

Dragonfli’s soft, classic and sophisticated interior is the result of the creative genius of designer Stefan Joachim. 

At a recently held press dinner, we were treated to an array of delectable food and beverage options where careful thought process was evident in every dish and every cocktail or mocktail. 

For starters, we were offered a mushroom and creamed tofu cornetto with mango caviar, fresh oysters with fragrant nam jim sauce, tender tuna with nashi pear and pickled cucumber and a fun creation they call the birds’ nest-minced chicken with an amazing lemongrass sauce embedded in an airy orb of fried strips of spring roll sheets. Stepping away from traditional prawn toast, Malin has created his own version, the prawn paste fried within a square of homemade milk bread, served with a sweet chilli sauce which was crispy, fresh and delicious. These impeccable creations were perfectly paired with excellent wines and handcrafted cocktails. I sampled their toasted sesame and miso negroni, a sesame-infused Japanese Gin, with house made miso bitter bianco and dry vermouth, the flavours of which blended so smoothly leaving an appealing aftertaste. 

For mains, we enjoyed an incredibly flavourful calamari, cooked to perfection with a red curry paste, butternut squash and squid ink strips, chicken in shanghai sauce with a cashew crumble and the best cabbage dish we had the pleasure to sample – a braised cabbage with apple ponzu, togarashi (a Japanese spice mixture), scattered with crispy garlic and onions. We concluded this soiree of gastronomical delights with a Japanese cotton cheesecake with mango (a creation of lightness and flavour) and a chocolate delice with yogurt sorbet and milk crumble which re-enforced my belief that a well-crafted chocolate dessert is one of the highest pleasures of life.

Stefan’s ingenuity continues to shine through as another uniqueness of design at Dragonfli is the seeming co-habitation of two contrasting worlds within one space. You can move from the calm and soft ambience of the dining space through a vibrant partitioning to a world of mystery, bathed in a red glow, reminiscent of the speakeasys of a bygone era yet with a modern twist. This is their alluring Kura bar, with its plush seating and art and alcohol creatively displayed on the walls. They say that the dragonfly symbolises change, rebirth and hope and the owners have found the perfect name for their venture.

Dragonfli’s opening hours are from 11.30 a.m. – 2.00 p.m. for lunch and 6 p.m. onwards for dinner, Tuesdays through to Sundays.

- Pix by Upul Abayasekara