New Vegetarian Restaurant Opened at Buddhist Cultural Centre near Thummulla in Colombo
Posted on November 14th, 2012
Buddhist Cultural Centre
Generally Sinhalese Buddhists in Sri Lanka which comprise about 70% of the countryƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s population are traditionally inclined towards vegetarianism or semi ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” vegetarianism in their dietary habits. Even among those who consume flesh food, Beef is excluded in as much as Muslims exclude Pork from their meals. It is commonplace now a days to see an increasing number of Restaurants even ones owned by Muslims refusing to serve both Beef and Pork to customers out of respect for their religious sensitivities.
Vegetarian restaurants have been there in Sri Lanka, over a long period of time. But they are mostly owned and run by Sri Lankan Tamil Hindus and Indian Hindus, serving mainly South Indian Food. This predisposition is now being gradually broken with Sinhalese entering into the Vegetarian niche market.
The latest entry into the Vegetarian scene in Colombo is a Restaurant, modest in size, situated at the Ground Floor of the huge new multi ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” storied ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Buddhist Cultural Centre also known as the Sri Sambuddhathwa Jayanthi Mandiraya, near the Thummulla Junction at No. 32, Havelock Road (re- named as Sri Sambuddhathwa Jayanthi Mawatha) Colombo 05.
Named as the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”Paradise Vegetarian Food CourtƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ (a concept of the founder of the Buddhist Cultural Centre, namely, Ven. Kirama Wimalajothi Nayake Thero to promote vegetarianism as a meatless healthy dietary alternative to flesh food consumption that is increasingly being suspect as the source of major human illnesses) this new restaurant provides pure vegetarian food including eggless cakes, short eats, rice and curry, and a host of fresh fruit juices including umbarella, water melon, divul, and tamarind at reasonable prices.
A friendly staff serves freshly cooked vegetarian food to an increasing number of patrons. The contact person for any inquiries on this new venture is Mr. N. Jayawantha, Telephone: (011) 2580 006 or (071) 658 3333 (mobile). ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚
November 14th, 2012 at 2:56 pm
Great news. It has been shameful all these days that we preach Ahimsa but could not find a proper vegetarian restaurant of our own. Those days, there was a Soya restaurant but don’t know what happened to it. It is regretful to mention that it is usually easy to find a vegetarian restaurant even in the Middle East than in Sri Lanka where 80% of people are against killing of animals.
November 14th, 2012 at 3:58 pm
WOW!
Way to go.
PLEASE SPREAD THESE RESTAURANTS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY INCLUDING JAFFNA, BATTICALOA, NEGOMBO, WELLAWATTA, KOTTANCHENA, ETC.
There is a HUGE demand for QUALITY veggi food.
You can save BOTH animals and humans.
e.g. cancer
heart attack
stroke
obessity
infertility (MAINLY from beef as bulls and cows eat grass and punnakku LOADED with pesticides, insecticides, that work on making animals infertile to stop their spread. They accumulate too much in animals than in plants.)
(If managed, it MAY work in the LONG TERM to control the HUGE population growth rate of beef eating EXTREMISTS!!)
November 15th, 2012 at 12:47 am
Nothing can match the Thosai kades we used to go as kids ( we didn’t see the kitchen).
November 15th, 2012 at 7:23 am
It is heartening to hear news of the new Vegetarian Restaurant.
On a topic related to vegetarian restaurants, I am writing about the use of Soy plant protein, which can used in vegetarian restaurants, creating delicious and exciting new dishes.
Sri Lankans should grow ORGANIC Soy. Products from the Soy bean are very healthy for human consumption as they are low in saturated fats and has no cholesterol to clog our arteries. The Soy fats are healthy and will not cause cancers. Soy protein lends itself to various flavors. The Soy plant is a legume and possesses nodules that can produce its own nitrogen (essential as a fertilizer for production of plant proteins), and is therefore an easier to grow food crop in even poor soils. The Soy protein is stable even at high temperatures and can be turned into the familiar TVP and other flavored artificial meats (vegetarian flavorings now available for sale on the internet). Soy burghers (now sold in USA) are so well done that it is difficult to tell the difference between these burghers and the real meat burghers ! Soy milk and cheeses are very popular in the west.
Soy milk can be extracted at home with a small machine or produced in commercial quantities with the larger machines. Soy oil is used commercially as well as for cooking.
With Soy, the possibilities are endless for Entrepreneurs. Soy oil, Soy meat, Soy meal as animal feed, etc. etc. Protein per acre is highest with the Soy bean, and so are profits with the hardy Soy plant. Crop rotation with Soy enriches the soil for other crops. The plant itself if allowed to die back into the soil after harvesting, will enrich the soil with the nitrogen in the plant parts. USA produces over 35% of the world’s Soy crop and India around 4%.
May we suggest that Buddhist Temple lands in Sri Lanka and elsewhere be used for the growing of Organic Soy which would benefit the nearby community and the Temple in many ways, whilst promoting Vegetable based foods in Lanka and also help Entrepreneurs in new ventures, without cruelty to animals.
In the west, Cruelty Free products, whether food or cosmetics, etc. are very popular among consumers.
November 15th, 2012 at 9:29 am
FRAN !!! I DRINK SOY MILK EVERYDAY, POSSIBLY FOR THE LAST FIFTEEN YEARS. IT IS AVAILABLE AT WALMART, IN HALF GALLON CARTONS, ORGANIC, VANILLA OR CHOCOLATE FLAVOUR. AS YOU SAY, IT IS VERY NOURISHING.
November 15th, 2012 at 1:21 pm
Susantha
Go to the mirror and check whether you got Gynecomastia
Gynecomastia is the enlargement of male breast tissue that may occur with certain conditions. In particular, soy milk may cause an enlargement of male breast tissue. UpToDate.com reports that over-consuming soy milk may cause gynecomastia, but regular consumption generally does not cause enlarged breast. In addition, gynecomastia typically resolves once consumption of soy milk is reduced or stopped.
Drinking soy milk may negatively affect a man’s sperm count. Specifically, ScienceDaily.com states that men who consume an average of half a serving of soy products per day have a lower sperm count than men who do not consume soy products. This may occur because isoflavonones found in soy milk have estrogen-like effects, which may cause a decreased production in sperm. However, this correlation is only a theory and cannot be confirmed. Therefore, if you are having difficulty with conception, you may need to stop drinking soy milk.
Not only that, because of estrogen-like effects of isoflavonones you can develop high level of female enzymes in your body and you may develop more of female tastes like spending lot of time in shopping malls etc etc. …………
November 15th, 2012 at 1:24 pm
What good news is this! Sinhalese Vegetarian Resturants! There is a new awakening in Buddhism against all the odds
as people have got more and more intelligent. Forget medical benefits (they are by products anyway),our ‘Chethana’ should be Ahimsa not to selfish benefits,we defeat the purpose then.
November 15th, 2012 at 1:36 pm
With Soy, the possibilities are endless for Entrepreneurs.
That’s probably why the 2013 Budget included tax free racing cars to boost agriculture.
Its ingenious.
Realistically, a racing car like a Lamborghini, is not going to be used every day, in fact it is most likely to be used only at night in Colombo.
At other times, however, the Lambo a 630 horse power (6.5litre V12) engine could be coupled to an electricity generator that could light up an entire village or hamlet in rural Sri Lanka.
Attaching a plough to a Lambo is also not a problem either and the light-weight all-wheel drive sports car is a much better machine than the ultra-heavy Swaraj tractors already on the market. That is probably why purpose-built tractors have been slapped with an additional tax of about half a million rupees in the latest budget.
It’s a win-win situation for our farmers.
Ps- the Lamborghini started off as a tractor during WW11
November 15th, 2012 at 4:02 pm
NMY !!! What you say is all STERCUS TAURI. See a Neuro Medical Doctor. He will help your condition.
November 16th, 2012 at 6:40 am
Studies done in USA show that :
Natural Isoflavons in Soy have potential health benefits. They are :
(1) Lower LDL cholesterol.
(2) Maintain bone density and inhibit certain enzymes that cause bone loss.
(3) Provide antioxidant protection against harmful effects of free radicals.
(4) Assist in normal prostate health (men), urinary flow, and quality of life for mature men.
(5) Naturally maintain optimal hormonal balance in women during and after menopause.
(6) Rich source of natural essential amino acids.
(7) Low in saturated fats with zero cholesterol.
There are other Nut and Grain milks such as Almond milk, Oat Milk and even Rice Milk. Rice
Milk is very healthy but rather watery in taste. The Organic milks are much better in taste and content.
It has been found that cow milk exacerbates breast cancer. Conversely, stopping intake of cow
milk reverses breast cancer. See link
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-171377/A-change-diet-cured-cancer.html
Another note of interest re Protein :
The COMMERCIAL Hemp (has almost zero drug value) from which Protein is extracted and which is now grown in USA, gives a high PLANT Protein content and quite palatable. Vegetarians may like to note this as an alternate source of Protein to animal meats/fish.
Anyway, each his own ! Organic cow milk is far superior to non-organic milk. Yoghurt & curds are the best ways to consume cow milk. Fat free organic cow milk/curd/yoghurt is best.