Mews ‘Executive Lunch’ offers unmatched value

By Madushka Balasuriya 

The Park Street Mews ‘Executive Lunch,’ serving up three courses at a more-than-reasonable Rs. 1,200 nett, has long been one of the best value-for-money lunch deals in Colombo. But the general catch with such deals is that not all the dishes hit the proverbial ball out of the park.

So when we heard there was a new menu in place, we at Daily FT decided to undertake the ‘laborious’ task of trying them all out on your behalf (cheques in the mail, please).

The good

Off the bat, the menu provides just enough choice – five starters, six mains, and three desserts – to keep the average diner on their toes. As with any new menu, however, not everything works, but here are a few that we’re extremely keen on trying out again in the near future.

• Creamy Cheese Vegetable Bake with Spicy Tomato and Basil

From the starters, this without a doubt the standout dish. While the bake itself nailed its texture and consistency, the real star of the show was the spicy tomato sauce – offering something for the palate at every juncture, it’s never too tangy while at the same time providing a delicious aftertaste and zesty kick. Like your favourite lasagne sans the meat.

• Lemon Grass and Coconut marinated Chicken with Thai Pineapple Salad and roasted peanut

If you’re a fan of authentic Thai flavours, this is the dish for you. The chicken is well marinated and generously portioned, while the pineapple salad delicately toes the line between sweet and spicy. This, matched with subtle smokiness of the roasted peanuts and the lingering hit of coconut and lemon grass, makes it an extremely satisfying dish.

• Dijon Crusted Fish Fillet with Moroccan Cous Cous and Tarragon Butter Sauce

The one dish that truly stretched our notions of what a restaurant could offer at such a value price point. The dish itself was beautiful in its presentation; the gorgeously-cooked fish fillet perched atop a bed of cous cous, serenaded by the cascading tarragon butter sauce, was truly a sight to behold.

In terms of flavour too, everything meshes exquisitely. The butter sauce paired enhances the creaminess of the cous cous, while a generous offering of smoky eggplant furnishes a delightful contrast to the Dijon crust of the fish. A dish that would not be out of place on any menu, anywhere.

• Lemon and Curd Pound Cake with Vanilla Ice Cream and Toffee Sauce

This was a dish, truth be told, we were quite sceptical about. While it was presented stylishly, there was a concern that there may not be enough moisture on the plate – a small scoop of ice cream, and a bed of toffee sauce – to offset what looked to be a dry a slice of cake. But boy were those fears unfounded!

The texture of the cake is near perfect – just light enough to remain fluffy while also melting in your mouth - while the lemon and curd is a timeless pairing. In terms of moisture, the ice cream and toffee sauce are ideal accompaniments, in that they provide subtle hints of sweetness along with a cooling element that complements the room temperature slice of pound cake gloriously. A fitting end to a filling meal.

Szechuan Pork with Wok Fried Rice

The bad

The dishes on this list are not so much bad as they are underwhelming, in that they simply miss the mark in a few key areas.

• Fresh Pink Tuna with baked Beetroot with Feta, Capers and herb dressing

The first thing to note is that the tuna chunks are seasoned and cooked perfectly, with all the expected flavours coming through. The herb dressing too is refreshing, adding to the freshness of the beetroot. The capers, meanwhile, add another salty element to the dish, one that is not quite offset by the sweetness of the feta and the baked beetroot. 

On the whole it’s a decent dish, despite the feeling that the ingredients at times seem a little disjointed. A shame, considering the far superior tuna dish it has replaced on the menu.

• Pan-fried Beef fillet with Sausages, rich Mushroom sauce and rosti Potato

I dub this one a ‘tale of two dishes’. On the one hand is a satisfying chunk of beef, well-done but juicy, with a smattering of delicious mushroom sauce, and a side of vegetables; on the other, is half an American breakfast.

While each element was well-made and, quite frankly, tasted great, there was always the lingering feeling that elements such as the sausage and rosti potato (read: hash-brown) were added as an afterthought, where something like a mashed potato might have worked better.

The end result is a plate of food that is both tasty and filling, but suffers from an identity crisis.

• Szechuan Pork with Wok Fried Rice

This was one dish we weren’t really sure how to categorise. For one, it was something we were very much looking forward to, but when it arrived we were left a little underwhelmed – this was primarily due to the sight of simply yellow rice with a side of pork.

In terms of flavour, the pork was well-marinated with all the slices of meat extremely lean and devoid of almost any fat, which went very well with flavourful rice. However none of this could overcome the dryness of the dish, one which would have no doubt been better served if there was a little more of that delicious Szechuan sauce. 

The ugly

• Hazelnut Spread Creamy Slice with Berry sauce

This was the only dish which really let us down. On paper, it had all the makings an exciting dessert, however the execution was sadly lacking. 

There was no oomph in the hazelnut spread – it tasted of ordinary chocolate – while the drizzling of berry sauce was not nearly enough relief in terms of acidity. 

The only plus-point is that it was presented beautifully.

The verdict

While some dishes do fall flat, the ones that work, work supremely well. And though there is undoubtedly room for improvement, let this not take away from the fact that, at this price point (Rs. 1,200 nett), this is arguably the most well-rounded lunch deal anywhere in Colombo – one we’re sure to be revisiting in the months to come.

Pix by Ruwan Walpola