cookery Archives - GlenMyu Estate Luxury Bed and Breakfast

Favourite meal in Sri Lanka.

Cookery Courses, Food and Drink, Organic, Our food menus at GlenMyu Estate, Plant Based Menu, Recipes, Ru's Recipes, Sri Lankan Cooking, sri lankan recipes, Vegan, Vegetarian / By Mikeez

Our guests' favourite meal in Sri Lanka.

Our guests’ favourite meal in Sri Lanka?

I think that this is our guests’ favourite meal in Sri Lanka. There are lots of dishes that we prepare for guests at GlenMyu Estate that we hear sounds of delight and praise.

The food is great. It is mainly prepared with the most local fresh ingredients that we can source. As a result, many of our dishes fall within the plant based, vegetarian and vegan categories.

What is our guests' favourite meal in Sri Lanka?

Well, I think that it is our Sri Lankan sharing platter.

There are lots of reasons why I think that it our guests’ favourite meal in Sri Lanka.

Some of our guests may disagree, as there are so many meals that Ru and the team create that are delicious.

However, maybe I’m a little biased, as I love our Sri Lankan sharing platter so much that I limit how often I eat it!

Why is it our guests' favourite meal in Sri Lanka.

There are several factors that make our Sri Lankan sharing platter special for our guests.

One of the main reasons is the memory you get from the whole experience.

Normally when we prepare the dishes, Ru’s mother offers a free Sri Lankan cookery demonstration.

Ru’s mum has been cooking for so many years that it’s hard to count. Her husband loves her food and that has been one major joy in their relationship. It’s funny when I ask Ru’s father “How was your lunch?” when someone other than his wife was the chef. The normal response is “It’s okay”.

This is not the most positive response!

In the past when Ru has cooked for him, he has been known to say “Ask your mother how you should cook this”.

I have found that there is little tact and diplomacy in Sri Lanka in these matters and straight talking in the norm!

An entertaining afternoon.

Ru’s mums’ Sri Lankan cooking demonstration normally starts around 4.30 p.m.

The other staff help out by preparing some of the ingredients including chopping the vegetables, preparing the coconut milk and grinding the kollu.

The cooking demonstration adds to the experience.

By participating in the Sri Lankan cookery demonstration (yes you may get your hands dirty!) it adds to the overall experience.

Seeing how your food is prepared and cooked before being delivered to the table appears to add to the flavour of the dishes. I think that guests feel part of the experience.

By the way, the Sri Lankan sharing platter is delicious.

Ru’s mum is really a great Sri Lankan cook. The years of experience come out in the dishes she prepares. Not only are the dishes great tasting, they are also a balanced meal providing you with protein, carbohydrates and vegetables.

There is no meat or fish in our Sri Lankan sharing platter unless you want something on the side) and it is enjoyed by both meat and non meat eaters.
The range of flavours and textures in the dishes means that you replay don’t need any meat or fish with this meal.

It is served with either rice or paratha and you will definitely leave the table full!

Make your own mind up!

Perhaps you will disagree with me and your favourite meal in Sri Lanka at GlenMyu Estate will differ from mine.

We hope to see you in Sri Lanka and have the opportunity to let us know.

Stay at GlenMyu Estate and enjoy delicious food when you are on holiday.

A stay at GlenMyu Estate as you explore the Sri Lankan Hill Country and see sights like Horton Plains National Park is a unique experience.

We only have three bedrooms and you will need to book early during the peak holiday season.

The estate is usually within an hours drive of the major sightseeing locations such as Nine Arch Bridge, Ella Town, Upper Diyaluma Waterfall, Lipton’s Seat, Bambarakanda Waterfall and many more,

GlenMyu Estate is listed on Booking.com and Airbnb.
Contact us by the WhatsApp button on our website for direct booking rates.

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Ru' Sri Lankan Egg Hoppers with a twist.

5 reasons Trying New Food is the Best part of Travelling

Cookery Courses, Holiday, Life in Sri Lanka, Recipes, Ru's Recipes, Sri Lanka, Sri Lankan Cooking, sri lankan recipes, The Organic Garden at GlenMyu, Vegan, Vegetarian / By Mikeez

5 reasons Trying New Food is the Best part of Travelling.

5 reasons trying new food is the best part of travelling.

We all love traveling. There’s so many good elements to that two-week break and it’s good for your heart and soul.
Some of the benefits are:

Sight-seeing
Meeting new people
Exploring new places.
Getting away from everyday life at home.
Resting and reenergising.

and let’s not forget about the endless amounts of Instagram posts.

But the best part of all is the food.

Different countries of the world have so many new flavours and dishes that you would not come across at home. It’s unlikely that you would try these dishes at home and travelling gives you the inspiration to get out of your comfort zone.

It’s probably not the main thing that you research before you go on holiday and the beauty is getting out of your comfort zone a trying new tastes.

We find that our guests at GlenMyu Estate, Sri Lanka are really open to trying new dishes that Ru serves. The delight and discussion about the new flavours are music to our ears.

Here are why we think that food is the best aspect of traveling.

1. You Discover Foods You Have NotTried Before.

There are so many dishes in other countries that you would never try if you do not traveled outside you own country. And my what would you have missed if you didn’t sample some of these amazing flavours!

Traveling somewhere new provides you with the opportunity to opens your eyes and your taste buds to a new world of flavour.

In Sri Lanka, even eating local Mangos, Papaya and Avocados (which have not done those food miles) are a discovery. At GlenMyu Estate we have experienced guests’ joy at eating something that tasted different in their home country.

Fresh coconut juice from a King Coconut is delicious and good for you.

Sri Lankan food is favoured with lots of different spices that are grown on the island. If you pop into a supermarket you will see that there is only a limited range of groceries on offer.

As a result Sri Lankans use very little processed food and favour locally grown fresh ingredients.

Even on a small island like Sri Lanka, there are regional variations of the way food in prepared, the ingredients used and how it is served. So on your holiday in Sri Lanka you will experience different flavours around as you travel.

2. You Will Experience Foods You Eat at Home in a New Way.

While you will discover completely new foods when you visit a foreign country, you will also be able to try food you’ve eaten many times before at home. However, you will probably discover a completely new flavour in it.

There’s nothing like eating pizza or pasta in Italy. Or they say that Guinness tastes different in Ireland.

It makes sense that when foodstuff has to travel it will lose its’ freshness. Some food is sprayed with chemicals to preserve it or make sure it does not ripen quickly before it ends up on the supermarket shelves.

Foods local in other countries have so much more flavour because they are authentic and have not been adjusted for a foreign market. They are also fresher and the cooks and chefs are used to preparing dishes with the locally grown ingredients.

3. A Country’s Food Tells You So Much About Their Culture.

Your guide book will give you an insight into the local culture, however, getting into a kitchen or sampling local food will tell you much more.

We have lots of guests that visit GlenMyu Estate that have seen cows in fields and on the roads as they have travelled around the island.

They are surprised when we tell them that Sri Lanka was not historically a culture that used milk. You can imagine, if a farmer milked a cow, years ago they had no way of keeping it cool in the tropics.

So butter, milk and cheese are not products that are used in many of the local recipes. Coconut milk and coconut oil is used in most dishes. Coconuts are grown all over the island and in many home gardens. You will be surprised on how many coconuts a tree will deliver to a family during the year.

Our informal Sri Lankan Cookery Demonstration.

One way of getting to understand the culture is to take part in a local cooking course when you are in Sri Lanka.

We at GlenMyu Estate, offer an informal cookery demonstration when guests order our Sri Lankan Sharing Platter. Ru’s mother, who has at least 50 years experience in the kitchen, loves sharing the intricacies of her version of Sri Lankan cooking.

There are many regional variations in cooking styles on this small island. Ru’s mum is from the Matara district and the way she cooks is a reflection of that if the south coast.

4. Food Brings People Closer Together.

We have three bedrooms at GlenMyu Estate. Sometimes all three rooms are booked by one party. Eating their meal together as a group allows the guests to bond and have a shared experience.

At other times the rooms are booked by individual parties who are exploring the island. We are delighted when these guests experience new food and tastes with others around the table, especially when they are ecstatic about what they have sampled. It’s also a chance to share their views on the travel around the island and their plans after leaving GlenMyu Estate.

The community feeling and bond creates from this shared experience is one that we treasure. We think that it really adds value to the travel experience around Sri Lanka.

Food is also a good conversation opener for people that have met for the first time.

We have seen friendships created, contact details swapped and photos shared.

5. You Benefit From Discovering New Flavours and Dishes to try at Home.

Going to a new country and trying new dishes and experiencing new flavours means you get to come home with so many ideas to try in your own kitchen.

Of course, the ingredients that you will be able to buy at home may have travelled a bit, so it may not taste exactly like that when on holiday.

But at least it will provide you with a taste of your holiday and bring back memories of what a wonderful time you had.

We have been amazed and delighted that several of our guests have tried our recipes at home. There was a Norwegian couple that sent us a picture of the family trying their version of Ru’s mums Aubergine curry.

A German lady sent us photos of her Sri Lankan Egg Hoppers which she made in Berlin.

We also had a Polish couple who had some fast food restaurants in Poland stay with us at GlenMyu Estate. They worked out that they could get substitute ingredients for the coconut symbol that they eat here and would add it to their restaurant menu.

Ru likes to share her recipes and ho they are cooked. We have a YouTube Channel “Ru’s Recipes” which will we add content to over time to show you how to make the food you enjoyed at GlenMyu Estate.

5 reasons Trying New Food is the Best part of Travelling - Summary

You Discover Foods You Have NotTried Before.
You Will Experience Foods You Eat at Home in a New Way.
A Country’s Food Tells You So Much About Their Culture.
Food Brings People Closer Together.
You Benefit From Discovering New Flavours and Dishes to try at Home.

Stay at GlenMyu Estate, try new food and take part in our cookery demo.

A stay at GlenMyu Estate as you explore the Sri Lankan Hill Country gives you the opportunity to sample a variety of local and fusion cuisine.

We are developing a good reputation for our food (read our guest reviews) and guests enjoy the variety of dishes we offer.

We only have three bedrooms and you will need to book early during the peak holiday season.

The estate is usually within an hours drive of the major sightseeing locations such as Nine Arch Bridge, Ella Town, Upper Diyaluma Waterfall, Lipton’s Seat, Bambarakanda Waterfall and many more,

GlenMyu Estate is listed on Booking.com and Airbnb.
Contact us by the WhatsApp button on our website for direct booking rates.

5 reasons Trying New Food is the Best part of Travelling Read More »

Sri Lankan Cooking Demonstration

Food and Drink, Organic, Recipes, Sri Lanka, Sri Lankan Cooking / By Mikeez

Cooking Holidays in Sri Lanka

At GlenMyu Estate Hotel we offer our guests a free informal Sri Lankan Cooking demonstration. It’s not quite a cooking course however our guests take notes and try some of the recipes out once they get back home.

Sri Lanka is a culinary Paradise!

The local ingredients picked from fertile land, combined with spices brought to the Island by Portuguese, Dutch and British colonists and the influence of Arab, Malay and Indian flavours, over several centuries, has resulted in a special cuisine where there are subtle differences around the Island.

Being a port on the silk route we should not be surprised that traders brought a wide range of produce that has been immersed into the local dishes.

Although the Island is small, (similar inside to Ireland), the growing conditions and local weather in different part of the isle means that the North, South, East and West all have different tastes and interpretations of the food they offer.

It’s not all about chilli peppers!

There are so many spices, fruits and vegetables that grow well in the Island that your plate is not just about getting a hit from one of the variety of chilli peppers grown here

Sri Lanka reputedly grows the best Cinnamon in the World and this is an ingredient that you will find in many dishes.

Cloves, Cardamom, Cinnamon, Pepper, Chillies, and Vanilla are just some of the spices that are grown on the land at GlenMyu Estate and are used in the dishes we offer on our menu.

Here are a few pictures of some of the produce that we are growing in the garden.

To find out more about GlenMyu Estate, Haputale please click on the following link.

Join in with the cooking at GlenMyu Estate

We don’t run an official Sri Lankan Cooking course at the Estate but we have found that many of our guests are interested in Sri Lankan cooking.

We provide an informal Sri Lankan Cooking demonstration where we encourage our guests to join in.

Ruwanthi will take you around the garden to pick some of the organic produce that will be used as ingredients for some of the dishes.

On returning to the kitchen you will be asked to join in preparing the dishes by our dynamic duo Ruwanthi and her mother. We also will have other workers that assist and help with preparing the ingredients and dishes.

Jackfruit is picked from the trees on the estate and is one of the ingredients for the Sri Lankan sharing platter. This is a dish we regularly demonstrate in our informal cookery course.

Our cooking demonstration is informal and you will have the opportunity to watch the dishes being made and Ru will explain about the ingredients we use. Don’t worry, there is no test at the end of the demonstration, just a lovely meal.

It has been known however, for Ru to hand you a pestle and mortar and get you to work helping to prepare a dish!

Our Sri Lankan Sharing Platter - a guest favourite!

The Sri Lankan sharing platter is a vegetarian selection of Sri Lankan curries which vary depending on the availability of fresh produce. We normally run our informal Sri Lankan Cookery course and demonstration when guests order this meal.

Typically it includes a Jackfruit Curry (Great protein!), Aubergine Curry, Plantain Curry, Malum (green healthy leaves) and a salad.

We serve the Sri Lankan Sharing platter with homemade Paratha or with rice for our Vegan guests.

Ru’s mum is a master with the knife and here she is cutting a banana flower which is one of the ingredients of her curries.

Ru lived in London for around sixteen years and is therefore experienced in cooking to a Western palette. She is fully aware that the level of Chillies and Pepper added to the dishes has to be pared down significantly for most of our guests.

However, here is Ru missing her mother putting in a little bit too much chilli during the informal Sri Lankan Cooking Demonstration and course!

It's not all about Sri Lankan Curries!

Ru makes her own fresh pasta for another favourite dish of mine and the guests – Roasted Pumpkin Ravioli.

In effect you may end up picking and cooking your evening meal.

We are always delighted if guests want to join in and we encourage them to do so.

If you end up making a dish or two when you get home it really warms our hearts!

Find our more about a stay at GlenMyu Estate

We only have three bedrooms so we can be booked out quite early in certain time of the year so if you wish to book please try to book early.

We are listed on Booking.com and Airbnb however please contact on the WhatsApp button on our website for the best rates.

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Free Cooking Classes

Cookery Courses, Ru's Recipes / By Mikeez

Beragala – Haputale – Sri Lanka

Cooking Classes

Beragala - Haputale

Sri Lanka

At GlenMyu Estate, Hotel many of our guests are really interested in Sri Lankan cooking classes.

Learn to cook a Sri Lankan meal at home from our informal cooking classes and demonstrations at GlenMyu Estate.

Cooking Sri Lankan food as well as the ability to prepare a few dishes to an excellent standard.

The free cooking demonstrations are conducted at GlenMyu Estate, Beragala, Haputale, Sri Lanka.

You can take notes or get involved yourself

The class is provided free on request if you are staying at GlenMyu Estate.

During the ad-hoc cooking lessons you will be able to get busy in the kitchen alongside Ruwanthi, her mother and the staff.

Cooking classes - Western and Fusion Dishes too!

Ru also makes a variety of Western and Fusion dishes for our guests.

Here are some photos when Ru was making Pumpkin Ravioli.

A selection of the dishes that Ru cooks for our guests.

Find out more and cooking classes.

To arrange a stay at GlenMyu Estate and learn more about how Ru prepares the dishes and cooking classes please contact us for rates.

Call us on 0752999272 or send Michael an email at michael@resortglenmyu.com.

Ru's recipes on YouTube

We will be launching Ru’s recipes on YouTube.

Please subscribe so you don’t miss the videos as they are released.

More about GlenMyu Estate

GlenMyu Estate – Summary

3 Kingsize Double Bedrooms with Spectacular Views

2 Spacious Lounges with views over the hills below the house

A Natural Spring-Fed Infinity Swimming Pool

5 Acres of land to explore

Delicious bespoke meals freshly prepared by the host

A selection of places to dine

A place to relax and be closer to nature

Within reach of the following tourist sites

Diyaluma Waterfall and Upper Diyaluma Pools

Horton Plains National Park – Mini Worlds End, Worlds End and Bakers Falls

Adisham Bungalow

Lipton Seat

Dambetenna Tea Factory

Bambarakanda Waterfall

Thangamale Bird Sanctuary

Ella Town

9 Arch Bridge

Little Adams Peak

Ravanna Waterfall

Free Cooking Classes Read More »

Our First Birthday!

Cookery Courses / By Mikeez

Our First Birthday!

We are new however we were not celebrating our first birthday – we were celebrating the first birthday at GlenMyu Estate of one of our guests.

We opened our business in 2021, however, not many people were travelling during that year due to the global pandemic.

Sri Lanka imposed several lockdowns and then inter provincial travel bans during 2021 and therefore we had a slow start to our business.

We used the opportunity to test and fine tune the house and the menu so we did use the time well.

We also were able to spend more time landscaping the gardens and providing more places for our guests to explore.

Steps were made down to the waterfall at the bottom of the land and, although the last part is still a little tricky, many of our guests have really enjoyed this experience.

The inter-provincial lockdown was lifted in November 2021 and the Island saw an increase in foreign tourists from December 2021 forwards.

A great start to 2022

We appear to have been “found” in 2022 and we have had a steady stream of guests since the start of the year

The 2nd March 2022 - our first Birthday Celebration

We had new guests arrive on the 2nd March and we discovered that it was Chloe’s birthday that day.

Chloe and her partner had decided that they wanted to stay in a nice place for her birthday and she had searched for a long time before coming across GlenMyu Estate and making the booking.

We were delighted and honoured that Chloe had chosen our place to celebrate.

When we showed them their room and around the property they remarked that they has made a good choice which was very satisfying for Ruwanthi and I.

With no prior notice of a birthday Ruwanthi did her miracle and made a cake for the guests to celebrate Chloe’s birthday.

Our Informal Cookery Course

Shortly after confirming her booking Chloe had asked whether she could learn some Sri Lankan cookery which we were happy to oblige.

You have to work for your own dinner

Getting involved in cooking at Glenmyu Estate includes Ruwanthi taking you a tour of our vegetable garden and picking some of the ingredients that will make up that evenings dinner.

Ruwanthi’s mother is our in-house expert on Sri Lankan cooking and she takes charge of the kitchen and explains the process as she prepares and cooks the food.

Ruwanthi translates her mothers commentary into English and the other staff at the Estate are there to help the preparation and clean the dishes and kitchen as the lesson is in progress so there are lots of people involved.

It’s like a TV cookery demonstration with all the aromas and sounds

Our guests really enjoyed the cookery demonstration and took lots of notes whilst savouring the smells and tastes as the dishes were being prepared.

The good thing about Sri Lankan cooking is that a majority of the ingredients would be available in supermarkets in our guests home cities and therefore there is no excuse on trying the dishes at home.

The Cake

Here is the last minute cake that Ruwanthi prepared for Chloe

The cake was delicious and a great end to a fantastic meal.

A Special Birthday Venue?

As we celebrated with Chloe, I remembered our favourite restaurant in London, the Oslo Court in St Johns Wood https://oslocourtrestaurant.co.uk.

The restaurant is old fashioned and has a really unique ambience to it. We loved the food. We loved the service. The staff were great.

Whenever we dined at the restaurant there were always several birthdays taking place. There were repeated rounds of the diners singing “Happy Birthday” to the individual celebrating their special day, whether at their table or another, known or unknown. A good time was had by all.

I wonder whether GlenMyu Estate will become a special place to celebrate a birthday in the future.

If you are looking to celebrate your birthday at GlenMyu Estate, it would be great to know in advance so we can make it special for you.

https://resortglenmyu.comPlease click on the following link for our contact details .

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