Discovering Loon Tao’s hidden dishes on its 5th anniversary

Saturday, 27 July 2013 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

By David Ebert When Loon Tao Managing Director/CEO Janaka Wimalananda speaks about running a restaurant, he comes across as a person who was born to do just that. He doesn’t see himself doing anything else, as his job satisfaction he says, lies in the little things such as an unexpected compliment

from a customer or even familiar faces coming back regularly for his beach side Chinese cuisine. Right from the age of 16, which was when he moved to Japan, his chosen career was already decided in his mind. After eight years of working his way up to Operations Manager in a highly competitive Japanese restaurant with the added burden of having to learn the language along the way as well, he recalls those times with a sense of pride and achievement. However, not only from the education he underwent in running a successful establishment but also in managing the high customer service standards and food quality that are an accepted norm in high-end Japanese restaurants. Hence five years ago, he decided to give Sri Lanka a restaurant that could be considered a first in terms of the authenticity of its cuisine and its customer service standards that has already seen it awarded a Trip Advisor Certificate of Excellence and the Living Essentials Service Standards Award in 2012 for its high quality in both its cuisine and service. The secret, according to Janaka, lies in following policies that are aimed at ensuring freshness with every dish made to order, using only the freshest meat, seafood and vegetables that are same-day-sourced and only stored for use on that same day. Janaka insists on following this process regardless of the logistics nightmare it entails in addition to the extra costs which he believes re justifiable as long as it means that his customers walk out of his restaurant truly appreciative of the quality food and service that is delivered. Authentic Chinese meal I went to Loon Tao on a breezy Mount Lavinia evening looking for an authentic Chinese feast; ready to be a bit adventurous and try the dishes that most people would just breeze past on the way to the standard pan fried this and hot battered that, which most of us usually find refuge in at a Chinese restaurant. And after a quick discussion with Janaka, who offered to lay out what he would consider an authentic Chinese meal for me, we decided on garlic cucumber and spring rolls as appetisers, Shanghai-style hot and sour soup as the starter and Thai-style cuttlefish, Shanghai-style prawns, stir-fried beef in oyster sauce and homemade bean curd with a serving of steamed rice that interestingly is often served just before the final course to ensure you enjoy more of the proteins in the meat and vegetables and less rice, limiting starch intake. The garlic cucumber turned out to be a very unassuming starter of sliced cucumber marinated in shredded garlic and sesame oil. It’s not a dish that someone would rush to order off a menu filled with so many other richer tasting starters, but its subtleness almost sets your palate up for the variety of flavours yet to come. The very lightly browned vegetable and mushroom-filled spring rolls that came next looked almost unfried in their lack of oiliness. Janaka explained that the restaurant has a zero tolerance kitchen policy on reusing oil for frying and hence use only fresh high quality oil for each individual serving that is made. This he pointed out, combined with the right oil temperature and cooking time ensures an unadulterated flavour and gives the spring rolls its distinctive pale brown colour. This policy also extends to overall oil usage in all its dishes as well, with a preference for minimal oil use, which once pointed out, made me notice the general lack of oiliness in all the dishes served. Now I’m usually not a big fan of soup starters but the Shanghai-style hot and sour soup served up next contained generous helpings of cuttlefish, prawns and chicken and a heady aroma of lemongrass and Chinese herbs that smelled to me like beginnings of a brand new friendship. In terms of flavour, it was both spicy and tangy from the word go, both tastes that I enjoy. It’s a dish that uses very simple ingredients but is also a very delicate one in that it relies chiefly on the chef’s ability to exactly balance its dual flavours to perfection. Something different I have a theory that if you ask 10 people in Colombo how they like their cuttlefish prepared, their answers would most probably be divided equally between hot and battered and devilled. However, I also believe that cuttlefish has more potential than that and always prefer trying something new like my next choice, the Thai-style cuttlefish. Tender slices of cuttlefish, wok fried with Thai oil, freshly made sauces, coriander and lemon grass that has a slight spicy ‘bite’ which hits your palate with a tangy aftertaste. The secret as Janaka explained, “Is using today’s cuttlefish, today’s onions, today’s green chillies and everything else that goes into it. You can’t beat that can you?” True enough. Prawns are not always the easiest dish to get right but the highlight of my meal was undoubtedly the Shanghai-style prawns, stir-fried in a special black bean paste that brought out a surprising subtle natural sweetness in the obviously fresh prawns which for me was quite a refreshing change. This dish in my opinion undoubtedly proved that Loon Tao’s same-day sourcing policy definitely adds much to the uniqueness of its cuisine. The homemade bean curd sourced from a local cottage industry and served stir-fried in a pleasantly subtle flavoured oyster sauce, was a welcome break from my sprint through the rich flavours of the previous servings. With its usual smoky flavour that I love in bean curd combined with the lightly flavoured oyster sauce, it helped set me up for the next serving which, as was explained, should be the steamed rice. Accompanying the steamed rice was my final dish, the stir-fried beef in oyster sauce. Tender and juicy slices of beef in a slightly tangy oyster sauce that being so soft, almost melts in your mouth. The secret to the tenderness as was explained lies not in any pre-wok tenderising process but rather in the selection of the right cut, the correct method of slicing and the right amount of time it spends in the wok. Combined with a modest helping of steamed rice, the beef definitely helped keep my starch levels down and my happiness levels up. Desserts For dessert, I decided on a two-pronged approach, choosing two of my favourites to indulge in; the chocolate brownie with vanilla ice cream and the ever popular (in my book) tiramisu. I tucked into the tiramisu first, since I consider it the perfect ‘pick-up’ dessert, as its name suggests, after quite a heavy meal and the moist but firm filling and a flavouring of cocoa and coffee that are in no way overpowering was just what I got. All vital ingredients for a good tiramisu. The brownie didn’t disappoint either, being rich but not overly sweet and the scoops of vanilla ice cream did help to cool me down a bit as well after a hard evening eating some of the most fresh and flavourful Chinese food I’ve had in a while. Loon Tao is celebrating its fifth anniversary this month and as MD/CEO Janaka explained, looks forward to “continuing to serve its wide variety of clientele only the very best in authentic Chinese cuisine”. The restaurant also offers an extensive selection of fine wine and spirits, in addition to a choice of cocktails and non alcoholic beverages as well. Loon Tao takes its last order for dinner at 11:00 p.m. For more details and reservations call 0112722723. Pix by Lasantha Kumara