Unwinding at ‘Pebbles’

Saturday, 20 July 2013 00:33 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

By Cassandra Mascarenhas Taj Samudra’s latest addition to its culinary line-up at first sounds rather ambiguous – named ‘Pebbles,’ it’s hard to picture what exactly it must be. Curiously, I made my way past the massive construction site that the Taj lobby has currently been transformed into, down a white tunnel and ended up at an oasis of sorts – a luxurious, airy coffee shop/bar – boasting a range of delicious pastries and cakes, many varieties of tea and a friendly bartender ready to whip up any drink available on the fairly extensive menu.

Pebbles has been in operation for over a month and has already established itself as a firm favourite amongst Colombo’s working crowd who flock to the coffee shop in the evenings to unwind, conduct some informal meetings, indulge in some scrumptious goodies and even play some pool while catching up on the latest sporting event on television. Fully glass-fronted, it’s also the ideal place to catch a glorious sunset, while enjoying Pebbles’ ornate tea service, complete with the perfect tea timer – a set of three hourglasses – which allows you to time how long a teabag should be steeped in water depending on how you prefer drinking your tea. This has been quite a hit with diners who have returned to the coffee shop and have specifically requested the tea timer to have the perfect cup of tea. Although a coffee stop coupled with a bar is not very common, the response from patrons has been very positive so far, especially because the well-spaced out seating ensures that the area does not feel very crowded and gives one a feeling of privacy and the coffee stop/bar with the addition of a pool table gives diners a space to spend a couple of hours in, instead of having to move from one location to another. Assistant Pastry Chef Viraj Ariyaratne, who is also fairly new to the hotel, having joined not even a year back, explained that at any given time, customers will be able to choose from at least 10 cakes, 20 savouries and a range of sandwiches. The coffee stop also boasts a range of custom-made chocolates including pralines, cashew infused chocolates, coffee flavoured chocolates and even chilli chocolates. If looking for a spicy kick, choose from the vegetable pakoras, chicken croissants, tandoori chicken puffs, chicken samsosas, mutton puffs, beef buns and many more. For dessert, indulge in the gloriously sinful chocolate excess cake, pineapple upside down cake, tiramisu, Florentines, Linzer tart, chocolate fudge cake, chocolate éclairs or apple pie. In a mood for strawberries, I sampled both the strawberry tart and strawberry cheesecake – both of which were simply delicious. The tart came with a pie base overflowing with fresh ripe strawberries with almond flakes and topped with a dollop of whipped cream – sweet with a slightly tart aftertaste, it’s definitely a must-try as is the strawberry cheesecake. The bar area, which is just a couple of steps from the coffee shop, has a mini bar manned by a bartender who immediately whips up your preferred drink. Perch on a one of the high stools and catch a match or unwind by shooting some pool. Conveniently located in the heart of Colombo’s commercial centre, Pebbles tends fill up quickly after office hours on Fridays and weekends and can seat a maximum of 30 to 40 people, so it is best to head there early in order to grab a seat. Pebbles also caters to parties and allows patrons to pre-order from a special menu that is available for the purpose and even has a kiddies party pack.