I didn’t expect to find a Sri Lankan restaurant, Many Little, in a small town in Victoria, let alone it turn out to be the best Sri Lankan Food I have ever had. It felt like the Universe was giving me a break after a row of bad Asian food during our week-long stay in Mornington Peninsula.
Even though I am technically a Tamilan, the first time I had my technically neighbouring country, Srilakan food was only after I moved to Melbourne. My first encounter with Srilankan food was getting Lamprais at Queen Victoria Market’s night market. I remember not immediately taking into Sri Lankan food. Maybe my simple brain struggled to rationalize the food that looked exactly like my heritage food, tasting different. But that lasted only a short time, not after having multiple delicious homecooked Srilankan food from our friend Bishma and the many trips to Citrus in Fitzroy for a $17 Srilankan buffet. I became a fan and have added Srilankan to our celebratory cuisine roaster ever since.
A Beautiful Srilankan Food Set Menu in Many Little
Many Little is located in Red Hill, Victoria, where we frequently take a road trip to spend an afternoon in the winery nearby, Kerri Greens. And that is how we spotted Many Little and decided to book it for our anniversary.
The Srilankan food in Many Little is an homage to the executive chef of Many Little Gayan’s heritage, who we could watch chef-ing from the open-concept kitchen in the restaurant.
We had the set menu on the day, and I got the one with wine pairing.
The first glass was NV Polperro Blanc de Blanc. It’s followed by four starters: Fraser Island spanner crab, Venison cutlets, Central Victorian duck and Polperro Farm foraged “keera” served with Papad. The wine pairing for the starter was Even Keel Field Blend.
The mains were Hiramasa King Fish, cooked in banana leaf and served with chilli sambal and Polperro Farm corn, with curry leaf crisps and chilli oil. And for me, with a glass of Talland Hill Chardonnay.
Then there was the second main: Hoppers Thali. It’s egg hoppers, rice string hoppers, assorted condiments and devilled potatoes with our own choice of curry each. We went with Beef Curry and Deviled Pork. Both curries were flavoured and, as per our initial request, spicy. By now, I had the Estate Pinot Noir, which was a perfect pairing.
The only letdown was the desert, Whipped Watalappan. But that could be because the main was already too filling, or since I had already gunned down two cocktails and four glasses of wine, I was too drunk to enjoy it properly.
But hey, how else does one celebrate their anniversary?
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